Scholastic Reads

Latest Episodes:

The Science of Reading: Turning Research into Practice with Dr. Julia B. Lindsey Oct 28, 2022

Show notes

We often talk about the joy and power of reading. But how does a child get there? How do kids cultivate the skills they need to recognize words and make sense of them on a page?

In this episode, Dr. Julia B. Lindsey talks with host Suzanne McCabe about the science of reading and how she recommends putting it into practice. Dr. Lindsey is a leading expert on foundational skills and early reading. She is also the author of an invaluable new book for educators, Reading Above the Fray: Reliable, Research-Based Routines for Developing Decoding Skills.

A former kindergarten and first-grade teacher, Dr. Lindsey earned her PhD in Literacy Education at the University of Michigan School of Education. She now works with teachers, district personnel, and curriculum developers to translate reading research into practice. You can follow her on Twitter @JuliaBLindsey.

→ Resources

What is the Science of Reading? Learn more about how children learn to read.

Reading Above the Fray: Reliable Research-Based Routines for Developing Skills:A link for educators to purchase Dr. Lindsey’s book

Reading Above the Fray: Purchase the book on Amazon.

→ Highlights

Dr. Julia B. Lindsey, author, Reading Above the Fray: Reliable, Research-Based Routines for Developing Decoding Skills:

“Reading is a deeply unnatural process. Our brains were not set up to do this. And it's incredible that we're at a place in human history where we do learn to read and we do learn to write. But it is a hard process that we’re still learning a lot about how to do it better and what our brains are actually doing in order to both read words and comprehend them.”

“You should not try to learn English for the sole purpose of teaching your child to read English. If you want to go down that path, that’s awesome, and I applaud your multilingualism. But if you are a Spanish-speaking home, and you read in Spanish, as well, read those Spanish books with your child. Support your child in learning how to read in Spanish.”

“If we're able to give children culturally responsive texts that reflect their background, they're more likely to succeed in those texts and experience those early, joyful, motivating moments of becoming a reader that they need to fuel them through all of the challenges associated with learning how to read.”

→ Special Thanks

Producer: Bridget Benjamin

Associate producer: Constance Gibbs

Sound engineer: Daniel Jordan

Music composer: Lucas Elliot Eberl

→ Coming Soon

If You Lived During the Plimouth Thanksgiving • Dr. Karen Mapp on Family and School Partnerships

Celebrating Hispanic and Latine Heritage Month With Carmen Agra Deedy, Sonia Manzano, and Claribel A. Ortega Sep 29, 2022

Show notes

In this episode, we’re celebrating Hispanic and Latine Heritage Month with three favorite Scholastic authors. First, Carmen Agra Deedy talks about her extraordinary new picture book, The Children’s Moon. Illustrated by Jim LaMarche, the book is available in both English and Spanish editions.

Carmen is a master storyteller who was born in Havana, Cuba, and grew up in Decatur, Georgia. Her acclaimed picture books include Martina the Beautiful Cockroach: A Cuban Folktale, Rita & Ralph’s Rotten Day, and The Rooster Who Would Not Be Quiet.

Next, author and actress Sonia Manzano, known to generations of kids as the beloved Maria on Sesame Street, discusses Coming Up Cuban, her lyrical new novel for middle graders. Sonia, who has won 15 Emmy Awards, is also the author of Becoming Maria: Love and Chaos in the South Bronx and The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano, which won the Pura Belpre Award in 2013. Sonia’s animated series for PBS Kids, Alma’s Way, was recently renewed for a second season. Inspired by her own childhood, it features a 6-year-old New Yorker of Puerto Rican heritage.

Last but not least, Claribel A. Ortega introduces Witchlings, her highly-anticipated novel for middle-graders. The imaginative story follows a group of aspiring witches who learn that the magic in their lives is found not so much in the spells they cast but in the friendships they make. A former newspaper reporter of Dominican heritage, Claribel is also the author of Ghost Squad, a New York Times bestseller.

→ Resources

The Children’s Moon by Carmen Agra Deedy: “The well-told tale works on multiple levels,” says School Library Journal. (Check out the Spanish edition, La Luna de los Niños, here.)

Coming Up Cuban by Sonia Manzano: Follow the journey of four young people who navigate Castro’s revolution and its aftermath.

Witchlings by Claribel A. Ortega: Visit the magical town of Ravenskill with 12-year-old Seven Salazar.

Celebrate Hispanic & Latine Heritage: Check out these fiction and nonfiction titles for K-12 students.

→ Highlights

Carmen Agra Deedy, author, The Children’s Moon:

“You begin with an idea, and it may be very small. It grows into a book when you hold on to that idea with both hands and refuse, refuse, refuse to let go.”

“If you can keep a curious mind, if you keep learning, you can learn anything. You can learn everything from quantum physics to how to make your own tortillas.”

Sonia Manzano, author, Coming Up Cuban:

“I hope that [my readers] put themselves in the shoes of other people. I think the only way we can really have a better society is if people understand another person’s point of view and see how we all feel the same things.”

“Smart is putting two and two together, and everybody has a brain, and everybody can use it.”

Claribel A. Ortega, author, Witchlings:

“If people had magic, we would do the same thing [as witches]. We would use it to settle petty grudges.”

“When I sit down to start writing, I already have a really good idea of what it feels like to live in this [imaginary] world.”

→ Special Thanks

Producer: Bridget Benjamin

Associate producer: Constance Gibbs

Sound engineer: Daniel Jordan

Music composer: Lucas Elliot Eberl

→ Coming Soon

The Science of Reading • Revisiting Thanksgiving

Honoring Banned Books Week with Amy Sarig King Sep 20, 2022

Show notes

Every September, we celebrate banned books. These are the stories that are so powerful—and so transformative—some people think others shouldn’t be able to read them. Banning or censoring a book may be done with good intentions, but it ends up limiting access to diverse, often marginalized, voices and deprives readers of important historical information.

In this episode, award-winning author Amy Sarig King talks with host Suzanne McCabe about Attack of the Black Rectangles, her new novel for middle graders. The book, which takes on censorship and intolerance, is based on an experience Amy had in her Pennsylvania town. After her son came home from school with a novel about the Holocaust, in which certain passages were blacked out, the author sought to find out why. What followed may surprise you.

Amy is also the author of The Year We Fell From Space, Me and Marvin Gardens, and several other acclaimed titles for young readers.

→ Resources

Meet Amy Sarig King: Find out why The New York Times calls Amy “one of the best Y.A. writers working today.”

The Devil’s Arithmetic: Learn more about Jane Yolen’s 1988 novel about the Holocaust, which became the subject of Attack of the Black Rectangles after being censored at a Pennsylvania school.

Banned Books Week: Explore online book events, discussions, and resources for September 18–24.

The Ultimate List of Banned Books: Check out these groundbreaking titles for ages 3 to 13 that have been challenged or banned.

→ Highlights

Amy Sarig King, author, Attack of the Black Rectangles:

“I find it amazing that in the middle of a very harrowing, very educational, and very age-appropriate scene about the Holocaust, it would be interrupted with this large, black distraction.”

“When you take [away] intellectual freedom, that’s quite a big step in any society. If we look back through history, people who succeeded at limiting what their citizens could read, it never ended well.”

“We have to move forward and face truths and accept them.”

“I wrote the book because . . . I wanted to see a different outcome.”

“If you don’t like the book, put it down. If you don’t like the TV show, change the channel.”

“You have a freedom to not do a thing as much as you have a freedom to do a thing. We’ve had opt-out policies in our schools for years. They have worked perfectly, seamlessly.”

“If you’re going to protect students . . . you should protect my child. You should protect every child.”

“We need to start having conversations.”

“The best thing you can do is make your voice heard.”

“We learn to use our voices when we’re young. We don’t just suddenly show up when we’re 18.”

“Books are important. [They] change lives. They open minds.”

→ Special Thanks

Producer: Bridget Benjamin

Associate producer: Constance Gibbs

Sound engineer: Daniel Jordan

Music composer: Lucas Elliot Eberl

→ Coming Soon

Celebrating Hispanic & Latine Heritage Month • The Science of Reading • R.L. Stine

“Make Good Trouble” — Remembering U.S. Representative John Lewis Jul 18, 2022

Show notes

In this episode, we’re honoring John Lewis, the civil rights hero and Congressman who died in 2020. The bond that Lewis forged with young Tybre Faw is the subject of a new picture book by best-selling author Andrea Davis Pinkney. Illustrated by Keith Henry Brown, the book is called Because of You, John Lewis: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship.

Andrea joins host Suzanne McCabe to talk about the inspiration for the book—the moment she saw Tybre, then 12, reading William Ernest Henley’s poem, “Invictus,” at the Congressman’s funeral.

“I watched this child honoring this civil rights hero, and I wondered what had led him to this moment,” Andrea says.

Tybre first met Lewis in 2018 in Selma, Alabama. His two grandmothers had driven him from their home in Tennessee to the annual march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. The bridge was the site of an assault by state troopers on Lewis and hundreds of voting rights demonstrators in March 1965. “Bloody Sunday” would prove to be a turning point in the civil rights movement, outraging the nation and leading to the passage of the landmark Voting Rights Act.

Later in the episode, U.S. Representative Nikema Williams shares her memories of Lewis and explains how Tybre and other young people are following in the courageous leader’s footsteps. Williams now represents Georgia in the same congressional seat Lewis once held.

→ Resources

Because of You, John Lewis: Pinkney’s new picture book explores Lewis’s remarkable friendship with Tybre Faw.

Meet Tybre Faw: People writes about the new book and Tybre’s bond with John Lewis.

More Books by Andrea Davis Pinkney: Check out these additional titles from the award-winning author.

17 Books About the Civil Rights Movement: These stories for students in grades K-8 introduce young readers to the era’s pivotal figures and events.

Meet Congresswoman Nikema Williams: Williams, who represents Georgia’s 5th Congressional District, met John Lewis when she was starting her career in politics.

→ Highlights

Andrea Davis Pinkney, author, Because of You, John Lewis: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship:

“I watched this child honoring this civil rights hero, and I wondered what had led him to this moment.”

“Tybre and John Lewis became close friends. In my research, I learned that John Lewis, himself, had a similar childhood wish, which was to meet his civil rights hero, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.”

“That’s what Tybre does. He wakes up, and he wishes, and he marches toward a new future.”

“When John Lewis came out of the back of that church on that day and walked right up to [Tybre], he said he knew that he had been chosen for something very special, and indeed he has.”

“The illustrations are somewhat journalistic. At the same time, [illustrator Keith Henry Brown] has created paintings that are of a spiritual nature.”

“I hope that kids will be inspired to follow along with Tybre Faw and say, ‘Our voices matter.’”

U.S. Representative Nikema Williams (D-GA):

“I can hear the words of Congressman Lewis very clearly when he tells us that, oftentimes, you don’t choose the moment, the moment chooses you.”

“Lewis was everything that you imagine him to be and more. He wasn’t that person to disappoint you.”

“He understood that this work was ongoing and that our fight and our struggle wasn’t just the struggle of a day, a week, or a month, but it was the struggle of a lifetime.”

“Watching Tybre and what he’s going to bring to this country, I am so optimistic for what the future holds.”

“No is not the answer when you’re fighting for justice and equality.”

“We see so many students—children—changing the world, just by making their wishes and their concerns heard.”

“We all have an obligation to speak up and ‘find a way to get in the way.’”

→ Special Thanks

Producer: Bridget Benjamin

Associate producer: Constance Gibbs

Sound engineer: Daniel Jordan

Music composer: Lucas Elliot Eberl

→ Coming Soon

Amy Sarig King on Attack of the Black Rectangles, censorship, and intolerance • Hispanic and Latine Heritage Month: Carmen Agra Deedy, Sonia Manzano, and Claribel A. Ortega • R.L. Stine

Aaron Blabey and The Bad Guys Jul 01, 2022

Show notes

In this episode, author and illustrator Aaron Blabey talks about the creation of The Bad Guys, his hit book series with Scholastic. The series inspired the 2022 computer-animated film of the same name from DreamWorks Animation. Aaron describes the series, which follows the adventures of a hapless gang of criminal animals who finally do good, as “Tarantino for kids.”

The impulse for creating the series, Aaron tells host Suzanne McCabe, “was to make sure my son had a book to read that was fun.”

The author and illustrator, who was an award-winning actor in Australia in a previous life, is also the creator of the Pig the Pug series and Thelma the Unicorn.

→ Resources

Aaron Blabey: Learn more about the #1 New York Times best-selling author.

The Bad Guys: Read the books. Watch the movie.

→ Highlights

Aaron Blabey, author and illustrator, The Bad Guys:

“Mr. Snake is my favorite of the ‘Bad Guys’ because he’s the one who struggles the most with the journey, which makes him the most interesting to write.”

“Mr. Wolf and Mr. Snake are two halves of me…. I think we all have it—your optimistic side and your pessimistic side.”

“When kids saw the cover with the guys in the suits, with a shark and a wolf and this title, The Bad Guys, I think there’s this sort of frisson of ‘that looks a little bit naughty.’”

Of his teenage sons’ view of him: “’It’s just Dad in the garage. How hard can it be?’”

→ Special Thanks

Producer: Bridget Benjamin

Associate producer: Constance Gibbs

Sound engineer: Daniel Jordan

Music composer: Lucas Elliot Eberl

→ Coming Soon

Because of You, John Lewis: A Conversation With Author Andrea Davis Pinkney and U.S. Representative Nikema Williams

It's Summer! Grab a Book! Jun 21, 2022

Show notes

In this episode, we’re spotlighting the Scholastic Summer Reading program. Authors Christina Soontornvat, Kwame Mbalia, Tracey West, and Lauren Tarshis join host Suzanne McCabe to introduce the books they will be sharing with young readers this summer. Lauren offers a sneak peek of her upcoming I Survived The Wellington Avalanche, 1910, which is due out in September.

Later in the episode, Shane Garver, associate vice president of rural education at Save the Children, explains why now—especially now—is the perfect time for kids to grab a book and get lost in a reading adventure. Shane also discusses Save the Children’s pivotal role in getting books into the hands of children in rural America through its partnership with Scholastic. Participants in the Scholastic Summer Reading program can be a part of that mission, helping to unlock a donation of 100,000 books with their reading minutes.

The Summer Reading program will be available through August 19. Students can sign up for stories, games, author events, and other free resources on Home Base.

Resources:

Summer Reading List for 6- to 7-year-olds: Encourage joyful summer reading with these engaging books.

Summer Reading List for 8- to 10-year-olds: Keep kids reading all summer long with these riveting fiction and nonfiction titles.

Top Book Series: Find the perfect summer series for your young readers.

Classic and Contemporary Young Adult Novels: From The Giver to The Fault in Our Stars, this list of 24 classic and modern YA titles will get—and keep—teens reading.

Save the Children: The humanitarian aid organization champions the rights of the world’s 2.3 billion children.

Highlights:

“My memories of the summer are eating blackberries that my grandparents would grow on their farm and then . . . have a big bowl of blackberries and a book, and just nothing else to do. And it was pretty good.”

—Christina Soontornvat, author, Diary of an Ice Princess series

“I want young readers—I want all readers, actually—to be able to pick up this book and just get whisked off onto another adventure.”

—Kwame Mbalia, co-author, Last Gate of the Emperor

“Even as I grew and evolved as a reader, I was always still drawn to children’s fiction. It’s a bit hard to describe why—but I just feel like children’s fiction is [frankly] a lot more fun and allowed me to escape to amazing places.”

—Tracey West, co-author, The Underdogs series

“I was not a reader as a child. I had some big reading struggles. But I do have a wonderful memory of my father reading Winnie the Pooh to my brother and me.”

—Lauren Tarshis, author, I Survived series

“We see this summer as a critical foundation to either catch up and move ahead, or perhaps have the achievement gap widen.”

—Shane Garver, associate vice president of rural education, Save the Children

Special Thanks:

Producer: Bridget Benjamin

Associate producer: Constance Gibbs

Sound engineer: Daniel Jordan

Music composer: Lucas Elliot Eberl

Coming Soon:

Aaron Blabey and The Bad Guys • Because of You, John Lewis

“Be Who You Are” — A Conversation with Alex Gino Jun 09, 2022

Show notes

In this episode, we’re celebrating Pride Month with Alex Gino. Alex is the acclaimed author of several queer and progressive middle grade novels, including Rick, You Don’t Know Everything, Jilly P!, and the newly-released Alice Austen Lived Here.

Alex talks with host Suzanne McCabe about the making of Melissa and the inspiring, real-life story behind Alice Austen Lived Here.

Originally published as George in 2015, Melissa introduces young readers to a transgender girl who yearns to play the role of Charlotte in her school play. The novel won a Lamda Literary Award and a Children’s Choice Book Award, among many other honors. It also was the most-banned book in the United States in 2020.

“As a trans person writing about another trans person, when Melissa’s story is challenged, someone is saying that my existence is too scary, too deviant, too monstrous, to show to children,” Alex says. “It hurts.”

Resources:

Melissa: Alex discusses changing the name of their acclaimed 2015 novel, George.

Books by Alex Gino: Learn more about Alex’s other titles.

Celebrate Pride Month: These 19 novels encourage young people to “read with pride.”

Highlights:

“I didn’t figure out who I was until I was 19, [when] I found the word genderqueer in a book.”

“I have heard so many positive, wonderful stories of people who were able to figure out who they were because they saw Melissa.”

“The book doesn’t make someone trans, but it gives tools for talking about it.”

“I love hearing from adults who say, ‘This is the book I wish I had when I was a kid.’”

“A character in a book can be real in the sense [that] they have thoughts. They have beliefs. You’re inside their mind in a way that you’re often not inside the minds of real people. If my book can help someone respect who’s in the world, that’s invaluable.”

“My book would not have been banned 20 years ago because my book wouldn’t have existed. Something needs to exist, and something needs to be recognized in order to be challenged.”

—Alex Gino, author, Melissa

Special Thanks:

Producer: Bridget Benjamin

Associate producer: Constance Gibbs

Sound engineer: Daniel Jordan

Music composer: Lucas Elliot Eberl

Coming Soon:

Summer Reading • Aaron Blabey and The Bad Guys • Because of You, John Lewis

“Invisible No More” — Celebrating AAPI Month May 24, 2022

Show notes

In this episode, we honor Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month with authors Debbi Michiko Florence and Gita Varadarajan. A former classroom teacher, Debbi is the author of award-winning middle grade novels Keep It Together, Keiko Carter, and Just Be Cool, Jenna Sakai, among several other titles.

Debbi is a third-generation Japanese American, who was born in raised in California. She now lives in Mystic, Connecticut, where her upcoming middle grade novel, Sweet and Sour, is set. She talks with host Suzanne McCabe about Sweet and Sour and the summer romance between characters Mai and Zach.

“All of my books star Japanese American main characters,” Debbi says. “It is such an honor to be able to write from my personal experience and background, but [also] to be able to focus on universal things like friendship and those first-crush feelings.”

Later, Gita talks about her upcoming picture book, My Bindi, illustrated by Archana Sreenivasan. “The bindi in Hindu culture is considered the third eye,” Gita explains. “It looks inward, and it symbolizes strength, your inner strength.”

Gita earned her master’s degree in literacy education at Teachers College at Columbia University. Born and raised in India, she developed a love of storytelling hearing her grandfather weave fantastical tales. She is currently an elementary school teacher in Princeton, New Jersey.

Resources:

Celebrating AAPI Month: Check out these 15 featured titles from Scholastic.

Support AAPI Bookstores: Scholastic has curated a list of 25 Asian American-owned bookstores from coast to coast.

Books by Debbi Michiko Florence: Debbi’s author page on Amazon links to all of her titles for young readers.

Have Lunch With the Authors: Scholastic Book Clubs President Judy Newman interviews authors Sarah Weeks and Gita Varadarajan about Save Me a Seat, their delightful middle-grade novel.

Highlights:

Debbi Michiko Florence, author, Sweet and Sour:

“I was an avid reader, and I loved to write stories, but I never quite connected that being an author could be a career.”

“For me, my middle school years are the most emotionally memorable—big changes and friendships and romantic feelings. So I like to revisit that a lot.”

“I hope that young people who read my books can see themselves in them and their friendships and learn how to treat one another.”

“All of my books star Japanese American main characters. It is such an honor to be able to write from my personal experience and background, but [also] to be able to focus on universal things like friendship and those first-crush feelings.”

Gita Varadarajan, author, My Bindi:

“A story like My Bindi is universal to all kids. ‘Hey, show your authentic self, and be proud of all parts of you….’ When you love yourself, the world will see the beauty in you.”

“As an immigrant, myself, I know firsthand what it feels like to leave your home and move to a new country. It can make you feel lost and unrooted and lonely in so many ways, that you bring little things with you that remind you of home.”

“When we think of Asian Americans, I don’t think we acknowledge the vastness and the breadth of the Asian diaspora and the complexities of the histories of the people and the countries of origin.”

“My hope is that the AAPI community will become more involved in mainstream conversations in America and that our voices and ideas are taken into account as we define who is American.”

Special Thanks:

Producer: Bridget Benjamin

Associate producer: Constance Gibbs

Sound engineer: Daniel Jordan

Music composer: Lucas Elliot Eberl

Coming Soon:

Pride Month: Alex Gino Introduces Melissa • Scholastic Summer Reading • Aaron Blabey and The Bad Guys

Social and Emotional Learning: What Is it and How Can it Help Kids? May 12, 2022

Show notes

During the pandemic, an increasing number of children and adolescents have reported struggling with anxiety and depression. How can we help them process their emotions and get the support they need? In this episode, Dr. Amanda Alexander and Dr. Jose Paez talk with host Suzanne McCabe about the role social and emotional learning (SEL) plays in the classroom and how it can foster the knowledge and skills kids need to thrive. Amanda and Jose also discuss how reading and storytelling can help children and families cope with the higher levels of stress and anxiety many are feeling.

“Across racial lines, across socioeconomic status, folks were dealing with a lot during the pandemic,” Amanda says. “We realized that we needed to tend to our mental health and well-being. The acknowledgement has led to meaningful conversations among educators and parents about the needs of our children.”

Amanda is the Chief Academic Officer at Scholastic, and Jose is a clinical fellow in child and adolescent psychiatry at the Yale Child Study Center. They are part of the Yale Child Study Center – Scholastic Collaborative, a partnership that arose from a shared commitment to exploring how literacy can be used to foster resilience among children and families.

Resources:

Advancing SEL: The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) provides resources to schools and statehouses to promote the understanding of SEL and SEL instruction.

Yale Child Study Center – Scholastic Collab orative: Learn how the Collaborative is developing ways to build child and family resilience.

SEL Resources: The editors of Scholastic Magazines+ have curated worksheets, letter-writing templates, and book recommendations for early-elementary and upper-elementary students.

Social and Emotional Learning Collections: Check out these book collections for primary and elementary school classrooms.

Highlights:

“Isn’t it important for all of us to be aware of ourselves, to be able to manage our emotions, to engage with others, and to make sound decisions?”

—Dr. Amanda Alexander, Chief Academic Officer, Scholastic

“The concept of literacy can also be translated into emotional literacy, helping kids put words to emotions. Books are a great avenue to do that.”

—Dr. Jose Paez, Clinical Fellow, Yale Child Study Center

“America is a democracy, and in a democracy, it’s important for citizens to be educated. We learn by reading books and forming our own opinions about matters and events in the past. That level of interpretation and judgment belongs to the reader as an individual in a democracy. The taking away of books essentially stops that process from happening.”

—Dr. Amanda Alexander, Chief Academic Officer, Scholastic

“I find myself talking about things such as race, gender identity, and sexual orientation a lot more openly and a lot more frequently during my sessions with children and parents alike.”

—Dr. Jose Paez, Clinical Fellow, Yale Child Study Center

Special Thanks:
Producer: Bridget Benjamin
Associate producer: Constance Gibbs
Sound engineer: Daniel Jordan
Music composer: Lucas Elliot Eberl

Coming Soon:

Celebrating AAPI Month With Authors Gita Varadarajan and Debbi Michiko Florence • Author Alex Gino Introduces Melissa • Summer Reading • Aaron Blabey and The Bad Guys