Looking for a late summer thriller? We discuss the first book in Jacqueline West's Books of Elsewhere series The Shadows with the Girlfriends BookClub Baltimore. Public radio journalist Doualy Xaykaothao is celebrity reader. Kitty Felde is host.

Free reading tips at the website: bookclubforkids.org.

We take our microphone out to the 2026 City of Stem/LA Maker Faire to ask these young scientists and astronauts about their favorite books. Several of them are OUR favorite books, too! And you can click on the links to hear the Book Club for Kids episode about that book. Kitty Felde is host.

A Wrinkle in Time - Madeline L'Engle

To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban- J.K. Rowlings

Percy Jackson - Rick Riordan

Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan

The Girl Who Drank the Moon - Kelly Barnhill

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder - Holly Jackson

The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins

My Wierd School - Dan Gutman

Wonder- R.J. Palacio

The Forgotten Five - Lisa McMann

Last Gamer Standing - Katie Zhao

Before she wrote children's books, Lisa Graff worked as a nanny. What lessons from that experience did she bring to her work on the page? Lisa talks to host Kitty Felde.

How do we measure up to our parents' expectations? Does everybody deserve a day off? What's the toughest part of being a homeschooled kid? Our group of readers from the Broomfield Public Library in Colorado weigh in on these questions and more as they discuss Lisa Graff's novel Absolutely Almost. Lisa talks about where the characters came from and how she wrote her first book for her newborn baby brother. NYC actor Thaddeus Fitzpatrick is celebrity reader. Kitty Felde is host.

Eragon - Christopher Paolini

Warriors - Erin Hunter

Grounded: The Adventures of Rapunzel - Megan Morrison

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J. K. Rowling

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making - Catherynne M. Valente

Holes - Louis Sachar

Eragon - Christopher Paolini

Warriors - Erin Hunter

Grounded: The Adventures of Rapunzel - Megan Morrison

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J. K. Rowling

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making - Catherynne M. Valente

Holes - Louis Sachar

Ever wonder what kids in Georgia and Florida are reading? Here's a few suggestions from readers at Druid Hills Middle School in Decatur, Georgia and Indian Trace Elementary School in Weston, Florida.

Somewhere Beyond the Sea - TJ Klune

Superman Smashes the Klan - Gene Luen Yang and Gurihiru

Unwind - Neal Shusterman

Percy Jackson the Last Olympian - Rick Riordan

The Giver - Lois Lowry

(click on the link and hear an interview with Lois Lowry!)

You can find more favorite books at our website!

The Book Club for Kids podcast began in the smallest quadrant of Washington DC called Southwest. It was the waterfront for DC, the place where ships would dock bringing everything from building supplies to fresh fish to slaves. This week marks the 178th anniversary of what Washington Post writer Colbert King calls "one of the most courageous acts in antebellum America": the attempted escape of African American slaves on a ship docked at the Southwest waterfront, a ship called the Pearl.

This week, Book Club for Kids honors its roots by reprising our one episode featuring a non fiction book: Passenger on the Pearl by Winifred Conkling, taped before a live audience at Virginia's Fall for the Book Festival. Lolita Marie is our celebrity reader.

www.bookclubforkids.org

You've been calling us with your favorite books. Here's the latest list:

Keeper of the Lost Cities - Shannon Messenger

House Arrest - K.A.Holt

The Running Dream - Wendelin Van Draanen

Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus - Barbara Park

That Pigeon Needs a Bath - Mo Willems

A Dinosaur in the Toilet - Horace Hughes

Anne of Green Gables - L.M. Montgomery

The Land of Stories - Cris Colfer

Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

Sarafina and the Black Cloak - Robert Beatty

Missing Since Monday- Ann Martin

The Cat I Never Named - Amra Sabic-El-Rayess

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Roderick Rules -Jeff Kinney

The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins

Diary of Steve the Noob - Steve the Noob

If you have a favorite book, you can be on the show, too! Just give us a call at 424- 209-2285 and tell us your first name, the city where you live, the name of your favorite book, and why you love it.