How many times have you read The Bluest Eye by the legendary Toni Morrison, and why is it never enough times? In this episode, we all revisit this literary classic and realize there are several interpretations and layers we missed in previous readings. Like, did you ever consider that Pecola is Jesus and the prostitutes (*ahem* China, Poland and Miss Marie) are the 3 archangels? Neither did we until Heather talked through her religious interpretation. Whether you agree or not, one thing is undeniable, Morrison was an expert writer, deftly weaving in her narrative topics such as community, beauty standards, sexuality, trauma and prejudice in her perfectly lyrical tone. Her works beg to be sat with, processed and dissected. And sometimes it's dissected in all the wrong ways, as it's one of the most commonly banned books. But no worries, we'll always have silent rebels like our guest, Tiana Davis, who read it for the first time in 9th grade despite her school's efforts to ban it.
These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.
With a May 8th birthday, Katniss Everdeen is a Taurus not a Sagittarius (Latin for 'archer') but we challenge you to name a more iconic wielder of bow and arrows in pop culture. It seemed therefore essential that we seek out an expert to talk to us about the venerable art of archery. We connected with Hannah, an analyst who works for the federal government and enjoys both archery and young adult books in her spare time. Not only did we learn about different types of archery, bows, and the difficulty of making arrows but the logistics of pulling from a quiver and just moving with the presence of a long curved 'stick' over your shoulder . You'll never think about running with a bow the same way again. Come for the ranged weapon discussion, stay for the thoughtful discussion of young adult literature and Katniss as character.
These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.
Much like Katniss Everdeen, in this episode we are faced with some very tough choices. Four librarians enter the podcasting studio, only one will leave! Actually no librarian podcasters had to fight to the death during the making of this episode, though we did learn that Darlene would simply opt out of the Hunger Games, so I think we can safely assume she's not library Mockingjay. That's right, we're taking a trip down horrible child fatality memory lane this episode with Suzanne Collins's YA blockbuster, The Hunger Games. We learned a lot about weapons, wound care, and wingmen ('sup, Thresh) as we returned to Panem. We dissect the ambiguous morality of the citizens of the Capitol, rue the author's real struggle with names, and briefly debate Team Peeta vs. Team Gale (or in possibly Heather's worst hot take ever, Team Haymitch).
These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.
We cover a lot of ground in this episode and used some books and articles as jumping off points. Here’s a brief list of some of them if you want to do your own further research:
Suzanne Collins revisits the Games: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/18/books/suzanne-collins-talks-about-the-hunger-games-the-books-and-the-movies.html
Feminism and The Hunger Games (note, this is a thesis and long but intriguing!): https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1126&context=etds
In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, we're revisiting some of our favorite episodes! To close out HHM, here's How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez. If you missed this episode the first time around, it's back with some bonus recommendations for readalikes.
This episode we dive into Julia Alvarez's How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents, the 1991 reverse chronology story of four sisters who flee to the United States from the Trujillo regime in the Dominican Republic. As we look through Yolanda's eyes at the world of New York City and the Dominican Republic in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, we dissect Alvarez's depiction of class, race, acculturation, and machismo. We delve into the dynamics of sisterhood, boyfriends with ludicrous names, the ubiquity of certain aspects of adolescence, and complicated families. We also learn that some of us are Sandies but some of us are Lauras. Finally, we are taking it to the streets, er... stacks, with our new Person in the Stacks segment and asking what tastes like home.
These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.
In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, we're revisiting some of our favorite episodes! First up is The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. If you missed this episode the first time around, it's back with some bonus recommendations for readalikes.
In this episode, we're spending time with Esperanza Cordero, her family, friends, and neighbors from 1984's groundbreaking novel, The House on Mango Street. This paragon of the Chicano/a literary canon challenges us to define it - is it a novel, a novella, an epic poem - and has itself been the subject of frequent challenges for its unflinching look at the lives and loves of its characters. We discuss scary nuns, high heels, uncles who just want to dance (or uncles who don't want Hawa to dance), and the hardships and joys of womanhood as we explore this classic work by Sandra Cisneros. We also chat with Professor Randy Ontiveros about the importance of the book to Chicano/a literature.
These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.
We had such a good experience with Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret. that we decided to go back to the Judy Blume well as a palate cleanser of sorts post-Sisterhood. Well, you know how it's really gross when you drink orange juice when you were expecting milk? That was sort of how using Blubber as a palate cleanser went. This book was just not what we remembered or what we were expecting. We explored the bullying hellscape that is Ms. Minnish's 5th grade classroom as we tried to suss out the message of the book. We talk about the Blume to horror pipeline, learn about Hawa's hatred of celery and mint, and share our own childhood memories but nothing quite compares to the nightmare that is poor Linda's life in this book.
These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.
We mentioned a lot of topics in this episode. Here’s a brief list of some informative articles and videos about some of them if you want to do your own further research:
Diet fads over time: https://www.harpersbazaar.com/beauty/diet-fitness/g15893190/popular-diet-the-year-you-were-born/
Judy Blume on censorship: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jul/11/judy-blume-interview-forever-writer-children-young-adults
We couldn't decide what genre A Wrinkle in Time was but we definitely considered science fiction. To further explore our genre-confusion, we decided to talk to an expert about the actual math and science in A Wrinkle in Time. Is it fuzzy math? Is it fantasy? Is breathing flowers in an oxygen starved atmosphere really just a 1960s fever dream? We find out when we talk to Dr. Mike Duncan, an optical physicist with decades of experience and a personal connection to our book.
These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.
We're no strangers to books with religious overtones or stories meant to impart a moral lesson, but this episode's journey to Camazotz with Madeleine L'Engle's classic work A Wrinkle in Time is definitely the most overtly religious book we've tackled. Jesus, Charles Wallace... or Jesus= Charles Wallace? We're not entirely sure. We're also not entirely sure if our extreme irritation with a 5 year old makes us terrible people. This book is a straight up romp where plot is concerned, but we lose the signal a bit with what the author is saying about gender roles, the nature of evil, faith, physics, and the world. We're discussing all things Who, Which and Whatsit, tesseracts, pulsating brains, and soft fluffy beasts to try to figure it out though!
These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.
We mentioned a lot of topics in this episode. Here’s a brief list of some informative articles and videos about some of them if you want to do your own further research:
The enduring impact of the book: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/remarkable-influence-wrinkle-in-time-180967509/
A remarkable journey: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2007/09/rereading-madeleine-l-engle.html
Sci-fi or no?: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/66705/how-wrinkle-time-changed-sci-fi-forever
This is now officially an Ann M. Martin stan podcast. Ok, maybe not since our loyalties are divided between the many great authors we've revisited, but we are firmly team Ann. This episode we embark on our long-awaited journey into The Baby-Sitters Club. We are beginning at the only possible starting point: Kristy Thomas. We are tackling Kristy's Great Idea and Kristy's Big Day. Are you a Claudia or a Mary Anne? Maybe we were all just Claudia all along. These books explore feminism, demonstrate the value of a solid business plan, and offer some really weird takes on juvenile diabetes. We learn how many adults it takes to make an appetizer, discuss deadbeat dads and decorum, and unexpectedly uncover a potential bombshell about the CEO of a hot cocoa conglomerate during our Person in the Stacks segments.
These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.
We mentioned a lot of topics in this episode. Here’s a brief list of some informative articles and videos about some of them if you want to do your own further research:
Feminism in the BSC: https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-feminist-legacy-of-the-baby-sitters-club
Representation in the BSC: https://bookriot.com/queer-history-of-the-baby-sitters-club/
All those original covers: https://the-niche.blog/2020/09/09/all-131-baby-sitters-club-book-covers-ranked-by-gayness/
These Books Made Me... kind of upset to be honest. This week we're tackling local-at-one-point author Ann Brashares and her homage to pretty much everything that was wrong about the late 90s, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. This episode has everything: a book with casual racism in the second paragraph, really dodgy hygiene practices, flirting with your stepbrother, a love story that takes place internationally because it would have been illegal in the US, a heartbreaking cancer death, and more body image issues than Seventeen magazine.
These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.
We cover a lot of ground in this episode and used some books and articles as jumping off points. Here’s a brief list of some of them if you want to do your own further research:
It was tough having a body in the late 90s!
https://annehelen.substack.com/p/the-millennial-vernacular-of-fatphobia
The OG Traveling Pants:
https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/04/the-worlds-oldest-pants-are-a-3000-year-old-engineering-marvel/
Please wash your pants (especially jeans you share with your friends for a whole summer)!
https://www.vice.com/en/article/pg5b3n/how-many-days-can-you-wear-the-same-pair-of-underwear
We're back with part 2 of Anne of Green Gables, because we, like Anne, can talk the hind leg off a mule. Anne's a capital R Romantic and obsessed with beauty. She sees it everywhere from the Lake of Shining Waters to the fashion of the day. Speaking of the fashion a la mode, we delve a little deeper into the trends and beauty standards of Anne's (and Lucy Maud Montgomery's) time. Once again we ponder whether the 1985 Sullivan rendition might have improved the story a bit by abandoning the bank failure storyline and having (spoiler) Matthew die in the harness as it were. We're all a little traumatized by film Matthew's death and at least one of us is still heartbroken over Jonathan Crombie's death. All of us are quite torn about which adult in Anne's life would make the best adoptive parent and we chat with some library users about their own adventures with runaway imaginations. We learn which character from the book we each are too. Will this quiz be a perfect graveyard of buried hopes?
These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.
We cover a lot of ground in this episode and used some books and articles as jumping off points. Here’s a brief list of some of them if you want to do your own further research:
Don't internalize beauty norms, Anne! https://misfortuneofknowing.wordpress.com/2014/02/27/dear-anne-shirley-redheads-can-wear-pink-2/
She's always a woman to me... https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=gsw_pub
Passing that Bechdel test with flying colors: https://digitalrepository.trincoll.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1522&context=theses
This podcast crew has so much in common with the heroine of Lucy Maud Montgomery's classic, Anne of Green Gables. We too prattle on incessantly, have ill-advised adventures in hair dyeing, and we're big in Japan... one might say we're kindred spirits. In this episode we take a turn down the White Way of Delight and visit Avonlea as we return to a book that's an absolute mashed potatoes of a book for some of us. We discuss place as character, try to decipher Rachel Lynde's interesting brand of feminism, rhapsodize over the magic of childhood, and delve into the stigma faced by both orphans and redheads in the 19th century. We adore LMM's vivid landscape descriptions and economical writing, but we wonder if the 1985 Sullivan adaptation didn't improve Anne's puffed sleeve dress a bit by making it blue instead of... brown?!?
These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.
We cover a lot of ground in this episode and used some books and articles as jumping off points. Here’s a brief list of some of them if you want to do your own further research:
Make it Fashion! (Anne edition) https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1880-1889/
You're sick? How Romantic! https://hms.harvard.edu/magazine/handed-down/fever-dreams
The Edwardian era: https://www.anneofgreengables.com/blog-posts/the-edwardian-era-and-anne-of-green-gables
Barnardo's Boys:
https://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2015/06/19/a-timeline-of-barnardos-and-other-child-emigration-programs.html
We discussed at length about Jane Austen's most famous novel, "Pride & Prejudice" (in 2 parts!). But in case you still had a taste for more Jane Austen content, we've included an expert interview with Ingrid Satelmajer, a professor at the University of Maryland, who has taught a class called titled, "Jane Austen: Her World, Our Obsession". She discusses Austen's enduring legacy, what makes Elizabeth such a compelling protagonist, and how her students have engaged with Austen in a more modern setting.
These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.
We're back with part the second of our journey to Netherfield and Pemberley with the Bennet family. We delve into Lizzie as a character, whether Mr. Darcy really was in want of a wife, and who really got the short end of the stick in the Lydia and Wickham union. We discuss the long reach of Austen's works and marvel at her incredible skill for writing snappy dialogue. Most of us are hoisted with our own petard when all the shade we threw at Mr. Bennet comes back to bite us in a truly tragic quiz.
These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit out blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.
This episode we are taking a leisurely stroll through the gentle hills of Hertfordshire and the genteel romances of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. We're talking classics, love-hate relationships, £5,000 bachelors, loveless marriages, Mr. Bennet's zingers, and the cost of living index in Regency period England. Our most subplot-laden book yet produces our most complicated plot summary and we marvel at how Jane Austen kept all of these threads together without major editorial help. We have so much to say about Lizzie and Darcy and this very important book that we are breaking this episode into two parts. Just as you can love both Colin Firth and Matthew MacFayden's Mr. Darcy, so too can you love episodes 1 and 2 of our very chatty dance with Pride and Prejudice.
These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit out blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.
We cover a lot of ground in this episode. If you'd like to learn more about some of the topics we touch on, here's some links you might enjoy:
The crunchiest economic explanation of money in Pride and Prejudice we could find! https://jasna.org/publications-2/persuasions-online/vol36no1/toran/
The complicated Cassandra Austen: https://lithub.com/cassandra-austen-literary-arsonist-or-a-heroine-in-her-own-right/
This episode finds us in the ambiguously located town of River Heights with teen sleuth, Nancy Drew. The Nancy series has mega intergenerational nostalgia vibes for a lot of us —that row of yellow spines on a shelf transports many of us straight back to childhood. But revisiting our Nancy-love by starting with book 1, The Secret of the Old Clock, produces some mixed emotions. Where are Bess and George? Why is Nancy blonde, wasn't she Titian-haired? While we may have been fuzzy on some of the details, Nancy's escapades are still a pretty wild romp. She's saving babies with massive head injuries, chasing a violent gang of thieves, helping little old ladies, and benefitting from all sorts of violations of attorney-client privilege. This book has everything... missing wills, two tragic boating accidents, a ripped evening gown, and a Euclidean lever. This episode has everything too... more sound effects, The Stratemeyer Syndicate, legal opinions, and a major spoiler for our next episode.
These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit out blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.
Midred Benson: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/adventurous-writer-who-brought-Nancy-Drew-to-life-180969479/
Changes from the 30s to the 50s revision: https://library.csun.edu/SCA/Peek-in-the-Stacks/nancy-drew
If the foundation is a lie, is anything real? This episode we look at identity, trust, and family as we dive into Angela Johnson's award winning book, Heaven. Marley's world is turned upside down when she learns that nothing is what it seems and her (spoiler alert) uncle is really her dad and the people who raised her are really her aunt and uncle. All in all, it's a real doozy of a revelation for anyone, much less a child. In this episode we try to figure out what the heck is going on with Shuggy Maple and bemoan some pretty poor editing when it comes to Shuggy's mom's name. We are perplexed by Uncle Jack and wonder whether he has taken hobocore a little too far. We ponder why on earth a 14 year old girl is allowed to go daytripping with a 20 year old man and try to figure out a seemingly dodgy child support situation. We also really wish people still wrote love letters —the pen and paper kind, not the slide into my DMs kind.
These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.
We mentioned a lot of topics in this episode. Here’s a brief list of some informative articles and videos about some of them if you want to do your own further research:
Kinship adoptions: https://adoptioncouncil.org/publications/the-hidden-hurdles-and-benefits-of-kinship-care-and-adoption/
Angela Johnson interview: https://www.ohiochannel.org/video/an-interview-with-ohio-author-angela-johnson
We are traipsing through the land of Kyria this week on our unnecessarily teeny tiny feet as we revisit Gail Carson Levine's Newbery Honor book Ella Enchanted. Poor Ella of Frell has been cursed with the "gift" of obedience in this reimagining of the Cinderella story. We try to decipher the moral of the story, debate the rules and regulations of "small magic," and rue that Ella is really lacking in wokeness. Teresa laments the Shrekification of Ella Enchanted in the movie adaptation of the book, and we explore the not-like-other-girls trope, which leads to a startling not-like-other-girls declaration from Marisa.
These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit out blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.
We mentioned a lot of topics in this episode. Here's a brief list of some of them if you want to do your own further research:
Gail Carson Levine talks to Cynthia Leitich Smith: https://cynthialeitichsmith.com/lit-resources/read/authors/interviews/gailcarsonlevine/
Issues in adaptation: https://screenrant.com/ella-enchanted-film-book-comparison/
Fairytale retellings: https://bookriot.com/fairytale-retellings/
Neil Gaiman gave us a children's fantasy horror book for the ages with Coraline, which follows its titular character through a dark adventure like no other complete with performing mice, human-like creatures with buttons for eyes, a talking cat and a humanoid arachnid soul-stealing witch. In this episode we discuss Gaiman's penchant for borrowing from classic children's literature, his quotability and his deft ability at sneaking in life lessons (dad-isms) without having his work feel moralizing. One of our hosts also makes the ultimate faux pas ('It's Coraline, not Caroline. Coraline.').
These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.
We mentioned a lot of topics in this episode. Here’s a brief list of some informative articles about some of them if you want to do your own further research:
Neil Gaiman on libraries: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/oct/15/neil-gaiman-future-libraries-reading-daydreaming
Neil Gaiman on fear and scary stories: https://www.themarginalian.org/2014/03/20/neil-gaiman-ghost-stories/
We are back for season 3 with a coming of age story told in reverse. This episode we dive into Julia Alvarez's How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents, the 1991 reverse chronology story of four sisters who flee to the United States from the Trujillo regime in the Dominican Republic. As we look through Yolanda's eyes at the world of New York City and the Dominican Republic in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, we dissect Alvarez's depiction of class, race, acculturation, and machismo. We delve into the dynamics of sisterhood, boyfriends with ludicrous names, the ubiquity of certain aspects of adolescence, and complicated families. We also learn that some of us are Sandies but some of us are Lauras. Finally, we are taking it to the streets, er... stacks, with our new Person in the Stacks segment and asking what tastes like home.
These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.
We mentioned a lot of topics in this episode. Here’s a brief list of some informative articles about some of them if you want to do your own further research:
Rafael Trujillo: https://www.biography.com/dictator/rafael-trujillo
The Parsley Massacre: https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2017/10/07/555871670/80-years-on-dominicans-and-haitians-revisit-painful-memories-of-parsley-massacre
Which Garcia Girl are you? https://www.buzzfeed.com/thesebooksmademe/which-garcia-girl-are-you-78z2e2u4rp
The Westing Game gave young readers a layered and complex mystery to solve and gave Ellen Raskin a Newbery medal. In this episode we discuss our heroine, Turtle Wexler, and her 15 fellow players in the Westing Game, and appreciate how richly drawn the characters are (except for Theo) in a book that is jam packed with main characters. We examine the themes of personal growth, being true to yourself, and found family. We try to decipher the true message of the book and debate whether the book is a paean to capitalism or low key progressive. And, in a These Books Made Me first, we give plaudits for excellence in editorial work after being impressed by the tightly written and totally cohesive puzzle that is Sam Westing's game.
These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.
We cover a lot of ground in this episode and used some articles and websites as jumping off points. Here’s a brief list of some of them if you want to do your own further research:
Capitalist or no? https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-westing-game-a-tribute-to-labor-that-became-a-dark-comedy-of-american-capitalism
The Westing Game online exhibit: https://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/the-westing-game-manuscript/
The Cover Art of Ellen Raskin: https://www.flickr.com/photos/crossettlibrary/albums/72157624916884152
Marjane Satrapi's groundbreaking graphic memoir Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood chronicles the life of a young girl growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. In this episode we discuss the experience of reading graphic novels, the impact of Satrapi's illustration style, and the importance of this work in establishing non-serialized graphics as a legitimate genre of literature. We look at class, religion, and cultural memory through the eyes of Marji and wonder about Marjane's intended audience and how well the book resonates for readers who don't have pre-existing knowledge of Iranian history and culture (spoiler - it hits!). We consult with an Iranian-American millennial about the impact of the book in that community and we play a round of "name that tune" with some of the songs of Marji's childhood.
These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.
We mentioned a lot of topics in this episode. Here’s a brief list of some informative articles about some of them if you want to do your own further research:
Emma Watson interviews Marjane Satrapi: https://www.vogue.com/article/emma-watson-interviews-marjane-satrapi
Women and the Islamic Revolution: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/reconstructed-lives-women-and-irans-islamic-revolution
Satrapi interview about the film version of the book: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/mar/29/biography
This episode finds us in the brutal halls of middle school with Maleeka Madison, a 12 year old girl struggling with self-esteem, peer pressure, and grief in Sharon Flake's The Skin I'm In. Flake's almost 25 year old award winning book takes a hard look at colorism, the burden of low expectations, and the importance of teachers who want to be in their classrooms and in their school communities. We discuss how casually cruel middle schoolers can be to each other, skewed power dynamics in friendships, and cycles of grief and trauma. We also try to figure out just how meta the message about the power of stories and the written word is in this book. Special guest Alicia D. Williams joins us to discuss her own writing about colorism and we use a game of MASH to predict Maleeka's future.
These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.
We mentioned a lot of topics in this episode. Here’s a brief list of some informative articles about some of them if you want to do your own further research:
Notes from the field - non-traditional route to classroom experiences: https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2013/09/i-quit-teach-for-america/279724/
Talking colorism with kids:
https://colorismhealing.com/brief-introduction-colorism-children-young-adults/
E.L. Konigsburg's From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler has endured on library shelves as many older Newbery books often do. In this episode we talk about whether the 1967 mystery cum adventure story still earns that spot on the shelf. We discuss Claudia Kincaid as a role model and possible queer feminist icon and also have a lot of feelings about the Met's admission policies. We look at epistolary writing style, parentless child tropes, and discuss whether inflation and technology have ruined madcap children's adventures. We also consult an expert who has served on the Newbery Award committee and Audrey and Kelsey fight over a Face Vase.
These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.
We cover a lot of ground in this episode and used some books and articles as jumping off points. Here’s a brief list of some of them if you want to do your own further research:
The Met's not free anymore: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/04/arts/design/met-museum-admissions.html
Great garage sale finds: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/618643/amazing-yard-sale-finds
What happened to automats?: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/automat-history
In this episode we are diving into one of the books in the comprehensive Alice series (25 books!) by children's literature paragon Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. Alice in April covers one very dramatic month in the life of Alice McKinley. Journey with us and Alice through the awkwardness of middle school, complete with inappropriate nicknaming and sick burns about genitalia. We discuss some of the tough topics contained in this book, including death of a parent, child abuse, and suicide. While there are some heavy topics in the book, we also explore some lighter subjects and find out that one of our hosts retained virtually nothing from social studies class and another has a history of wearing lingerie over her clothes instead of under. We consult an expert on the state of Wyoming to find out why being named Wyoming might be a real compliment.
These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.
We cover some tough topics in this episode and in lieu of links to articles, we'd like to share some resources for anyone who needs them:
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ 1-800-273-8255
Childhelp Hotline: https://childhelphotline.org/ 1-800-422-4453
National Runaway Safeline: https://www.1800runaway.org/ 1-800-RUNAWAY
Beverly Cleary's many books for young readers have endured the decades with her boisterous heroine Ramona Quimby remaining a perennial favorite for both parents and children. In this episode we examine the original bookends of the Ramona books, beginning with Beezus and Ramona and ending with Ramona Forever. We discuss being the eldest child, the most beautiful doll names, the perils of returning damaged library books, and dead cats. We also tackle the topic of sibling dynamics by consulting some true experts, our own siblings.
These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.
We cover a lot of ground in this episode and used some books and articles as jumping off points. Here’s a brief list of some of them if you want to do your own further research:
Historical pregnancy weight gain recommendations: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK235249/
Beverly Cleary:
https://www.readingrockets.org/books/interviews/cleary
Birth order theory:
https://www.webmd.com/parenting/what-to-know-about-birth-order#:~:text=A%20researcher%20named%20Alfred%20Adler,in%20shaping%20a%20child's%20personality.
Many of us vividly remembered Their Eyes Were Watching God as the book where a person gets rabies and is shot. Tea Cake's demise left us with so many questions so Hannah consulted experts Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy, the authors of Rabid: A Cultural History of the World's Most Diabolical Virus. They gave us such a fascinating interview that we couldn't bear to cut any of it to fit it into the main episode. We present the interview in its entirety here for your listening pleasure (or discomfort depending on how you feel about rabies).
Zora Neale Hurston may have been unappreciated as an author during her lifetime, but Their Eyes Were Watching God was eventually rediscovered and has endured as a classic for the past several decades. We explore the life and loves of Janie Crawford and her impact as a heroine. Our hosts discuss gender roles, the complex nature of romantic love, and unfortunate decisions during natural disasters. We delve into the rather polarizing use of dialect in the book and everyone learns which TEWWG character they are. We are also privileged to speak with an expert interpreter of Janie's story, songstress Tamara Wellons.
These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.
We cover a lot of ground in this episode. If you'd like to learn more about some of the topics we touch on, here's some links you might enjoy:
Voices of African American Female Authors: https://www.pbs.org/speak/seatosea/powerprose/hurston/#9
Tamara Wellons sings Songs for Janie:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QofU4KDIIaA&feature=emb_title
Dialect in TEWWG:
https://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plans/their-eyes-were-watching-god-folk-speech-and-figurative-language
Judy Blume didn't intend to write one of the most frequently challenged and banned books of all time when she penned Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. She just wanted to write a book that captured the trials and tribulations of adolescence, complete with girl talk about bras, periods, and boys. We wonder why the pretty tame discussion of puberty, and a storyline about an agnostic 12 year old figuring out her relationship with God, organized religion, and her family, continues to scandalize Americans who just keep challenging the book into the ALA Most Frequently Challenged lists every decade. We deconstruct whether the book holds up 50 years later and try to figure out just why feminine hygiene products still give some folks the vapors. We learn about some pervasive myths about periods, play historical women's health trivia, and chat with a Peer Educator about the importance of quality sexual education for adolescents.
These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.
We cover a lot of ground in this episode and used some books and articles as jumping off points. Here’s a brief list of some of them if you want to do your own further research:
- Judy Blume as accidental Censorship Fighting Firebrand: https://jwa.org/thisweek/feb/12/1938/this-week-in-history-author-and-anti-censorship-advocate-judy-blume-is-born
- Updated depiction of feminine hygiene products in the book: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/article/2007/08/16/honoring-teens-sexual-reality-judy-blume/
- Feminine products over the years: https://www.si.edu/spotlight/health-hygiene-and-beauty/feminine-hygiene-products
We're spending time with Esperanza Cordero, her family, friends, and neighbors from 1984's groundbreaking novel, The House on Mango Street. This paragon of the Chicano/a literary canon challenges us to define it - is it a novel, a novella, an epic poem - and has itself been the subject of frequent challenges for its unflinching look at the lives and loves of its characters. We discuss scary nuns, high heels, uncles who just want to dance (or uncles who don't want Hawa to dance), and the hardships and joys of womanhood as we explore this classic work by Sandra Cisneros. We also chat with Professor Randy Ontiveros about the importance of the book to Chicano/a literature.
These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.
We mentioned a lot of topics in this episode. Here’s a brief list of some informative articles about some of them if you want to do your own further research:
The Chicano Literary Movement:
https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/chicano-literary-renaissance
Intersectional Feminism:
https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2020/6/explainer-intersectional-feminism-what-it-means-and-why-it-matters
Noted Sagittarius and author Tamora Pierce brought us the groundbreaking, gender norm defying Alanna: The First Adventure in 1983. The book ended up being a formative text and gateway sword-and-sorcery fantasy work for many of us. Alanna was a Strong Female Protagonist for young adults before the Strong Female Protagonist conversation was a thing. Headstrong, improbably purple-eyed Alanna is determined to be a knight although girl knights are not allowed are in the Kingdom of Tortall, and nothing will stand in her way, not the rigors of knighthood training ( which involves far more homework than you'd expect), not a steady stream of bullies & villains, and not even puberty, the greatest villain of them all.
We discuss Alanna's internalized misogyny, magic swords, and the Tortellian class structures that went over our heads as young readers as we revisit (or visit for the first time in Kelsey's case) the technicolor, Errol Flynn-esque world of the first installment in the Song of Lioness Quartet.
Some links for additional reading:
https://www.themarysue.com/tamora-pierce-alanna-gender-fluid/
https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/tamora-pierce-interview
https://ejournal.unesa.ac.id/index.php/litera-kultura/article/view/28658/26235
We are back with part 2 of our foray into the world of Sailor Moon. In this episode we will discuss romanticism, Usagi's leadership style, the male gaze in Sailor Moon, and how much of a downer it would be to outlive everyone you love.
These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.
Moon prism power, make up! This week we have both new and familiar voices transporting us to the world of Usagi Tsukino as we dive into manga for the first time with Sailor Moon. The iconic series by Naoko Takeuchi is perhaps the most widely beloved example of shojo manga and both the print and anime versions are standards in the 90's Girl Power canon. In this episode we talk about everything from the magical girl trope, those outfits, censorship, and moon rabbits.
These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.
We mentioned a lot of topics and articles in this episode. Here’s a brief list of some of them if you want to do your own further research:
Shojo manga: https://www.jappleng.com/culture/articles/anime-manga/117/what-is-shoujo-shojo-genre-anime
Magical Girl genre: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MagicalGirl
Moon rabbits: https://www.bokksu.com/blogs/news/japanese-folktale-rabbit-on-the-moon
Beautiful Fighting Girls: http://www.jstor.org/stable/26401943
It's a store! It's a bistro for dolls! It's a rose-colored fever dream! It's our field trip to the American Girl Cafe at Tysons Corner! Journey with us through the strange world of the American Girl Cafe. Only in the AG Cafe can you simultaneously feel like a small child and also incredibly old. We explore a plethora of dolls and accessories, ask just what it means to be an American Girl, and contemplate the viability of taking a date to the American Girl Cafe. While we all pined for the AG x Stoney Clover Lane swag, we were a little concerned by coffin cases, dolls trapped in glass, and a game that heckled us. It's the American Girl Cafe where there are surprises (and mozzarella sticks) around every corner!
These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.
Earlier this season we discussed the Roald Dahl classic “Matilda.” The episode’s expert interview, Maggie Peterson from the College of Education at the University of Maryland, was too delightful not to be heard in full. Dr. Peterson speaks on her experience as an educator, impressions of Matilda, schoolyard tropes, and what makes great literature. Enjoy the extended cut of this insightful interview!
These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.
These Books Made Me... scared? This week's bonus episode explores the scary side of literature. From Goosebumps to fairy tales to straight up horror, we take a look at the books that haunt us. We discuss horror as a genre and try to identify why it often appeals to women not only as readers, but also as writers. We reminisce about our own creepy encounters with books and get some listeners to chime in with their favorite scary stories. Jelan even created a spooky remix of the theme song!
These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.
This episode marks our final foray into the American Girliverse and our season 1 finale. We delve into the world of Josefina Montoya, our most introverted girl to date, but possibly the most resourceful. There is a piano disaster (and subsequent miraculous piano healing), a rattlesnake attack (and subsequent semi-miraculous healing), a deceased parent, a deceased goat, and a kind of squicky wedding. We discuss the great blanket gambit of 1824 and decide we may need to rebrand as a Tia Dolores stan account. Josefina introduces us to Florecita, truly the GOAT goat, whose passing we mourn to this day. We reminisce about our own families and traditions as we examine some of the Mexican roots of this series, from language to food to enigmatic musical fathers. We are also joined by a very special expert, Professor Tey Diana Rebolledo, who served on the AG advisory committee and has fascinating insights into the creation and legacy of Josefina.
These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.
We mentioned a lot of topics and articles in this episode. Here’s a brief list of some of them if you want to do your own further research:
Curanderismo: https://www.calhealthreport.org/2013/05/15/curanderismo-is-alive-and-well-in-america/
History of fiber arts and textiles in New Mexico: https://www.newmexico.org/blog/post/the-colorful-history-of-fiber-arts-in-new-mexico/
Rio Grande blankets and weaving history:
http://www.chimayoweavers.com/HIST.html
https://jamescomptongallery.com/rio-grande-blankets/
Yucca, not yuca (don't eat this kind): https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=YUEL
On we trek through the American Girls canon as we journey through Addy Walker's world. We explore the formation of the Addy advisory committee, Connie Porter's writing style, and the way the series presents slavery and the Civil War time period to children. We discuss how this Harriet also might be a sociopath and how colorism is depicted in the text and in the illustrations, with a sidebar about the controversy surrounding the Addy illustrators and their work. All of us want to wear Addy's Christmas dress, reminisce about double dutch, and wish we could give poor Sarah (who deserved a spinoff!) a hug. Once again we have some real questions about AG chronologies and the economy of spool puppets. We also talk about the impact of Addy and just how revolutionary the Addy doll's textured hair was. Sadly, we also discover that none of us are all that great at spelling bees. We are joined by a very special guest who is foundational to the creation of Addy Walker and her story.
These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.
We mentioned a lot of topics and articles in this episode. Here’s a brief list of some of them if you want to do your own further research:
Links:
The Creation of Addy Walker: https://slate.com/culture/2016/09/the-making-of-addy-walker-american-girls-first-black-doll.html
Connie Porter: https://iridescentwomen.com/2020/02/28/connie-porter-on-writing-the-american-girl-collection-series-addy/
Addy's Hair: https://www.salon.com/2021/05/15/we-were-american-girls-what-addy-taught-me-about-black-hair-freedom-and-myself/
Spelling bee words:https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/08/us/spelling-bee-words.html
We are diving back into the American Girl canon with Felicity Merriman. Felicity was a second wave American Girl and infamous horse thief. We learn about the author of the original six Felicity books (as well as several of our previous AG books), Valerie Tripp, and wonder whether the gender roles focus in the Felicity books is particularly successful or just kind of confusing. In this episode, we tackle some big issues with the framing of slavery and plantation life in both the fiction and non-fiction parts of the book. We also learn that Kelsey doesn't believe in animal best friends and that Hannah has some grave concerns about what happened to Posey the lamb. We debate whether Ben really has what it takes to make it as a soldier, Ella explores Felicity's historically inaccurate hair and suggests some improvements, and everyone learns that nobody's getting jiggy with it in debtor's prison. We'll also horse around with our community expert, Tara Roberts, who has some insights about that Felicity and Penny relationship.
These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.
We mentioned a lot of topics and articles in this episode. Here’s a brief list of some of them if you want to do your own further research:
Isaac and the Role of Black Soldiers in the Revolutionary War
https://www.army.mil/article/97705/black_soldiers_in_the_revolutionary_war
Debtors' Prisons
https://www.thegazette.co.uk/all-notices/content/100938
Notable Housewives
https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/women-in-colonial-virginia/
Horses in Felicity
https://www.polygon.com/2020/11/23/21583105/real-horseback-riding-books-american-girl-meet-felicity
The Many Faces of Felicity
https://dandridgehousedolls.com/2019/06/27/felicity-through-the-years/
We take a break from the American Girls (in more ways than one!) this week to discuss a British childhood classic of both page and screen, Roald Dahl's "Matilda". Matilda is a quintessential bookworm who uses her unmatched smarts and special powers to triumph over her less than ideal surroundings dominated by neglectful and at times abusive adults. In this episode, Hannah, Kelsey, and special guest/Matilda enthusiast Sarah discuss the eternal art vs. the artist debate, examine the various tropes of womanhood present, and *gasp* - consider whether the movie might be better than the book?! We also talk to Dr. Margaret Peterson from the College of Education at the University of Maryland about the depiction of teachers in children's literature.
These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.
We mentioned a lot of topics and articles in this episode. Here’s a brief list of some of them if you want to do your own further research:
Roald Dahl Family Apology for Anti-Semitic comments: https://www.roalddahl.com/global/rdsc-and-family-notice
Analysis of anti-semitism in Roald Dahl's works and personal life: https://time.com/5937507/roald-dahl-anti-semitism/
Racism in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: https://www.processhistory.org/yacovone-dahl-racism/4/
Roald Dahl's life: https://theculturetrip.com/europe/united-kingdom/wales/articles/the-story-of-roald-dahl/
Nell Stevens article that Kelsey cites re: at vs. artist debate: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/sep/10/should-we-stop-reading-authors-lives-books-vs-naipaul?CMP=twt_books_b-gdnbooks
Vox article about art and artists: https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/10/11/17933686/me-too-separating-artist-art-johnny-depp-woody-allen-michael-jackson-louis-ck
Arguing that kids SHOULD read things that scare them: https://www.booktrust.org.uk/news-and-features/features/2019/february/fear-with-a-safety-net-why-children-should-read-scary-books/
Some things actually just straight up go over kids heads. https://www.bustle.com/articles/177023-why-matilda-was-more-messed-up-than-your-childhood-self-realized
But not everything, which is why parent’s discretion is always suggested.
We delve ever deeper into the OG American Girl canon as we explore the pranktastic world of Molly McIntire. We try to decipher the strange recurring chronologies of American Girl books and discuss the highs and lows of the first six Molly books. In this episode we examine the books' decidedly Midwestern-nice spin on World War II complete with casseroles, Victory Gardens, turnip emojis and never-mentioned Nazis. Ella takes us on a spectacle-ular dive into Molly's (or possibly Chekov's) glasses, we struggle with the take home lessons of Molly's glow up, and we ask some hard questions about the serious liability issues at Camp Gowonagin. Additionally, we take a side trip to discuss the book Molly Takes Flight with women's aviation history expert Lauren Deutsch from the College Park Aviation Museum.
These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.
We mentioned a lot of topics in this episode. Here’s a brief list of some informative articles about some of them if you want to do your own further research:
Hula as culture, not costume:
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/cultural-appropriation-halloween-costume-video
Evacuations of British children during WWII:
https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/articles/the-evacuation-of-children-during-the-second-world-war/
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/forgotten-wolf-children-world-war-ii
Rationing and victory gardens:
https://www.history.com/news/americas-patriotic-victory-gardens
We continue our journey through the American Girl book series with Samantha Parkington. Samantha was one of the AG OGs and was released as one of the original three characters in the Pleasant Company catalog. We learn a bit about doll manufacturing and discuss Samantha's first six books and their historical and literary merits. In this episode, we will explore how American Girl frames feminism, suffrage, child labor and questionable interior decorating choices. Kelsey makes a startling disclosure of Munchausen's by doll violence and we are flummoxed by mysterious pregnancies and chronological discrepancies in the American Girl books. We'll also chat with a community expert, Laurie Lemieux of Proteus Bicycles and Brews, to get her take on Samantha's bicycling mishaps and the history of women in cycling.
These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.
We mentioned a lot of topics in this episode. Here’s a brief list of some informative articles about some of them if you want to do your own further research:
American Girl doll manufacturing information: https://americangirl.fandom.com/wiki/Classic_Mold and https://americangirl.fandom.com/wiki/Pre-Mattel_Dolls
The Manners of the Edwardian Era: https://driehausmuseum.org/blog/view/the-manners-of-the-edwardian-era
What Is the Difference Between Edwardian & Victorian Eras?: https://classroom.synonym.com/difference-between-edwardian-victorian-eras-23230.htm
Child Labor in the United States: https://laborcenter.uiowa.edu/special-projects/child-labor-public-education-project/about-child-labor/child-labor-us-history
We begin our first foray into the world of juvenile chapter series and the American Girls specifically with the young Swedish immigrant Kirsten Larson. Kirsten was one of the original three dolls released by Pleasant Company, the company that first created American Girl, and in this episode we cover all six - yes, that's right six - books in Kirsten's original series. In this episode, our hosts explore the not-so-great representation of indigenous people, expose the great doll conspiracy baked into the books, and ask whether Kirsten was really quite sorry enough for [spoiler alert] BURNING DOWN HER WHOLE HOUSE. And the bees thing. Plus, our community expert, Dr. Amy Klion of the National Institutes of Health, tells us just how accurate the cholera scene that traumatized all of us as children really was.
These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.
We mentioned a lot of topics and articles in this episode. Here’s a brief list of some of them if you want to do your own further research:
Minnesota Historical Society, for more information about Minnesota's history: https://www.mnhs.org/
Information about the two tribes who lived on what is now called Minnesota: https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Indigenous_Peoples_of_Minnesota#:~:text=Two%20major%20Native%20American%20tribes,once%20had%20reservation%20land%20there
Information about Swedish immigration to Minnesota:
https://www.mnopedia.org/swedish-immigration-minnesota
More information about Kirsten's bangs: https://americangirl.fandom.com/wiki/Kirsten_Larson and their historical inaccuracy: https://www.vice.com/en/article/qvddqq/a-short-uneven-history-of-bangs
We had such a good conversation with this second community expert for our last episode, we had to release it as a separate episode. Ella (of Ella's Ephemera fame) chats with St. Mark's Church Historian Sandra Johnson about sharecropping and other related topics in Prince George's County African American history that are connected to the book "Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry" by Mildred Taylor.
These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.
Mildred Taylor originally did not set out to write a children's book when she wrote "Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry," yet it quickly became a children's classic and classroom staple for young readers. We'll reexamine this iconic work that unflinchingly examines racism as the children and their parents find ways to push back against the injustices of the Jim Crow South. Our hosts discuss what actually makes a book a children's book, try to guess how much things actually cost in the 1930s (*insert obligatory "how much could a banana cost, $10?"*) and profess their love for the book's most iconic, very 90s, former cover. Plus, we'll hear from Marsha Quarles, a library associate at our South Bowie Branch, about the lasting impact of this book.
These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.
As a beloved historical fiction novel that tackles a difficult and important aspect of American history and that is often taught in schools, there’s a lot of background research to dive into with this book! Here are a few of the key resources we used.
Two articles about recent challenges to the inclusion of this book in school curriculum:
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2020-11-12/burbank-unified-challenges-books-including-to-kill-a-mockingbird
https://www.newsweek.com/kill-mockingbird-other-books-banned-california-schools-over-racism-concerns-1547241
And here’s the title’s listing in the ALA report of the top 10 banned books from the 2000s: https://bit.ly/2SSgkbi. It was most often cited for use of language.
Notably, Roll of Thunder is actually book 4 in a multi-part series about the Logan family. You can see the full series listing here, including the final addition to the series released in 2020: https://www.goodreads.com/series/54001-logans
If you’re interested in learning more about money and inflation from the early half of the 1900s:
https://www.tasteofhome.com/collection/this-is-what-groceries-cost-the-year-you-were-born/
For our A Tree Grows in Brooklyn expert segment, we reached out to Prince George's County Councilwoman Deni Taveras to reflect on whether Smith's depiction of New York reflected any of her own experiences growing up in New York. The conversation morphed into a much broader discussion about affordable housing and public education and was simply too good to reduce to one segment. We're happy to offer the entire conversation here as our first bonus episode.
Betty Smith's "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" was an instant classic with American audiences when it was released in 1943. Drawing on her own life, Smith vividly captures Brooklyn in the 1910s through the eyes of her heroine, Francie Nolan. The novel's poignant depictions of poverty, urbanism, education, immigration, and especially family resonated with wartime America, but does it hold up today? Our hosts ponder whether this book is really for children at all (alcoholism, bigamy, child labor, oh my!) and whether a book so rooted in a historical period can be timeless. We also have a discussion with a local County Councilwoman that unlocked our first ever bonus content!
These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.
We cover a lot of ground in this episode and used some books and articles as jumping off points. Here’s a brief list of some of them if you want to do your own further research:
- Jacqueline Woodson on A Tree Grows: https://lithub.com/jacqueline-woodson-on-the-two-books-that-helped-her-grow-as-a-writer/
- Maureen Corrigan's "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn’ was a classic. Does Betty Smith’s follow-up warrant reconsideration?"
- Robert Cornfeld's "The Tree Still Grows in Brooklyn"
- "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and the Jewish Question" by Van Wallach
Louise Fitzhugh's beloved 1960s title "Harriet the Spy" captivated young readers for generations as they followed the confident and abruptly honest 11-year-old main character on her spying adventures in New York City. Looking back on it more than 50 years later, the podcast hosts wonder - was Harriet a good role model? Or even a good person? Plus, we'll talk to an expert from the International Spy Museum to find out which spies Harriet should have been looking up to as role models and assess her spying technique.
These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System Podcast Network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at TheseBooksMadeMe@pgcmls.info. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/.
We mentioned a lot of topics and articles in this first episode. Here’s a brief list of some of them if you want to do your own further research:
- Debbie Reese’s post on her American Indians in Children’s Literature Blog: https://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/2020/12/not-recommended-harriet-spy-by-louise.html
- More about Harriet the Spy and its queer representation: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/oct/06/harriet-the-spy-helped-me-come-to-terms-with-my-queer-identity
- Excerpt of the book “Sometimes You Have to Lie” by Leslie Brody:
https://lithub.com/the-hidden-literary-heritage-of-harriet-the-spy/ - Wikipedia article about egg creams:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egg_cream - And for some fun, figure out exactly which cheese YOU are with this Buzzfeed quiz: https://www.buzzfeed.com/kylieb4f1899a33/what-type-of-cheese-are-you-cviclxegzk
- More information about the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C.: https://www.spymuseum.org/