• Juvenile and YA Fiction: Conclusion
    Dec 11 2023

    In the final episode of our season on Juvenile and YA Fiction, the entire CenterForLit crew gathers to reminisce about how they got hooked on reading as children. We also discuss how to go about guiding young readers through the current environment of juvenile and YA literature.


    Referenced Works:

    You can support the CenterForLit Podcast Network by making a purchase through our affiliate programs!

    • American Adventure Stories for Boys

    • Forever Island by Patrick D. Smith

    • A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

    • A Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton-Porter

    • John Paul Jones by Vincent Brown

    • The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

    • The Cat of Bubastes by G.A. Henty

    • Eragon by Christopher Paolini

    • Mara: Daughter of the Nile by Eloise Jarvis McGraw

    • Magic Tree House by Mary Pope Osborne

    • The Box Car Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner

    • The Borrowers by Mary Norton

    • The Littles by John Peterson

    • The Complete Brambly Hedge by Jill Barklem

    • Stuart Little by E.B. White

    • The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

    • Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

    • The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall

    Please ⁠join the Facebook group⁠ and ⁠subscribe to our Substack Newsletter⁠!

    We love hearing your questions and comments! You can contact us by emailing i.andrews@centerforlit.com, or visit our website www.centerforlit.com to find even more ways to participate in the Great Conversation.



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    46 mins
  • Juvenile and YA Fiction: John Green
    Nov 28 2023

    Emily joins Ian in this episode to talk about our first author who writes solely in the YA genre: John Green. They discuss what makes his work so different from others we’ve covered this season and what that means for parents and readers who want to benefit from his rich, literary voice.

    Referenced Works:

    You can support the CenterForLit Podcast Network by making a purchase through our affiliate programs!

    • Turtles All the Way Down

    • Longing for an Absent God: Faith and Doubt in Great American Fiction by Nick Ripatrazone

    • Vlog Brothers

    • Crash Courses

    • “Has this artist ever seen a baby?”

    • Heavyweight #37: John Green

    • The Anthropocene Reviewed

    • Looking for Alaska

    • The Fault in our Stars

    • Paper Towns 

    • An Abundance of Katherines

    • A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles 

    Please ⁠join the Facebook group⁠ and ⁠subscribe to our Substack Newsletter⁠!

    We love hearing your questions and comments! You can contact us by emailing i.andrews@centerforlit.com, or visit our website www.centerforlit.com to find even more ways to participate in the Great Conversation.

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    44 mins
  • Juvenile and YA Fiction: Jeanne Birdsall
    Nov 21 2023

    In this episode, Megan joins Ian to talk about the magic of Jeanne Birdsall’s Penderwicks series. They discuss what it is about this series that appeals so well to audiences of all ages and what that can teach us about good writing for young readers.


    Referenced Works:

    You can support the CenterForLit Podcast Network by making a purchase through our affiliate programs!

    • The Penderwicks Boxed Set

    • The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy

    • The Penderwicks on Gardam Street

    • The Penderwicks at Point Mouette

    • The Penderwicks in Spring

    • The Penderwicks at Last

    • Harry Potter Boxed Set

    • Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

    Please ⁠join the Facebook group⁠ and ⁠subscribe to our Substack Newsletter⁠!

    We love hearing your questions and comments! You can contact us by emailing i.andrews@centerforlit.com, or visit our website www.centerforlit.com to find even more ways to participate in the Great Conversation.

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    36 mins
  • Juvenile and YA Fiction: Gary D. Schmidt
    Nov 10 2023

    What can CenterForLit’s favorite children’s author teach us about the difference between juvenile and YA fiction? Adam and Missy sit down with Ian in this episode to talk about what makes the work of Gary D. Schmidt so special.

    Referenced Works:

    You can support the CenterForLit Podcast Network by making a purchase through our affiliate programs!

    • BiblioFiles Episode #19: An Interview with Author Gary D. Schmidt

    • Orbiting Jupiter

    • Okay for Now

    • The Labors of Hercules Beal

    • Straw Into Gold

    • Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy

    • The Wednesday Wars

    • Just Like That

    • A Long Road on a Short Day by Elizabeth Stickney and Gary D. Schmidt

    • Pay Attention, Carter Jones

    Please ⁠join the Facebook group⁠ and ⁠subscribe to our Substack Newsletter⁠!

    We love hearing your questions and comments! You can contact us by emailing i.andrews@centerforlit.com, or visit our website www.centerforlit.com to find even more ways to participate in the Great Conversation.

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    48 mins
  • Juvenile and YA Fiction: Mystery Novels
    Oct 23 2023

    The next genre we're discussing this season has a special place in Andrews family lore. By tradition, each new generation is handed a mystery novel as they come of age to encourage a lifetime love of reading. Adam joins Ian in this episode to discuss his own affinity for the genre, and the two reminisce about their first encounters with detective fiction.


    Referenced Works:

    You can support the CenterForLit Podcast Network by making a purchase through our affiliate programs!

    • The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

    • And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

    • The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe

    • The Complete Sherlock Holmes Collection by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

    • The Complete Father Brown Mysteries by G.K. Chesterton

    • Whose Body? by Dorothy Sayers

    • Bleak House by Charles Dickens

    • The Hardy Boys Starter Set

    • Encyclopedia Brown Box Set by Donald J. Sobol

    • In the Woods by Tana French

    • The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith

    • Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz

    • Moriarty by Anthony Horowitz

    • Nancy Drew Starter Set


    Please ⁠join the Facebook group⁠ and ⁠subscribe to our Substack Newsletter⁠!

    We love hearing your questions and comments! You can contact us by emailing i.andrews@centerforlit.com, or visit our website www.centerforlit.com to find even more ways to participate in the Great Conversation.

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    35 mins
  • Juvenile and YA Fiction: Dystopia!
    Oct 16 2023
    No other genre has been influenced by the emergence of YA fiction quite like dystopian literature. In this episode, Megan and Emily join Ian to compare recent dystopian contributions aimed at young adults like Divergent and The Hunger Games to 20th century classics like 1984 and Lord of the Flies. Referenced Works: You can support the CenterForLit Podcast Network by making a purchase through our affiliate programs! The How to Eat an Elephant podcast The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins The Mazerunner by James Dashner Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card Ready Player One by Ernest Cline Divergent by Veronica Roth 1984 by George Orwell Brave New World by Aldous Huxley Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel Utopia by Sir Thomas More Plato’s Republic Lord of the Flies by William Golding The Giver by Lois Lowry Red Rising by Pierce Brown We by Yevgeny Zamyatin Dune by Frank Herbert Foundation by Isaac Asimov The Space/Ransom Trilogy: Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis Please ⁠join the Facebook group⁠ and ⁠subscribe to our Substack Newsletter⁠! We love hearing your questions and comments! You can contact us by emailing i.andrews@centerforlit.com, or visit our website www.centerforlit.com to find even more ways to participate in the Great Conversation.
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    44 mins
  • Juvenile and YA Fiction: Monster Stories
    Oct 6 2023
    Emily and Megan join Ian for a conversation about our culture's fascination with the monstrous. They discuss how we progressed from the beasts of Greek and Anglo-Saxon mythology all the way to love-struck vampires and werewolves, and they ask why it is that humans remain so intrigued with the mystery and danger of the Other. Referenced Works: You can support the CenterForLit Podcast Network by making a purchase through our affiliate programs! The Passenger by Cormac McCarthy Twilight by Stephanie Meyer Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Dracula by Bram Stoker Ovid’s Metamorphoses Beowulf Grimm’s Fairytales The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis Coraline (2009) The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan The Oath by Frank Peretti The Cooper Kids Adventures by Frank Peretti This Present Darkness by Frank Peretti The Dark by Lemony Snicket and John Klassen Macbeth by William Shakespeare Edgar Allan Poe Short Stories The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell Fairytale by Stephen King Stranger Things (Netflix original) Wednesday (Netflix original) Please ⁠join the Facebook group⁠ and ⁠subscribe to our Substack Newsletter⁠! We love hearing your questions and comments! You can contact us by emailing i.andrews@centerforlit.com, or visit our website www.centerforlit.com to find even more ways to participate in the Great Conversation.
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    41 mins
  • Juvenile and YA Fiction: Fantasy Literature
    Sep 29 2023
    In this episode, Ian and Megan sit down to talk about what is arguably the most popular genre among young readers today: fantasy literature. They discuss the history leading up to the state of fantasy today, the unique thematic features of world-building, and their own childhood obsession with these books. Referenced Works: You can support the CenterForLit Podcast Network by making a purchase through our affiliate programs! The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald The Princess and Curdie by George MacDonald The Light Princess by George MacDonald Phantastes by George MacDonald The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien “The Quangle Wangle’s Hat” by Edward Lear Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson The Worm Ouroboros by E.R. Eddison The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis The Space/Ransom Trilogy: Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis The Shanara Chronicles by Terry Brooks The Pendragon Series by D.J. Machale The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica by James A. Owen Eragon by Christopher Paolini Inkheart by Cornelia Funke Redwall by Brian Jacques The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame “On Fairy-Stories” by J.R.R. Tolkien Please ⁠join the Facebook group⁠ and ⁠subscribe to our Substack Newsletter⁠! We love hearing your questions and comments! You can contact us by emailing i.andrews@centerforlit.com, or visit our website www.centerforlit.com to find even more ways to participate in the Great Conversation.
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    46 mins