10 episodes

The Children’s Literature Podcast is a grown-up discussion of children’s books, aimed not at kids but at grown-up book lovers, teachers, parents, and maybe even a few savvy teenagers. This podcast looks into the background and cultural context of a story, helping educators and parents to deliver deeper understanding to the kids they teach. With each episode you’ll find lessons, activities, and fun that can bring a story to life whether it’s being read at home or taught in the classroom.

The Children's Literature Podcast T.Q. Townsend

    • Education
    • 4.8 • 12 Ratings

The Children’s Literature Podcast is a grown-up discussion of children’s books, aimed not at kids but at grown-up book lovers, teachers, parents, and maybe even a few savvy teenagers. This podcast looks into the background and cultural context of a story, helping educators and parents to deliver deeper understanding to the kids they teach. With each episode you’ll find lessons, activities, and fun that can bring a story to life whether it’s being read at home or taught in the classroom.

    Historical Fashion in Anne of Green Gables

    Historical Fashion in Anne of Green Gables

    Anne of Green Gables was published in 1908, but it’s actually a work of historical fiction, very carefully recreating the 1880s through accurate depictions of music, teen trends, politics, and even fashion. In this episode, we take a look at the Anne-girl’s sense of style, and how it relates to real artistic and philosophical movements in the 19th century.

    Activity: Teen Fashion Then and Now



    Anne of Green Gables is set in the 1880s. One of the fashion trends at the time was called Artistic Dress or Aesthetic Dress. In contrast to tight-fitting, highly tailored styles that were considered mainstream, Aesthetic Dress featured soft, natural fabrics sewn in medieval-inspired fashions. Aesthetic clothing was designed to be beautiful, comfortable, and pleasant to wear.

    Ask students to compare current teen fashions with the style Anne loved. Ask them to think about what artistic, political, musical, or social movements inspire the modern fashions they follow. Research the Pre-Raphaelite movement and the Aesthetic Movement, with emphasis on the philosophy behind artists’ fashion choices. Do any of these older ideas feel compatible with modern fashions? Is there anything about the older styles that appeals to any of the students?

    After researching the fashion styles that inspired Anne Shirley’s romantic sense of beauty, students could try to re-create looks that she would have loved using clothing they have already or by making new items in an Aesthetic style.

    • 14 min
    Chanticleer and the Fox

    Chanticleer and the Fox

    Chanticleer and the Fox is a Caldecott Medal winning book by Barbara Cooney. It was published in 1958, but it has a long family tree stretching back all the way to Aesop’s Fables. Adapted from “The Nun’s Priest’s Tale” from The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, this story tells of how the rooster Chanticleer managed to outwit a hungry fox and literally save his own neck. The book is also an excellent example of how illustrations can serve as historical fiction.

     

    Every image in the book is rich with depictions of everyday life in Chaucer’s day — 14th century England — and Cooney carefully avoided including any anachronistic items that would confuse children’s understanding of what the past looked like.

    You can use Chanticleer and the Fox to teach children of all ages about the 14th century. The construction of houses and outdoor structures, gardening and farming, cooking and eating, and even clothing are all depicted accurately.

    Activity: Introduce Anachronisms

    Teach children about the word “anachronism.” It comes from Ancient Greek and is made up of the parts “ana,” meaning “against,” and “kronos,” meaning “time.” So words like “anachronous” or “anachronistic” refer to something that doesn’t belong in the time period being depicted. Chanticleer and the Fox does an excellent job of avoiding anachronisms, but children can create a list of items that would be out of place had they been included in any of the pictures. This activity will help them begin to be more observant of works of literature and art that portray the past, analyzing them for their accuracy.

    • 17 min
    Interview with Ronni Diamondstein

    Interview with Ronni Diamondstein

    In this interview, author Ronni Diamondstein discusses her new book, Jackie and the Books She Loved. This story, which was beautifully illustrated by Bats Langley, tells of the love that Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis had for books. From early childhood she was an avid reader. She would grow up to be a journalist, help her husband John F. Kennedy with writing his own book, and eventually build a career as a book editor.



    Jackie edited many different kinds of books, from serious works of philosophy to the biographies of pop stars. But she also edited children’s books, including:

    At the Zoo by Paul Simon

    The Firebird and Other Russian Fairy Tales by Boris Zvorykin

    The Three Golden Keys by Peter Sís

    Amy The Dancing Bear by Carly Simon

    • 28 min
    2024 Film Predictions

    2024 Film Predictions

    This year three major films are coming out which are based on books written for children, and one more is coming out that is based on The Lord of the Rings, which many teenagers love. But are these adaptations going to be any good?In this episode, I take a look at the upcoming films Harold and the Purple Crayon, Paddington in Peru, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. Will they be good? Can these stories be adapted well to the screen? What mistakes should the filmmakers avoid?

    I offer my best guesses in answer to these questions, and I’ll be curious to see how much I get right.

    • 8 min
    Interview with Marsha Skrypuch

    Interview with Marsha Skrypuch

    Marsha Skrypuch is the author of Winterkill, a work of children’s historical fiction about a boy who lives through the Holodomor, a genocidal campaign of starvation that the Soviet Union imposed on Ukraine during the 1930’s. In this interview, we talk about the research that went into this book, the difficulty of writing about such a heavy topic, and what Marsha will publish next.



    In our interview, we mention several things that listeners will enjoy checking out. First is Marsha’s book Enough, a folktale about the Holodomor with beautiful artwork by Michael Martchenko:

    Marsha also recommended Red Famine by Anne Applebaum as the best available non-fiction book on the Holodomor. Listeners can also find excellent historical and statistical information at holodomor.ca, a site managed by the Holodomor Research and Education Consortium.

    Marsha is also the creator of gorgeous Pysanky eggs. These are a traditional Ukrainian art form and Marsha has worked hard to master it. You can see examples of her work on her website, where she also has instructions so that you and your kids can give it a try!

    Activity: Would I have done what Alice did?

    In Winterkill by Marsha Skrypuch, a girl named Alice comes to Ukraine from Canada with her father. She has been told that the Soviet Union is a worker’s paradise, where everyone is equal and government programs will solve all problems within only a few years. She eagerly joins in, idealistically joining a youth group and helping her father with his work. She brings a clipboard to Nyl’s village and begins making an inventory of each family’s possessions. But she never stops to think about why she might be doing such a thing.

    After reading this part of the story, have an honest conversation with your kids. Can they understand why Alice thinks what she is doing is good? How much responsibility does she have for what happens to the villagers? Would they be able to forgive and even befriend Alice as Nyl does? Encourage students to think about how much they might act like Alice if they were encouraged to do so by parents and teachers. Without placing excessive guilt or blame on children who could not possibly have escaped their historical circumstances, encourage students to thoughtfully consider the reasons young people get swept up in bad political and social movements.

    Activity: Make Pysanky

    Pysanky are a beautiful traditional Ukrainian handicraft. You and your kids can try making them! Author Marsha Skrypuch has written instructions at her website. “A Simple Pysanka, Step by Step” offers the following advice:

    Step one: lightly sketch outline in pencil, then cover up with hot wax everything you want to remain white.

    Step two: soak egg in your next lightest colour of dye (yellow is a classic second colour).

    Step three: cover up with hot wax everything you want to remain yellow.

    Step four: soak in the next next lightest colour — in this case pink — then cover up with wax everything that you want to remain pink.

    Step five: soak in your darkest colour.

    Step six isn’t shown, but I use raw eggs with the guts still inside because the egg settles into the dye jar better. I remove the guts once all the dying is complete. I dribble hot wax onto the spot where I make my one hole so that the egg guts doesn’t disturb the dye and then I blow air with a syring...

    • 24 min
    The Fox and The Crow

    The Fox and The Crow

    “The Fox and the Crow” has one of Aesop’s most useful lessons: don’t trust a stranger who comes along with flattering words, because there is a good chance you will regret it! This tale is thousands of years old, but it’s been retold over and over, from the medieval legends of Chanticleer the Rooster and his foe Reynard the Fox, to the Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, to a well-loved modern tale — “The Gingerbread Man” which was first published in America in 1875.



    Check out the video version of this fable, which is accompanied by charming vintage illustrations of the tale.

    Activity: Identifying Danger

    Children need to learn how to be safe in public and online, but it’s best to teach this in a way that doesn’t frighten them or make them needlessly wary of others. By telling the story of “The Fox and The Crow” children can see an example of how someone who was untrustworthy got the better of another person who was too eager to be flattered. By using this animal tale, discussions about safety can seem less personal and less intimidating.

    After reading “The Fox and The Crow” together, you can have a discussion on a relevant topic of safety. For example, children should be wary of giving away information about themselves online. Websites may look like just a bit of fun, offering silly quizzes or games for free, but these are in fact ways to gather personal data such as names, birthdates, addresses, and other information that could be used for identity theft or credit fraud. In these cases, the websites are the Fox, and the children need to be wiser than the Crow, recognizing that they should not give away important information just because the website asking for it looks like a bit of fun.

    This fable can also be used to talk about why children should avoid adults who seem overly friendly, especially if they are strangers. Adults who are not safe to be around will sometimes pretend to need help from children, or offer kind and friendly words. Unless a child knows that grownup, and has been told by a parent that it’s ok to listen to them, the stranger should be thought of as a Fox and avoided.

    • 15 min

Customer Reviews

4.8 out of 5
12 Ratings

12 Ratings

Jharer ,

Enjoyable for adults and kids

I’ve enjoyed listening to this podcast with. D without my children. It’s great for book referrals and to learn more about books I’ve enjoyed previously. My kids especially enjoy cohost Chloë and her insights!

Natural Beauty Fitness ,

BTS for Books

This podcast is so wonderful! Each podcast is wonderfully researched so you can get the full context of each book discussed.

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