Rereading Our Childhood

On this episode, Mary Grace and Deborah discuss Edward Eager's Half Magic, the first of Eager's seven books of magical adventures. Four bored siblings living in a Midwestern city in the 1920s find a magic amulet...except it only grants half of what you wish for. We talk about what has and hasn't held up in the six decades since Half Magic was published, about Eager's life, and about the real (and extremely inappropriate) silent movie they go to. Mentioned on this episode: Barbara, the inappropriate movie, reviewed in Motion Picture World . (The critic didn't like it any more than the children did.)  Edward Eager's biggest hit song, "Good-bye, John." Deborah's magical time travel books:George Washington and the Magic Hat John Adams and the Magic BobbleheadThomas Jefferson and the Return of the Magic Hat You can find Debby's author interviews on her blog Books Q&A by Deborah Kalb and Mary Grace's adventures in the 1920s on her blog, My Life 100 Years Ago. This episode was produced by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting. Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com

On this episode, Deborah and Mary Grace read Carol Ryrie Brink's 1935 Newbery Medal winner Caddie Woodlawn, which is based on Brink's grandmother's childhood adventures on the Wisconsin frontier. Mentioned on this episode:Caddie Woodlawn's Family by Carol Ryrie Brink (previously titled Magical Melons) (1939)Two Are Better Than One by Carol Ryrie Brink (1968)Louly by Carol Ryrie Brink (1974)Mary Grace mentioned what she thought were two different blog posts on a website about portrayals of American Indians in children's books. Actually, it was just one post: https://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/2007/03/reflections-on-caddie-woodlawn-teaching.html.The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich (1999) The Little House books by Laura Ingalls WilderYou can find Debby’s author interviews on her blog, Books Q&A by Deborah Kalb, and Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s on her blog, My Life 100 Years Ago.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com

In this episode, Mary Grace and Deborah reread one of their childhood favorites, Mary Rodgers' 1972 mother-daughter body-switching story Freaky Friday. They also discuss Rodger's posthumous 2022 memoir Shy, which was a New York Times Notable Book. Mentioned in this episode:The intro to the PBS show Mystery!, with animation based on illustrations by Edward Gorey. A Billion for Boris, the sequel to Freaky Friday, which Mary Grace and Deborah both enjoyed as children. Summer Switch by Mary Rodgers, in which Ape Face and his dad switch bodies, with less-than-hilarious results. Freaky Monday, a supposedly co-authored by actually more like licensed 2009 addition to the franchise. The 1976 movie starring Barbara Harris and Jodie Foster. The 2003 movie starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan. Vice Versa, F. Anstey's 1882 novel about a British man who switches bodies with his son. You can find Debby’s author interviews on her blog, Books Q&A by Deborah Kalb, and Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s on her blog, My Life 100 Years Ago.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com

Deborah and Mary Grace celebrated Halloween by reading two books about witches, Little Witch by Anna Elizabeth Bennett, which was published in 1953, and The Little Leftover Witch by Florence Laughlin, which was published in 1960. Both books are about lonely little witches who find homes with non-magical families. Deborah had read both books as a child; both were new to Mary Grace.Other witch-related books mentioned on the episode:The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth Deborah and Mary Grace celebrated Halloween by reading two books about witches, Little Witch by Anna Elizabeth Bennett, which was published in 1953, and The Little Leftover Witch by Florence Laughlin, which was published in 1960. Both books are about lonely little witches who find homes with non-magical families. Deborah had read both books as a child; both were new to Mary Grace.Here’s the original cover of The Little Witch, with illustrations by Helen Stone. Two of Stone’s other books were selected as Caldecott Honor Books.Here’s the original cover of The Little Leftover Witch, which gives you some idea of the illustrations by Sheila Greenwald, which Debby enjoyed as a child and missed in the current edition, which doesn’t have illustrations.Other witch-related books mentioned on the episode:The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare (1958)The Active Enzyme Lemon-Freshened, Junior High School Witch by E. W. Hildick (1973)The Wizard of Oz books by L. Frank BaumThe Harry Potter books by J.K. RowlingAnd, finally, Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth by E. L. Konigsburg, which was featured on our second episode.The podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other podcast platforms. You can find Debby’s author interviews on her blog, Books Q&A by Deborah Kalb, and Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s on her blog, My Life 100 Years Ago.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.The Active Enzyme Lemon-Freshened, Junior High School Witch by E. W. Hildick (1973)The Wizard of Oz books by L. Frank BauPodcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com

On this episode, Mary Grace and Deborah reread Madeleine L'Engle's 1962 classic A Wrinkle in TIme, about...well, it's hard to describe what it's about. A troubled girl. A missing father. A genius brother. Three mysterious women. Interplanetary adventure. An evil, throbbing brain. None of this does justice to a book that two science fiction-hating girls ended up loving, and that their grown-up selves had a wonderful time returning to. (Note: If the links don’t appear on your podcast platform, you can find them at our website, rereadingourchildhood.com.)Mentioned on this episode:Listening for Madeleine, Leonard Marcus's book of interviews with people in L'Engle's life. Cynthia Zarin's controversial 2004 New Yorker profile of L'Engle.The ALA website listing the 100 most challenged books of the 1990s, with A Wrinkle in Time at #23. The recent PEN America report on book banning in the United States. A 2001 New York Times interview with L'Engle.The trailer to the 2018 movie version of A Wrinkle in Time.The Paris Review blog post where Mary Grace read that Madeleine L'Engle rewrote her novel A House Like a Lotus to give it a new protagonist. The podcast is hosted by Buzzsprout at rereadingourchildhood.buzzsprout.com and is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other podcast platforms. You can find Debby’s author interviews on her blog, Books Q&A by Deborah Kalb, and Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s on her blog, My Life 100 Years Ago.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com

On this episode, Deborah and Mary Grace read John D. Fitzgerald’s 1967* novel The Great Brain, the first book in the series featuring John, the narrator, and his older brother Tom, the eponymous Great Brain, who wreaks havoc on their late 19th-century Utah town with his devious moneymaking ventures. Mary Grace, who did not read this book as a child, suspects that this sometimes harrowing read is Deborah’s revenge for making her read The Owl Service.Here’s the Amazon review Mary Grace mentions that gives parents a heads-up about disturbing content in the book. (Note: Links may not show up on every platform. You can view them on rereadingourchildhood.com.) Mary Grace recommends the Encyclopedia Brown books, featured on a previous episode, for fans of The Great Brain. She also recommends Two Are Better than One and Louly, by Carol Ryrie Brink, which are set in a small Idaho town in the early 20th century. Deborah recommends the Henry Reed series, also featured on a previous episode.Here’s a June 2023 article by New York Times opinion writer Carlos Lozada, who was born in Peru, about his love for The Great Brain, which he read after his family moved to the United States. Lozada jumps into the article’s comments section to share more Great Brain love with readers.The podcast is hosted by Buzzsprout at rereadingourchildhood.buzzsprout.com and is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other podcast platforms.You can find Deborah’s author interviews on her blog, Books Q&A by Deborah Kalb, and you can find Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s on her blog, My Life 100 Years Ago.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.*Mary Grace says incorrectly that it was published in 1969.Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com

In this episode, Mary Grace and Deborah reread Alan Garner’s Carnegie Medal-winning 1967 novel The Owl Service, which tells the story of three teenagers, Alison, Gwyn, and Roger, who find themselves reliving a Welsh legend of love and betrayal that plays out over every generation. Word to the wise, read it, but not right before bed!Here’s a 2021 Guardian profile of Garner. (Note: links may not show on all podcast platforms. You can find them on the podcast website, rereadingourchildhood.com) .Mary Grace recommends Lloyd Alexander’s The Chronicles of Prydain series and Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising series for fans of The Owl Service.At the beginning of the book, Alison becomes obsessed with a set of dinner plates with pictures of owls or flowers, depending on how you look at them. As Mary Grace mentions, the plates in the book were inspired by a real-life set that Garner saw at someone’s house. You can see the plates at the Bodleian Libraries‘ Facebook page.You can find Debby’s author interviews on her blog, Books Q&A by Deborah Kalb, and Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s on her blog, My Life 100 Years Ago.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com

Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective, which was published in 1963, is the first of Donald J. Sobol’s 29-book series featuring Encyclopedia, the boy detective who always gets his man (or boy, or girl). The solution to each crime is revealed at the end of the book. In this episode, Deborah and Mary Grace match wits with Encyclopedia, and with each other, in identifying the culprits.You can find the full Encyclopedia Brown series on Goodreads.You can find Two-Minute Mysteries, a collection of Sobol’s syndicated columns for adults, here.Sobol’s New York Times obituary, published on July 16, 2012, is here.Mary Grace recommends the Danny Dunn books for fans of Encyclopedia Brown. Clarifications: Danny Dunn does not, in fact, go to the moon, as Mary Grace thought he might have, but he does go to outer space in Danny Dunn and the Anti-Gravity Paint. Also, the scientist in the book is not his uncle but his mother’s employer, Professor Bullfinch.Deborah recommends the Henry Reed books for Encyclopedia fans. We discussed Henry Reed, Inc. on the third episode of Rereading Our Childhood.The podcast is hosted by Buzzsprout at rereadingourchildhood.buzzsprout.com and is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other podcast platforms. You can listen to it on Buzzsprout here.You can find Deborah’s author interviews on her blog, Books Q&A by Deborah Kalb, and you can find Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s on her blog, My Life 100 Years Ago.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com

In this episode, Mary Grace and Deborah celebrate the beginning of a new school year by rereading "B" is for Betsy,, Carolyn Haywood's 1939 novel about a little girl navigating the complicated world of first grade. It was the first in a long series of books about Betsy and her friends. This was the first book that Mary Grace remembers checking out of the library and reading. You can find the twelve books in the Betsy series on Goodreads here. As Deborah mentions, Haywood also wrote several other series, including one about a boy named Eddie and one about a boy named Penny. You can find these series on Goodreads here (Eddie) and here (Penny). Here's what Mary Grace wrote on her blog about rereading Dorothy Canfield Fisher's Understood Betsy (it's #7 on the list).Haywood's New York Times obituary, from January 12, 1990, which, as Mary Grace mentions, erroneously says that "B" is for Betsy was Haywood's first book, is here.The Free Library of Philadelphia blog post about Haywood's relationship with artist Violet Oakley and the group of women artists in Philadelphia who were known as the Red Rose Girls is here.Here's the Free Library of Philadelphia blog post titled "Carolyn Haywood: All Sugar, No Spice." The Free Library of Philadelphia blog post about an unpublished novel about a boy whose father is in jail for selling heroin that was found in Haywood's papers is here. Deborah and Mary Grace recommend Beverly Cleary's Ramona books for fans of "B" is for Betsy.Rereading Your Childhood is is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other podcast platforms. You can find Deborah’s author interviews on her blog, Books Q&A by Deborah Kalb, and you can find Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s on her blog, My Life 100 Years Ago.Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com

On this episode, Deborah and Mary Grace discuss Ballet Shoes, Noel Streatfeild's classic 1936 story of a trio of adopted sisters, Pauline, Petrova, and Posy, who attend a school for professional children in the performing arts in London. Ballet Shoes is the first in what became a series of "Shoes" books about children working in the theater, the circus, etc. As Deborah and Mary Grace mention, the girls perform in these plays:The Blue Bird, by Maurice Maeterlinck (a large chunk of which, weirdly, appears in the text of Ballet Shoes)A Midsummer Night's Dream, by William ShakespeareOther Noel Streatfeild books mentioned in the podcast:Circus Shoes (1938). As Deborah mentions, several of Streatfeild's books were retitled to capitalize on the popularity of Ballet Shoes. This book was originally titled The Circus is Coming. Skating Shoes (1951). This is the American title; it was published in the UK as White Boots. The Whicharts (1931). As Deborah mentions, Streatfeild's first novel, which is for adults, also features three adopted sisters. (According to an episode on Ballet Shoes on the wonderful Backlisted podcast, the books have identical openings.) Recommended by Mary Grace for fans of Ballet Shoes: We Danced in Bloomsbury Square by Jean Estoril (out of print, available from used booksellers). Recommended by Deborah for fans of Ballet Shoes: other books in the Shoes series. Shoes books available in the United States include Theater Shoes and Dancing Shoes.The podcast is hosted by Buzzsprout at rereadingourchildhood.buzzsprout.com and is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other podcast platforms. You can listen to it on Buzzsprout here. You can find Debby’s author interviews on her blog, Books Q&A by Deborah Kalb, and Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s on her blog, My Life 100 Years Ago.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com

Oops! Mary Grace made a mockery of the show title by picking a book that it turns out she probably didn't read as a child. What she (and Deborah) actually did read was The RIVER at Green Knowe. Nevertheless, they had a great time discussing The Children of Green Knowe, the first book in the series, which is about a boy named Tolly who goes to live with his great-grandmother in a mansion haunted by seventeenth-century children. It was well-written but kind of plotless. As they know from being in a book group together for decades, though, not-so-good books often make for the best discussions and that was the case this time. Listen to the episode here. Here's the Amazon review that Mary Grace mentioned where the reviewer complains about the book being edited to remove references to a servant's child being born out of wedlock. Other books about meeting up with children from the past that Mary Grace discussed:Seven-Day Magic by Edward EagerGeorge Washington and the Magic Hat by Deborah Kalb (yes, that Deborah Kalb)John Adams and the Magic Bobblehead by Deborah KalbThomas Jefferson and the Return of the Magic Hat by Deborah KalbThe podcast is hosted by Buzzsprout at rereadingourchildhood.buzzsprout.com and is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other podcast platforms. You can find Deborah’s author interviews on her blog, Books Q&A by Deborah Kalb, and Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s on her blog, My Life 100 Years Ago.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com

Mary Grace and Deborah discuss Harriet the Spy, Louise Fitzhugh’s 1964 classic about an 11-year-old would-be writer, her spying career, and her interactions with her nanny, her classmates, and her parents. Other books in the series:The Long Secret (1965)Sport (1979, published posthumously)Fitzhugh’s first book was Suzuki Beane, a parody of Eloise, written by Sandra Scoppettone and illustrated by Fitzhugh.We also discuss Fitzhugh’s book Nobody’s Family Is Going to Change (1974).Here’s Deborah’s Q&A with Leslie Brody, author of the Fitzhugh biography Sometimes You Have to Lie (2020).You can find information on the animated TV series of Harriet the Spy and a link to the (free) first episode at Rotten Tomatoes here. The review of the Harriet the Spy animated series that Mary Grace mentioned is here. If you enjoyed Harriet the Spy, you might also like From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, by E.L. Konigsburg (1967). Older kids might be interested in the work of author M.E. Kerr.The New Yorker article Mary Grace discusses about Louise Fitzhugh is here.You can find Deborah’s author interviews on her blog, Books Q&A by Deborah Kalb, and Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s on her blog, My Life 100 Years Ago.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com

Mary Grace and Deborah discuss Henry Reed, Inc., Keith Robertson's 1958 novel about a boy who starts a research business while spending the summer with his aunt and uncle in a small town near Princeton, New Jersey. This is the first in a five-book series about the adventures of Henry and his friend Midge. Other books in the series:Henry Reed's Journey (1963)Henry Reed's Baby-Sitting Service (1966)Henry Reed's Big Show (1970)Henry Reed's Think Tank (1986) As Mary Grace mentions, Robertson's first novel, Ticktock and Jim, is available as a free e-book at Project Gutenberg. You can read Robertson's New York Times obituary here. You can read Robertson's daughter Christina's tribute to his honorary daughter Mariko Sasaki Sendai here.Mary Grace and Deborah discuss these books by Henry Reed, Inc. illustrator Robert McCloskey:Homer Price (1943)Centerburg Tales (1951) (the Homer Price sequel that Deborah mentions)Make Way for Ducklings (1941) Also recommended for fans of Henry Reed:Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective (1963) and the rest of the series, plus Robert McCloskey's Homer Price books, mentioned above. The podcast is hosted by Buzzsprout at rereadingourchildhood.buzzsprout.com and is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other podcast platforms. You can find Debby’s author interviews on her blog, Books Q&A by Deborah Kalb, and Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s on her blog, My Life 100 Years Ago.This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com

Deborah and Mary Grace discuss E.L. Konigsburg's first novel, Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth, about two friends who study witchcraft. One of the few novels of the 1960s to feature an African-American character, it was a Newbery Honor Book the same year that Konigsburg's second novel, From The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, won the Newbery. Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com

On the first episode, Mary Grace and Deborah revisit Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, Judy Blume's 1970 classic of adolescence. They discuss the impact the book had on their lives and the Judy Blume moment currently underway.  Show notes at https://rereadingourchildhood.com/2023/05/18/rereading-are-you-there-god-its-me-margaret/. Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com