This month we tackled a much-requested book: Esther Forbes's Johnny Tremain (1943). For some authors, winning a Newbery Medal would be enough. Others might dip out after a Pulitzer Prize. Esther Forbes won a Newbery and a Pulitzer within a few years--all while a war was on. During this episode, we discuss Forbes's fascinating career (read as: obsession with Paul Revere). Against this backdrop, we also track Johnny Tremain's puzzling journey from apprentice to American revolutionary. At the start...
Oct 01, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 135
This month we read The Age of Phillis by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers. This book of poetry examines the inner life and historical worlds of Phillis Wheatley Peters. Jeffers first learned of Phillis in school as one of America’s firsts. In this telling of Phillis’s story, Jeffers begins in West Africa, with the life that came before Phillis was an enslaved poet in Boston. Using historical research, Jeffers probes the under-examined aspects of Phillis Wheatley Peters’s life. How did she fall in love, n...
Oct 01, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 132
The Princess Diaries is a novel about an ordinary teen, Mia Thermopolis, who discovers she is actually heir to a throne in a distant country few people have even heard of. In addition to the challenges of math class, Mia has to decide if she would like to be the ruler (someday) of this small, fictional foreign nation. We discuss this classic coming-of-age story and the enduring allure (or fear) of being a princess. Since this is also the same month that Prince Harry's memoir debuted, we also got...
Oct 01, 2024•57 min•Ep. 154
Clear your calendars. Burn a chakra candle. Prepare yourself for the greatest love story that never needed to be told. Join us as we tackle Ann Rinaldi's first and most unforgettable historical romance: Time Enough for Drums (1986). The cover poses the question: "Can Jem ever love a Tory?" Please trust us that this will be the lowest on your list of questions after following along with our Rinaldi read. Original air date: February 28, 2020 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and Cali...
Oct 01, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 146
Just over 100 years ago, W. E. B. Du Bois created a magazine just for children. The Brownies’ Book : A Monthly Magazine for Children of the Sun reached thousands of children in the early 1920s...including (the fictional) Claudie Wells. For this month's episode, we reviewed a 2023 tribute to The Brownies' Book curated by a team of scholars and artists. Their Love Letter to Black Families includes material from the original Brownies' magazines, such as poems by Langston Hughes and historic photogr...
Oct 01, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 141
A wise person once said: "having fun is never hard when you've got your library card." To this precious adage, we'd like to add an additional locale for future fun consideration: the fictional Telegraph Club. In this month's feature, we decided to read Malinda Lo's phenomenal YA book Last Night at the Telegraph Club. We discuss the fantastic resources in the book (a bibliography! timelines!) along with the super-accurate-yet-still-deeply-compelling historical adventures of protagonist Lily Hu. W...
Oct 01, 2024•58 min•Ep. 164
In preparation for our upcoming Melody episodes, this month’s feature is Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop (2022). Shine Bright is Danyel Smith's love letter to the important musicians in her life. A prominent music journalist, Smith has sat across from some of the biggest names in pop over the past few decades. In a series of biographical chapters, Smith shares her experiences with singular talents like Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, and more, weaving in her own story ...
Oct 01, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 169
Is this novel about a lavender haze or smoke and mirrors? How about both? In Lev AC Rosen’s Lavender House, a family of soap makers tries to keep their side of the street clean. There’s one big problem: someone in the Lavender home probably committed murder. Set in the Bay Area in 1952, Rosen’s novel imagines a home where queer love makes a chosen family—-and a poisonous mother tries to tear it apart. We discuss recent book bans and echoes of repression in historical fiction. Original air date: ...
Oct 01, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 159
“Shine bright like a diamond / Find light in the beautiful sea / I choose to be happy…” Did you know that these lyrics were written about The Mystery At Lilac Inn, the fourth Nancy Drew mystery? Ok, before you call Rihanna on us, we know that they're not. However, we do hope that you'll still stand with us under a proverbial umbrella for a re-read of a Nancy Drew classic*. In this bizarrely action-packed story, Nancy has to find a jewel thief, save herself from a submarine, and navigate a stolen...
Oct 01, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 133
In October, we set out one morning for NYC to take a VIP tour of the American Girl Store. What happened next cannot be described in a mere text box. Did we do a photoshoot on a train? Did we learn about a heretofore unknown to us diagnosis? Did we read the main floor display of the store through the lens of 90s figure skating? Listen as we explore the store, visit the doll hospital, fix a hair crisis, and more. Original air date: January 27, 2020 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy a...
Oct 01, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 147
There comes a time in every woman's life when she must...flee from her family's summer estate holding precious heirlooms in trash bags? For this month's Patreon episode, we read Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty. This short, punchy, and very readable family biography was written by Anderson Cooper (descendent of Vanderbilts) and Katherine Howe (descendent of some of Salem's finest). This book chronicles some of the Vanderbilts' finest moments during their ascent into America's...
Oct 01, 2024•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 168
Writer Kaitlyn Tiffany is a smart culture critic, podcasts host, and longtime fan of One Direction. All of these things are almost equally relevant to our episode this month. Her new book, Everything I Need I Get From You, offers insight into the idea of the screaming female fan, from Beatlemania to the present. Tiffany, a longtime follower of 1D, asks important questions about the internet and what it means to be a fan. Why did a 1D devotee make a shrine to Harry Styles’s vomit? What’s at stake...
Oct 01, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 139
This Pride month, we chose to cover three biographical projects that focus on Black queer experiences. First, we talk about two different approaches to presenting the life of Marsha P. Johnson, an important activist involved in the 1969 uprising at the Stonewall Inn. With the Drunk History episode " Marsha P. Johnson Sparks the Stonewall Riots," and the short film " Happy Birthday, Marsha! " we see two paths to sharing Johnson's story & her connection to Pride. We also talk about the gaps in...
Oct 01, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 145
Join us in exploring the magic that is The Witch of Blackbird Pond! We take you into author Elizabeth George Speare's world (1958) and her take on Connecticut Colony (circa 1680s). Trees will be used to harbor important charters, Quaker heroes will hide out by the town pond, and one spunky Kit will win you over as she avoids legal charges for witchcraft. Light a pumpkin spice candle and grab your map of the 17th century colonies--it's the season of the witch. Original air date: October 31, 2020 ...
Oct 01, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 144
Lois Lowry's classic novel Number the Stars shares the true story of the Danish resistance movement during the Holocaust. For a generation of readers, the story of Annemarie Johnansen and her friend Ellen Rosen served as an introduction to the experiences of children raised in Europe over the course of World War II. When we first meet Annemarie, she is unsure as to whether she has courage, but she learns her own strength when she is compelled to stand up for her friend. For this month's Patreon ...
Oct 01, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 150
. . . .Well, we seem to have not remembered and this story may have tested our patience. In this episode, we re-read the first Dear America book, set on and off the Mayflower in 1620-1621. Protagonist/diarist Remember a.k.a."Mem" experiences a lot of hardship and seasickness in this 1996 ribboned classic. She gets jealous when her friend is the "first" to step on Plymouth Rock and that's just the beginning. In our coverage, we talk about life in the 1600s, the limits of historical fiction, and r...
Oct 01, 2024•52 min•Ep. 136
Would you befriend a ghost? Better yet, would you leave the 1990s to spend time in the 19th century? Young Zoe, the protagonist of Stonewords, decides she's cool with doing both. From a young age, Zoe develops a bond with a girl named Zoe Louise. The relationship is rocky, and one of their main issues is that Zoe Louise is dead (or half dead, depending on the chapter). We go on a journey with Zoe to try and prevent her BFF's untimely demise in the 1800s. This episode includes discussion of time ...
Oct 01, 2024•58 min•Ep. 151
The Birchbark House has finally moved off the Patreon TBR list. This beautifully written novel by Louise Erdrich has been much requested by you, our listeners! Set in 1847, The Birchbark House is a story about an Ojibwa girl named Omakayas. Throughout the book, we spend several seasons with Omakayas and her kin as they weather a smallpox outbreak. Omakayas learns more about her own history and starts to see herself as a healer. We discuss Erdrich's beautiful writing, how this book connects to th...
Oct 01, 2024•59 min•Ep. 157
With so much recent discussion about the ideas and intentions of the "founders," we decided to watch the film version of the musical 1776...so you won't have to. Clocking in at 2 hours and 45 minutes, this performance will give you more questions than answers as to how the Declaration of Independence was actually written. We talk about Mr. Feeny's (a.k.a William David Daniels's) turn as John Adams, what's really going on with the depiction of Thomas Jefferson's wife, and the general fixation wit...
Oct 01, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 165
Do you remember this classic novel by Karen Cushman? Set in the Middle Ages, The Midwife’s Apprentice is about a girl named Alyce who is anything but mid. In spite of many challenges, starting with the fact that she sleeps in a dung-pile, Alyce finds her way in the world (and makes a few friends) while learning to be a midwife. We talk about our own medieval times, the transmission of medical knowledge, and what happens when cats name themselves (purr!). Original air date: March 26, 2022 See Pri...
Oct 01, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 145
Ashlee Simpson may have gifted us with her "Autobiography," but on this episode we take a deep dive into Jessica Simpson's latest memoir, Open Book. We discuss memoir as a form, Newlyweds, the Nick Lachey of it all, the toxicity that is John Mayer, and more. Original air date: May 29, 2020 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Oct 01, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 103
There may be a timeline where we do not cover Britney Spears's new autobiography. But this is not that timeline--and in this universe, our December 2023 Patreon episode is all about The Woman in Me. We talk about the highlights from Britney's book that have already gotten the most media attention (namely, a boy band member's indiscretions). But we also dive into the less discussed, yet profound and surprising insights Britney offers about recent years in her life. From her upbringing in Louisian...
Oct 01, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 142
People often say that fame comes with a price. But how high should that price be, especially for women? This month, we read Sarah Ditum's Toxic: Women, Fame, and the Tabloid 2000s, a pop history book that explores this question. Through Toxic , Ditum re-evaluates the lives and careers of nine women who made headlines in the period she calls the "upskirt decade" or "tabloid 2000s." From Britney Spears to Jennifer Aniston, Ditum offers a new perspective on people who were constantly under the micr...
Oct 01, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 138
For this year's October Patreon, we chose a topic that can be truly scary: revisiting high school. A lot of people have turned to sitcoms to see what their teenage years might be like. With her latest book, journalist Thea Glassman makes a case for the importance of teen dramas such as Dawson's Creek, Glee, and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. In revisiting seven hit shows from the late 1990s/early 2000s, Glassman pulls from insider interviews and offers perspective on why we ought to care about the...
Oct 01, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 145
Buckle up for a real ride. We're taking you on an Alcott odyssey. First, we talk about the latest film adaptation of Little Women and ponder questions like: why didn't Greta Gerwig win ....everything? Is Thoreau a precursor to tiny house builders everywhere? We play a spirited game of scam or real Bronson Alcott business endeavor, and perhaps most importantly, report on recent communications by Comrade Spears Original air date: March 31, 2020 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and C...
Oct 01, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 103
Lois Lowry has written more than 40 books. As of this month, she is also featured in half of our 2021 Patreon episodes. This is incidentally very close to the total number of surviving Shakers. Just in time for spring, we read Lowry's Like the Willow Tree, a Dear America journey for the ages. Based on meticulous research at the Sabbathday Lake Shaker community, this book features a young diarist named Lydia who loses her parents to the flu pandemic. Though the Shakers initially wreck her plans, ...
Oct 01, 2024•56 min•Ep. 148
Happy Halloween! On this episode we read Avi's Something Upstairs (1988). Seeing your favorite childhood keychain may take you back for a moment. But what if that keychain could also take you to another time period? Would you do what needed to be done to stop an injustice from repeating? Avi’s 1988 classic Something Upstairs asks and answers those questions, and boldly breaks the space time continuum. When protagonist Kenny moves to a new place, he finds that he's not alone in his attic bedroom....
Oct 01, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 167
For this monthly, we read Judy Blume’s iconic novel about faith and girlhood. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret may be from the 70s, but we found it to be a relevant and fun read as 90s girls. Protagonist Margaret is a curious and thoughtful pre-teen who has recently moved to a new suburb with her parents. Throughout the book, Margaret navigates questions about religion and her body while talking privately to god. Return to this classic book with us just in time for the release of a feature f...
Oct 01, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 147
Did you know one of the greatest interpreters of literature is a dog? Wishbone is one of the greats, and on this ep we get into why. Original air date: October 16, 2023 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .
Oct 01, 2024•58 min•Ep. 155
Picture it: you are sitting in a doctor's office some time in your childhood. What magazine is strewn about the waiting area? For this episode, we tackled a publication that is probably tucked away in the recesses of your memory bank: Highlights Magazine. For decades, young people have sent letters to Highlights, a magazine especially designed by psychologists for kids*.* Some of these letters have been preserved in an archive in Ohio. Dear Highlights is a curated collection of some of these let...
Oct 01, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 134
