Category: Episodes

184 – Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza and the Case of the Missing Hat

Writer Jenna Schroeder and illustrator Yamerpro (aka Mandy Ecenbarger) were given the task of transforming the popular card game Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza. Their collaboration has resulted in the first book in a series of graphic novels — The Case of the Missing Hat!

This book is colorful, fun, and accessible. Fans of the game will enjoy how the simple characters were transformed into a well-rounded and dynamic group of friends. But at the same time, no familiarity with the game is required to enjoy this book, which has the same delightfully zany sense of humor as Saturday Morning Cartoons.

As with all of the books featured on this show, this is NOT a paid review. All books discussed on the Children’s Literature Podcast are chosen because they are high quality and have a lot to offer children, not because we have been paid. Hosts T.Q. Townsend and Chloë Townsend give Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza and the Case of the Missing Hat a VERY enthusiastic endorsement and recommend it for ALL ages! This is a great family read and is good for bookworms as well as those who are struggling to read!

To learn more about Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza (the game AND the book) visit: https://dolphinhat.com/
Author Jenna Schroeder can be found at https://www.jennaaschroeder.com/
Illustrator Yamerpro can be found at https://yamerpro.com/

183 – Standardized Testing Doesn’t Matter

Here’s a cranky mommy rant about how standardized testing can stress out kids for no good reason. I KNOW teachers and schools are under a lot of pressure, but adults should never dump their anxieties onto children. Especially when the cause of so much worry is so unimportant compared to the big picture of life.

182 – Take Me Out to the Ball Game . . . has verses?

“Take Me Out to the Ball Game” by Albert von Tilzer and Jack Norworth is America’s second national anthem. Many Americans don’t even remember learning it because it is such a natural part of childhood. But worldwide it’s not known very well, and even the biggest baseball fans may not know that this song has verses, which are all about a girl who is the biggest baseball fan ever.

“Take Me Out to the Ball Game” is in the public domain. I have arranged the song for intermediate and beginner piano players, shifting the key down to C to make it easier to play and sing. If enough people are interested I can do a full transcription of the original sheet music in its key of D. This original version would be for advanced piano players.

“Take Me Out to the Ball Game” for beginner piano or vocal in the key of C

“Take Me Out to the Ball Game” for intermediate piano, vocal, guitar, or ukulele in the key of C

181 – Are You My Mother?

Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman perfectly expresses how little children feel sometimes — I want my mom, and I want to go home. But it also has a sweet and subtle message about how the modern world can exist with nature if only we remember to show a little compassion to the little birds in our lives.

Happy Mother’s Day! I hope you moms out there are enjoying a nice day off in which you don’t have to go hunting for worms for your brood.

180 – Winnie the Pooh Blood and Honey Is . . . Lore Accurate?

I watched both of the Winnie The Pooh: Blood and Honey movies. They are NOT for kids. But they do take ideas from Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne with illustrations by E.H. Shepard and use them in some creative, interesting, and icky ways.

Again, don’t show these movies to your kids.

179 – The Shoes that Were Danced to Pieces

“Die zertanzten Schuhe,” or “The Shoes That Were Danced to Pieces” was first published in 1815 in the second volume of tales collected by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. It’s usually translated into English as “The Twelve Dancing Princesses.”

In this one I DO NOT burn my marshmallow (YAY!) and celebrate by making a Thin Mint s’more. Many thanks to a dear friend in Los Angeles who sent me two boxes of these unmatchable treats at great expense.

Thank you to HeinzInJune for providing his insight as a native speaker of German. No matter how much I study the language, as an outsider there will be little nuances that I can never fully understand and I am grateful for help like this.

You can see the video version of this episode on YouTube:

178 – Let’s Talk Harry Potter Casting

Six actors have been confirmed for the new Harry Potter series on HBO. But are all of them good choices? When a book is adapted to the screen, how can casting choices be creative without breaking the story, distorting the characters, or introducing themes that simply don’t belong?

177 – A Fireside Reading of Cenerentola

Come join me by the fire while I read “Cenerentola,” which was written in the 17th century by Giambattista Basile. It’s the oldest recorded European version of a Cinderella story, and I think it’s a lot wilder and funnier than the better known one by Charles Perrault. In this reading you’ll get some commentary to help you understand the historic and cultural context of the tale.

And what are we reading this week at my house? The Hunger Games and Manx fairy tales are both in high demand!

If you like, you can watch the video version of this episode as well:

 

176 – Fireside Fairy Tale: Ye Xian

Big things have happened to the show in the last week. I have pleased the Algorithm Gods and my YouTube channel is getting a lot of attention. My inbox is overflowing with emails and I have had a few offers from sponsors, but I won’t change anything for now. I want to take some time to think about what the show’s growth could mean and make choices that will be the best for myself, my family, and my values.

In the main segment, join me for another Fireside Fairy Tale. This time I’m revisiting “Ye Xian,” a Cinderella story recorded over 1000 years ago in China. This time I wanted to provide commentary that focused on the story’s Confucian values. I actually think it would be a great way to introduce these concepts to children who are studying ancient China.

I had better success with toasting my marshmallow this time as well, which I am quite pleased about. You can watch the YouTube version of this Fireside Fairy Tale here:

175 – Let’s Read the Original Snow White from 1812

As a palate cleanser from the utter dreck that was Disney’s latest live action remake, I got cozy by my back yard fire pit and read the original 1812 version of “Snow White” as recorded by the Brothers Grimm. They made heavy edits to their folktales over the years, so you might be surprised by what’s in this older tale — including the fact that the villain is NOT Snow White’s stepmother and what “black as ebony” actually refers to!

Please tell me if you enjoyed this fireside fairy tale with commentary. I will be happy do do more, weather permitting, and can read fairy tales with or without commentary as you prefer.