Book Club For Kids

. We continue our look at books that have been challenged or banned. This week, it’s Jewell Parker Rhodes’ tale of a young black boy shot by a white police officer “Ghost Boys.” The book was temporarily banned in Florida’s second largest school district over a complaint that the book was “propaganda” against the police. A rural school district in California removed the book from curriculum after a parent complained about political views in the book.  Give a listen to our discussion of “Ghost Boys.”

Last Saturday was the culver city book festival and book club for kids was there, gathering great suggestions for your next favorite read. We’ve got a different take on Shakespeare, a it of underwear humor, and a debate about which does a better job of telling the story; the book or the movie. Favorite Books from the Culver City Book Festival: The Apothacary - Sarah Penner These Violent Delights - Chloe Gong Captain Underpants - Dav Pilkey The Wild Robot - Peter Brown Dog Man - Dav Pilkey Angels and Demons - Dan Brown   If you're a teacher or librarian in LA County and you'd like your readers to star on a Book Club for Kids podcast, send us an email to bookclubforkidspodcast@gmail.com and we'll send you all the information.

For Black History Month and Valentines Day, we have a special love story – part fiction, part fact, based on a landmark US Supreme Court case. It’s called "Loving Vs. Virginia: A Documentary Novel of the Landmark Civil Rights Case" by Patricia Hruby Powell. It’s the story of an interracial couple who only wanted to marry the person they loved. Our celebrity reader, actress Crystal West. Readers from Virginia discuss the book and the legal case that took place in their own state. Kitty Felde is host.  

We polled readers at the City of Stem/LA Maker Faire about their favorite books. (By the way, Book Club for Kids will be taping more book suggestion interviews at this year's event on Saturday, April 12th at Exposition Park in Los Angeles.) Kitty Felde is host. FAVORITE BOOKS FROM THE CITY OF STEM/LA MAKER FAIRE: Orphan, Monster, Spy - Matt Killeen Wonder - R.J. Palacio Percy Jackson - Rick Riordan Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins Heidi Heckelbeck and the Never-Ending Day - Wanda Coven Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J.K. Rowling The Fourth Closet - Christopher Hastings, Scott Cawthon, Kira Breed-Wrisley Felix and Phoebe's Robot - Team 4 Element Diary of a Wimpy Kid - Jeff Kinney

We speak to Israeli writer Ofir Lobel, author of "101 Ways to Lose Your Homework: the Snotty Snail" about the difference between writing in graphic novels and writing a screenplay for a movie. He also talks about writing in a country at war. Kitty Felde is host.

This week, it’s a graphic novel with evil twins, lost homework, and a giant snail. Oh, and a talking frog. The book is "101 Reasons Why I Lost My Homework Again: The Snotty Snail" by Ofir Lobel. Our readers are from Valley Beth Shalom Day School in Encino, California. Sportswriter Keith Thursby is celebrity reader. Kitty Felde is host. Favorite Books from Valley Beth Shalom Day School: A Series of Unfortunate Events - Lemony Snicket Harry Potter - JK Rowling Dragon Masters - Tracey West A Girl's Guide to Murder - Holly Jackson Ofir Lobel's Favorite Book Little Nicolas -Rene Goscinny and Jean-Jacques Sempe Keith Thursby's Favorite Book:  The Jim Murray Reader - Jim Murray & Vin Scully We’ll have a list of everybody’s favorite books at our website, www.bookclubforkids.org. And if you have a favorite book, you can be on the BookClub for Kids podcast, too. Just have your parent, teacher, or librarian send us an email at kitty@bookclubforkids.org and we’ll send you all the information.   We have a fr

Looking for your next favorite read? We've got it, courtesy of kids at the City of Stem/LA Maker Faire. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane - Kate DiCamillo Magic Treehouse - Mary Pope Osborne Bunny vs Monkey -Jamie Smart A Little Princess - Frances Hodgson Burnett Fart Quest - Aaron Reynolds Hilo - Judd Winick Masterminds - Gordon Korman The Mysterious Benedict Society - Trenton Lee Stewart We have LOTS of other book suggestions at our website

2025 is a very special year for Book Club for Kids as we celebrate our 10th anniversary! But a different version of the show aired on a local cable channel, LA36, taping episodes at the downtown LA public library. This year, we’ll be sharing those conversations once a month and we start with readers from St. Mark’s Lutheran School in Hacienda Heights, California discussing Gail Carson Levine’s classic take on Cinderella “Ella Enchanted” with host Kitty Felde. You can WATCH this episode on YouTube. Click here.

We end the year with a special episode from our other podcast THE FINA MENDOZA MYSTERIES. Fina is the 10-year-old daughter of a congressman who solves mysteries in the U.S. Capitol with the help of a big orange dog named Senator Something. This episode takes place January 6th, 2021 and is designed to help adults talk to kids about the events of that day. It's based on the book LOSING IS DEMOCRATIC: HOW TO TALK TO KIDS ABOUT JANUARY 6TH and contains curriculum for use in the classroom or homeschool.  Here's a link to purchase an autographed copy of the book.

Everybody wants to go to Paris…especially Nikki Maxwell! Readers from Hollingworth Elementary School discuss the latest entry in Rachel Renée Russell’s series. It’s Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Posh Paris Adventure. Rachel and daughter Nikki Russell, who illustrates the books, answer questions from the kids. Our celebrity reader is actress/screenwriter Kate Orsini. Kitty Felde is host.

For a writer who both illustrates and creates the story for a book, which comes first? We ask writer/illustrator Alina Chau who created "Marshmallow & Jordan."

Did you ever wish that you had a pet elephant? Well, Jordan was lucky enough to find one. That unusual relationship is at the heart of our book Jordan and Marshmallow by Alina Chau. Readers from Atwater Elementary School in Los Angeles discuss disabilities, sports, and Indonesia with host Kitty Felde. Our celebrity reader is NPR’s host of “All Things Considered” Ailsa Chang. Favorite Books from Atwater Elementary School: One Piece - Eiichiro Oda The Wild Robot - Peter Brown Dogman - Dav Pilkey Captain Underpants - Dav Pilkey The Funjungle Series - Stuart Gibbs Trickster: Native American Tales - Matt Dembicki Dirty Rotten Bugs: Arthropods Unite to Tell Their Side of the Story - Jujutsu Kaizen - Gege Akutami Amulet - Kazu Kibuishi Wings of Fire - Tui T. Sutherland Percy Jackson - Rick Riordan   Alina Chau's Favorite Book: Winnie the Pooh - A.A. Milne Ailsa Chang's Favorite Book: When Love is More than Words - Jocelyn Chung

We continue our series of episodes highlighting banned books. This week, it’s Elizabeth Acevedo’s novel The Poet X. The novel in verse was challenged in 2020 by parents in North Carolina who argued that the book was unconstitutionally hostile to religion. The challenge was turned down by the courts. It was again challenged in 2023 in Wisconsin because of objections about frank language about  sex.  In both cases, the books were part of the high school’s curriculum. The book is all about poetry and body image and standing up for yourself. It’s the National Book Award winning novel The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo. Readers from Charles Hart Middle School in Washington, DC discuss the novel with host Kitty Felde. Our celebrity reader is actress Monica Vigil from our other podcast THE FINA MENDOZA MYSTERIES.

Are you that aunt or uncle – the one who only gives books for birthdays and holidays? I hope so. But if it’s been a few years since you’ve picked up a middle grade novel, we have help from some experts – kids who visited us at the City of Stem LA Maker Faire to tell us about their favorite books. Start making your list and checking it twice… Favorite Books for Black Friday Shopping: Eragon - Christopher Paolini The Good Egg - Jory John and Pete Oswald The Land of Stories - Chris Colfer Amulet - Kazu Kibuishi Hop on Pop - Dr. Seuss The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett The Babysitter's Club - Ann M. Martin Diary of a Wimpy Kid - Jeff Kinney Anne of Green Gables - L.M. Montgomery This episode is made possible by a grant from the LA Department of Arts and Culture as part of Creative Recovery LA, an initiative funded by the American Rescue Plan. 

How did Oprah inspire a writing career? Listen to this conversation with Nikki Shannon Smith, author of Stranded.

Readers from Las Vegas are live, onstage at the Las Vegas Book Festival, talking about Nikki Shannon Smith's tale of adventure Stranded. Award-winning journalist Rita Pardue from KUNV is celebrity reader. Taped before a live audience, readers have lots of questions for writer Nikki Shannon Smith. Kitty Felde is host.   FAVORITE BOOKS FROM THE LAS VEGAS BOOK FESTIVAL: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane - Kate DiCamillo Cleopatra in Space - Mike Maihack Harry Potter - J.K. Rowling Wings of Fire -  Tui T. Sutherland Battle Dragons City of Thieves - Alex London  Weird Kid - Greg von Eekhout Oh My Gods! - Stephanie Cooke NIKKI SHANNON SMITH'S FAVORITE BOOK: Roots - Alex Haley RITA PARDUE'S FAVORITE BOOK: Charlotte's Web - E.B. White

Did you ever think you were a little different than everybody else in school? Suppose you found out there’s a reason for that and that reason is that you’re actually a witch. That's the story of "The Okay Witch," by Emma Steinkellner. Students from Virginia Road Elementary School in Los Angeles discuss the graphic novel and interview Emma. Actress Diane Adair is celebrity reader. Kitty Felde is host. www.bookclubforkids.org Favorite Books from Virginia Road Elementary School in LA: Ghosts (Fantasmas) - Raina Telegemeier The Spiderwick Chronicles - Tony DiTerlizzi Dork Diaries -Rachel Renée Russel Sisters - Raina Telegemeier Emma Steinkellner’s Favorite Books: Little Women - Louisa May Alcott Holes - Louis Sachar Ella Enchanted - Gail Carson Levine Dianne Adair’s Favorite Books: A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving Bird by Bird - Anne Lamott

This episode began with a chance meeting in a tiny art gallery in the city of Cienfuegos, Cuba. Writer Isora Morales Suarez was minding the store to pay the bills, but just had her first novel for kids published in English. The Girlfriends Book Club Baltimore discuss her unusual fairy tale The Meringue Witches with host Kitty Felde. Cuban ex-pat Adolfo Nodal is celebrity reader.

Writer MC Ryder talks about writing song lyrics and middle grade book series with host Kitty Felde.

It's that time of year: Halloween! This week, we tackle M.C. Ryder’s tale of romance, betrayal, and creatures of the night The Darkest Side of the Moon. Journalist and actress Hettie Lynne Hurtes is our celebrity reader. Our readers are from Rosecrans Elementary School in Compton, California. Kitty Felde is host.  NOTE: There are some plot spoilers.   Favorite Books from Rosecrans Elementary School: Attack on Titan - Hajime Isayama  Because of Winn Dixie - Kate DiCamillo Harry Potter - J.K. Rowling Beyond the Story: 10-year Record of BTS - BTS, Myeongseok Kang    MC Ryder's Favorite Book: The Search - Iris Johansen   Hettie Lynne Hurtes' Favorite Book: Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte   The Fina Mendoza Mysteries