Monthly Archives: August 2023

Rereading Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective by Donald J. Sobol

You can listen to this episode here.

Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective, which was published in 1963, is the first of Donald J. Sobol’s 29-book series featuring Encyclopedia, the boy detective who always gets his man (or boy, or girl). The solution to each crime is revealed at the end of the book. In this episode, Deborah and Mary Grace match wits with Encyclopedia, and with each other, in identifying the culprits.

Here’s the cover of the first edition. The current edition has a different cover but still features the original illustrations by Leonard Shortall, who went on to illustrate many other Encyclopedia Brown books.

You can find the full Encyclopedia Brown series on Goodreads.

You can find Two-Minute Mysteries, a collection of Sobol’s syndicated columns for adults, here.

Sobol’s New York Times obituary, published on July 16, 2012, is here.

Mary Grace recommends the Danny Dunn books for fans of Encyclopedia Brown. Clarifications: Danny Dunn does not, in fact, go to the moon, as Mary Grace thought he might have, but he does go to outer space in Danny Dunn and the Anti-Gravity Paint. Also, the scientist in the book is not his uncle but his mother’s employer, Professor Bullfinch.

Deborah recommends the Henry Reed books for Encyclopedia fans. We discussed Henry Reed, Inc. on the third episode of Rereading Our Childhood.

The podcast is hosted by Buzzsprout at rereadingourchildhood.buzzsprout.com and is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other podcast platforms. You can listen to it on Buzzsprout here.

You can find Deborah’s author interviews on her blog, Bo oks Q&A by Deborah Kalb, and you can find Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s on her blog, My Life 100 Years Ago.

This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.

Rereading “B” is for Betsy by Carolyn Haywood

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(You can listen to this episode here.)

On this episode, Mary Grace and Deborah celebrate the beginning of a new school year by rereading “B” is for Betsy, Carolyn Haywood’s 1939 novel about a little girl navigating the complicated world of first grade. It was the first in a long series of books about Betsy and her friends. This was the first book that Mary Grace remembers checking out of the library and reading.

You can find the twelve books in the Betsy series on Goodreads here. As Deborah mentions, Haywood also wrote several other series, including one about a boy named Eddie and one about a boy named Penny. You can find these series on Goodreads here (Eddie) and here (Penny).

Here’s what Mary Grace wrote on her blog about rereading Dorothy Canfield Fisher’s Understood Betsy (it’s #7 on the list).

Here’s the original cover of “B” is for Betsy. It gives you an idea of the illustrations, which Mary Grace isn’t a big fan of.

Here’s the cover of the current edition, which Mary Grace and Deborah read:

Haywood’s New York Times obituary, from January 12, 1990, which, as Mary Grace mentions, erroneously says that “B” is for Betsy was Haywood’s first book, is here.

Here’s the cover of Haywood’s actual first book, When I Grow Up:

The Free Library of Philadelphia blog post about Haywood’s relationship with artist Violet Oakley and the group of women artists in Philadelphia who were known as the Red Rose Girls is here.

Here’s a photo of Haywood and Edith Emerson, a fellow student of Oakley, painting the ceiling of Vassar’s Alumnae House, which Oakley designed, in 1924. (Mary Grace said erroneously on the podcast that the photo was of Haywood and Oakley.) You can read about the project here.

Violet Oakley Visual Resources Collection, Philadelphia Museum of Art

Here’s the Free Library of Philadelphia blog post titled “Carolyn Haywood: All Sugar, No Spice.”

The Free Library of Philadelphia blog post about an unpublished novel about a boy whose father is in jail for selling heroin that was found in Haywood’s papers is here.

Deborah and Mary Grace recommend Beverly Cleary’s Ramona books for fans of “B” is for Betsy.

The podcast is hosted by Buzzsprout at rereadingourchildhood.buzzsprout.com and is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other podcast platforms. You can listen to it on Buzzsprout here.

You can find Deborah’s author interviews on her blog, Bo oks Q&A by Deborah Kalb, and you can find Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s on her blog, My Life 100 Years Ago.

Rereading Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild

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You can listen to this episode here.

On this episode, Deborah and Mary Grace discuss Ballet Shoes, Noel Streatfeild’s classic 1936 story of a trio of adopted sisters, Pauline, Petrova, and Posy, who attend a school for professional children in the performing arts in London. Ballet Shoes is the first in what became a series of “Shoes” books about children working in the theater, the circus, etc.

As Deborah and Mary Grace mention, the girls perform in these plays:

The Blue Bird, by Maurice Maeterlinck (a large chunk of which, weirdly, appears in the text of Ballet Shoes)

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, by William Shakespeare

Other Noel Streatfeild books mentioned in the podcast:

Circus Shoes (1938). As Deborah mentions, several of Streatfeild’s books were retitled to capitalize on the popularity of Ballet Shoes. This book was originally titled The Circus is Coming.

Skating Shoes (1951). This is the American title; it was published in the UK as White Boots.

The Whicharts (1931). As Deborah mentions, Streatfeild’s first novel, which is for adults, also features three adopted sisters. (According to an episode on Ballet Shoes on the wonderful Backlisted podcast, the books have identical openings.)

Here’s the cover of the first edition of Ballet Shoes. This will give you an idea of the what the illustrations by Ruth Jervis, who was Streatfeild’s sister, were like. They’re not included in most current editions, although the Puffin edition that Mary Grace bought in London has them.

Recommended by Mary Grace for fans of Ballet Shoes: We Danced in Bloomsbury Square by Jean Estoril (out of print, available from used booksellers).

Recommended by Deborah for fans of Ballet Shoes: other books in the Shoes series. Shoes books available in the United States include Theater Shoes and Dancing Shoes.

The podcast is hosted by Buzzsprout at rereadingourchildhood.buzzsprout.com and is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other podcast platforms. You can listen to it on Buzzsprout here.

You can find Debby’s author interviews on her blog, Bo oks Q&A by Deborah Kalb, and Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s on her blog, My Life 100 Years Ago.

This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.