Scholastic Reads

Latest Episodes:

Sayantani DasGupta and The Serpent's Secret Feb 22, 2018

Show notes

This week, we're talking with Sayantani DasGupta, the author of the forthcoming middle grade fantasy novel The Serpent's Secret, in which sixth grader Kiranmala discovers she's a princess...and an interdemensional demon slayer! Sayantani talks with her 13-year-old daughter, Sunaya, who is a Scholastic News Kids Press Corps reporter, and tells us about her childhood ask a daughter of immigrants, as well as her love of storytelling, folktales, science, and Madeleine L'Engle.

Don't miss an episode! Subscribe to our podcast on an iOS device here or an Android device here, and the latest episodes of Scholastic Reads will be automatically delivered to your device.

Additional Resources:

Guest:

Sayantani DasGupta grew up hearing stories about brave princesses, bloodthirsty rakkhosh and flying pakkhiraj horses. She is a pediatrician by training, but now teaches at Columbia University. When she's not writing or reading, Sayantani spends time watching cooking shows with her trilingual children and protecting her black Labrador Retriever Khushi from the many things that scare him, including plastic bags. She is a team member of We Need Diverse Books, and can be found online at www.sayantanidasgupta.com and on Twitter at @sayantani16

Special thanks:

Music composed by Lucas Elliot Eberl
Sound mix and editing by Daniel Jordan and Christopher Johnson
Produced by Emily Morrow

Marley Dias Gets It Done...and Princess Truly, Too! Feb 08, 2018

Show notes

This week, we're talking with creators who saw a void in the marketplace: books with black girls as the heroines. Marley Dias, a 13-year-old from New Jersey who has been hailed as someone who "could be president in 30 years" by InStyle, is the founder of the #1000BlackGirlBooks hashtag andthe ensuing movement. We talk with her about her own book, Marley Dias Gets It Done: And So Can You and Suzanne gets a little hosting help from Scholastic News Kid Reporter Titus Smith, III.

Later on, we sit down with Kelly Greenawalt and Amariah Rauscher, the creators of the indomitable, inventive, and adorable Princess Truly. Kelly tells us that she started writing the Princess Truly picture books for her own daughter who was once told by a classmate that her curls weren't "magical princess hair."

Don't miss an episode! Subscribe to our podcast on an iOS device here or an Android device here, and the latest episodes of Scholastic Reads will be automatically delivered to your device.

Additional Resources:

Guests:

Marley Dias made headlines as a sixth grader when she started the #1000BlackGirlBooks campaign to collect children's books featuring black protagonists. Her initiative led to appearances on The Nightly Show, Today, CBS This Morning, and many more. Marley has been featured in the New York Times, has been recognized as a "21 under 21" ambassador for Teen Vogue, is an editor in residence for Elle.com, and launched a national literacy tour in partnership with the White House. Marley lives in New Jersey with her parents.
Kelly Greenawalt is a children's book author, wife, and mother of five living just outside Houston, Texas. Princess Truly was inspired by her daughters, Calista and Kaia, who are smart and spunky, and who have magical curls of their own.
Amariah Rauscher is an artist and illustrator specializing in watercolor illustration. She lives with her husband and children in Illinois.

Special thanks:

Hosts: Suzanne McCabe and Titus Smith III
Music composed by Lucas Elliot Eberl
Sound mix and editing by Daniel Jordan and Christopher Johnson
Produced by Emily Morrow

Christopher Paul Curtis: Learning from History Jan 25, 2018

Show notes

This week, we're talking with Christopher Paul Curtis, the author of many beloved, award-winning books for young readers including The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963 and Bud, Not Buddy. He's joining us via Skype from his home in Canada to talk about his newest book, The Journey of Little Charlie, the latest installment in the Buxton Chronicles. Christopher talks about his love of history, his childhood in Flint, MI, and why humor is a crucial element of his heart-wrenching books.

Don't miss an episode! Subscribe to our podcast on an iOS device here or an Android device here, and the latest episodes of Scholastic Reads will be automatically delivered to your device.

Additional resources:

Guests:

Christopher Paul Curtis was awarded both a Newbery Honor and a Coretta Scott King Honor for his debut book, The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963, and won the Newbery Medal and the Coretta Scott King Award for his second book, Bud, Not Buddy. Mr. Curtis is also the author of the Golden Kite Award-winning Bucking the Sarge, as well as The Mighty Miss Malone, and two previous books in The Buxton Chronicles: The Madman of Piney Woods, and the Newbery Honor book Elijah of Buxton.

Special thanks:

Music composed by Lucas Elliot Eberl
Sound mix and editing by Daniel Jordan and Christopher Johnson
Produced by Emily Morrow

Children's Book Trends to Watch for in 2018 Dec 20, 2017

Show notes

Happy holidays! We're kicking this episode off by looking ahead to 2018: Three Scholastic Book Clubs editors share their predictions for five trends we're going to see in children's books in 2018. We also take a trip to the annual Scholastic Employee Holiday Book Fair and talk with some of our colleagues about what books are on their must-buy list this holiday season. (Spoiler alert: Everyone wants the Harry Potter illustrated editions!)

Additional Resources:

Guests:

Darcy Evans, Jaewon Oh, and Lori Wieczorek are editorial managers with Scholastic Book Clubs.

Special thanks:

Music composed by Lucas Elliot Eberl
Sound mix and editing by Daniel Jordan and Christopher Johnson
Produced by Emily Morrow

The New Jedi Master Behind Star Wars: Jedi Academy Dec 14, 2017

Show notes

With Star Wars fever running high, we are talking with Jarrett Krosoczka this week, the author and illustrator of the two latest books in the Star Wars: Jedi Academy series, A New Class and The Force Oversleeps! Jarrett talks about how he got his start in children's publishing and what it's been like to take over the helm at Jedi Academy. He also shares a little bit about his forthcoming graphic novel memoir, Hey, Kiddo, which is due out in Fall 2018.

As Yoda would say, "Listen, you must!"

Additional Resources:

Guests:

Jarrett Krosoczka is a New York Times bestselling author, two-time winner of the Children’s Choice Book Award for the Third to Fourth Grade Book of the Year, an Eisner award nominee, and is the author and/or illustrator of more than thirty books for young readers. His work includes several picture books, select volumes of Star Wars: Jedi Academy, the Lunch Lady graphic novels, and Platypus Police Squad novel series. Jarrett has given two TED Talks, both of which have been curated to the main page of TED.com and have collectively accrued more than two million views online. He is also the host of The Book Report with JJK on SiriusXM’s Kids Place Live, a weekly segment celebrating books, authors, and reading. Jarrett lives in Western Massachusetts with his wife and children, and their pugs, Ralph and Fran.

Special thanks:

Music composed by Lucas Elliot Eberl
Sound mix and editing by Daniel Jordan and Christopher Johnson
Produced by Emily Morrow

A Song, a Feminist Princess, and a Conversation with Julia Donaldson Nov 30, 2017

Show notes

This week, we're talking (and singing!) with Julia Donaldson, the 2011-2013 Children's Laureate in the UK and the author of more than 140 books for children including The Gruffalo, Stick Man, and most recently, Zog and the Flying Doctors.

In this episode, Julia and her husband, Malcolm, share part of their song "Zog and the Flying Doctors," and Julia talks with us about her passion for storytelling, her love of libraries, and why she decided to write a feminist princess.

Resources:

Guest:

Julia Donaldson has over 140 titles to her credit. Her work includes critically acclaimed titles such as Room on the Broom, The Snail and the Whale, The Princess and the Wizard, The Dinosaur's Diary, and The Giants and the Joneses. Julia came from a musical background. Her father played the cello and her mother loved to sing. Julia and her sister were in a Children's Opera Group and from an early age, she wrote musical plays for her friends and family to perform. Her first book, A Squash and a Squeeze, was based on one of her television songs. "It was great to hold the book in my hand without it vanishing in the air the way the songs did," says Julia. She lives with her family in Glasgow, Scotland.

Special thanks:

Music composed by Lucas Elliot Eberl
Sound mix and editing by Daniel Jordan and Christopher Johnson
Produced by Emily Morrow

We the People Nov 17, 2017

Show notes

This week, we're talking about civics education. At a time when our republic feels particularly unsettled, we’re asking: What do students know about their government? What SHOULD they know? Teachers tell us that there is a critical need for materials that help students understand their role in a democracy and as citizens of the world—whether the lesson is understanding the three branches of government, spotting fake news, or simply learning how to disagree respectfully, teachers of all grade levels are having civics-related discussions almost daily.

In this episode, we sit down with four of our Scholastic Classroom Magazines editors to talk about how they help teachers bring civics into the classroom. We also talk with a fourth-grade teacher from New York about the types of lessons she's sharing with her students.

Additional Resources:

Guests:

Steph Smith is the editorial director of Scholastic News.
Mary Kate Frank is the Deputy Editor of Junior Scholastic.
Ian Zack is the Executive Editor of The New York Times Upfront.
Laine Falk is an Editorial Director for Scholastic News.
Gail Sider is a fourth-grade teacher at Hutchinson Elementary School in Pelham, New York.

Special thanks:

Music composed by Lucas Elliot Eberl
Sound mix and editing by Daniel Jordan and Christopher Johnson
Produced by Emily Morrow

Talking Wonderstruck with Brian Selznick Nov 09, 2017

Show notes

This week, we're taking you with us to the Queens Museum as we attend a special event honoring the Panorama of the City of New York exhibit — a miniature model of New York City that was built for the 1964-1965 World's Fair. The exhibit plays a pivotal role in Brian Selznick's bestselling novel Wonderstruck, as well as its recent movie adaptation. We talk with Brian about Wonderstruck and what it was like to see his novel come to life on the big screen. Later in the episode, we also hear from Louise Weinberg, curator and archives manager from the Queens Museum, who will share some of the history of the Panorama.

Additional Resources:

Guests:

Brian Selznick is the Caldecott Medal-winning creator of the New York Times bestsellers The Invention of Hugo Cabret, adapted into Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-winning Hugo; Wonderstruck, adapted into Todd Haynes’s eponymous movie; and The Marvels. Among the celebrated picture books Selznick has illustrated are the Caldecott Honor Book The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins by Barbara Kerley, and the Sibert Honor Book When Marian Sang by Pam Muñoz Ryan. His books appear in over 35 languages. He has also worked as a bookseller, a puppeteer, and a screenwriter. He divides his time between Brooklyn, New York, and San Diego, California.
Louise Weinberg is a curator and archives manager at the Queens Museum

Special thanks:

Music composed by Lucas Elliot Eberl
Sound mix and editing by Daniel Jordan and Christopher Johnson
Produced by Emily Morrow

I Exist: Why Representation in Children's Books Matters Oct 26, 2017

Show notes

"I stopped reading books that had humans in them after Harriet [the Spy] because I knew there wouldn't be any humans like me," — Sarah Moon, author of Sparrow.

At Scholastic, we're proud to publish authors of different backgrounds, cultures, races, abilities, and orientations. But we also know that many of our authors have felt the same way Sarah did as a child. Like her, many felt that they didn't exist in children's books when they were growing up. And like her, many are now writing to change that for future generations. We invited them to share their stories and to talk about why representation in children's books is so crucial. These stories will break your heart, but they will also give you hope: hope that today's children will never doubt that they can be the heroes of their own stories.

Contributing authors:

Special thanks:

Music composed by Lucas Elliot Eberl
Sound mix and editing by Daniel Jordan and Christopher Johnson
Produced by Emily Morrow

Everything is a Metaphor: A Conversation with Maggie Stiefvater Oct 06, 2017

Show notes

This week, we're talking myths, magic and metaphors with bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater, whose newest novel, All the Crooked Saints, will be in stores on October 10. Maggie is joined in the studio by her editor, David Levithan, as well as some extra special guests: her dad and her brother! Later in the episode, we'll also talk with Booklist editor Daniel Kraus about Booklist's 50 Best YA Books of All Time list, which just so happens to include Maggie's New York Times bestselling series The Raven Cycle.

Additional Resources:

Guests:

Entertainment Weekly has called Maggie Stiefvater, “one of the finest YA novelists writing today.” Maggie Stiefvater is a writer, artist, and musician and a New York Timesbestselling author. Her work includes the Shiver series, The Raven Cycle series, The Scorpio Races, and many more books for young readers. Stiefvater lives in Virginia with her family. You can visit her online at www.maggiestiefvater.com and follow her on Twitter @mstiefvater.
Daniel Kraus is Booklist's Editor of Books for Youth. Follow him on Twitter at @DanielDKraus.

Special thanks:

Music composed by Lucas Elliot Eberl
Sound mix and editing by Daniel Jordan and Christopher Johnson
Produced by Emily Morrow

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected