Category Archives: Fantasy and Magic

Rereading Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

(You can listen to this episode here.)

For this episode, we reread E.B. White’s 1952 classic Charlotte’s Web, one of the most beloved children’s books of all time. We enjoyed revisiting Wilbur, Fern, Charlotte, and the underrated Templeton the Rat.

Mentioned on this episode:

Other books by E.B. White:

Stuart Little (1945)

The Trumpet of the Swan (1970)

The Elements of Style, with William Strunk Jr. (1959)

Is Sex Necessary?, with James Thurber (1929)

Essays of E.B. White (1977)

Letters of E.B. White (1976)

Boo at the Zoo event, National Zoo

Also mentioned:

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

Post on Henry Fussy from the blog Naomi Loves

“Garth Williams, Illustrator of American Childhood,” by Sarah Larson, The New Yorker, June 3, 2016

Dear Genius: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom, edited by Leonard Marcus (1998)

Goodreads reviews of Charlotte’s Web

The Story of Charlotte’s Web: E.B. White’s Eccentric Life in Nature and the Birth of an American Classic, Michael Sims (2011)

“Death of a Pig” by E.B. White, The Atlantic, January 1948 (paywalled)

Archy and Mehitabel by Don Marquis (1927)

Eudora Welty’s New York Times review of Charlotte’s Web, October 19, 1952

Secret of the Andes by Ann Nolan Clark (1952)

Mary Grace’s blog post on children’s librarian Annie Carroll Moore

Boo at the Zoo event, National Zoo

Recommended for fans of Charlotte’s Web: Anne of Green Gables and Caddie Woodlawn (Mary Grace); Stuart Little, The Trumpet of the Swan, Misty of Chincoteague, and The Cricket in Times Square (Deborah)

Charlotte’s Web, 1973 movie (trailer here)

Charlotte’s Web, 2006 movie (trailer here)

Charlotte’s Web, 2025 miniseries (trailer here)

Other Rereading Our Childhood episodes:

Rereading Stuart Little by E.B. White

Rereading Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Rereading The Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byars

Rereading Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink

The podcast is hosted by Buzzsprout at rereadingourchildhood.buzzsprout.com and is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other platforms.

You can find Deborah at deborahkalb.com and Mary Grace’s adventures in the 1920s at My Life 100 Years Ago.

This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.

Rereading Magic by the Lake by Edward Eager

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(You can listen to this episode here.)

On this episode, we reread Edward Eager’s 1957 book Magic by the Lake. It’s the sequel to Half Magic, which we discussed during our first season. We talk about our love for Eager’s magical adventures and our discomfort with some scenes that wouldn’t pass muster today.

Mentioned on this episode:

The Time Garden, the fourth book in the Half Magic series, featuring Katharine and Martha’s children

Seven-Day Magic, Eager’s last book

Also mentioned:

Edward Eager’s New York Times obituary

By Pike and Dyke: A Tale of the Rise of the Dutch Republic by G.A. Henty (read by Mark)

Deborah’s time travel novels, George Washington and the Magic Hat, John Adams and the Magic Bobblehead, and Thomas Jefferson and the Return of the Magic Hat

The books of E. Nesbit, Eager’s favorite children’s writer

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

The Magic Tree House books

“Goodbye, John,” Edward Eager’s biggest hit song

Songs the children hear, sing, or request: “Paddling Madeleine Home,” “Do Do Do What You Done Done Done Before,” “Yes! We Have No Bananas,”

Recommended for fans of Magic by the Lake: The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright (Deborah); The Four-Story Mistake by Elizabeth Enright and The Long Secret by Louise Fitzhugh (Mary Grace)

Other Rereading Our Childhood episodes:

Rereading Half Magic by Edward Eager

Rereading Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers

Rereading Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren

Rereading The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright

The podcast is hosted by Buzzsprout at rereadingourchildhood.buzzsprout.com and is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other platforms.

You can find Deborah at deborahkalb.com 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.

Rereading Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers

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(You can listen to this episode here.)

On this episode, we reread Mary Poppins, P.L. Travers’s beloved 1934 classic. We discuss the difference between the book and the movie version of the magical nanny, changes in the book to remove racist portrayals, and Travers’s strange and interesting life.

Mentioned on the episode:

Other books in the series:

Mary Poppins Comes Back (1935)

Mary Poppins Opens the Door (1943)

Mary Poppins in the Park (1952)

Also mentioned:

“A Spoonful of Bile,” Kathryn Hughes’ 2005 Guardian review of Mary Poppins She Wrote: A Biography of P.L. Travers.

A Goodreads review of Mary Poppins by Julie G that discusses racism in Mary Poppins.

A post on the website “American Indians in Children’s Literature” that discusses racist language in the book (with side-by-side examples of original and revised passages from the “Bad Tuesday” chapter) and Travers’s experiences with American Indian communities during World War II.

Travers’s 1996 New York Times obituary that repeats her untrue claim that her father was a sugar planter (gift link)

The trailer for Mary Poppins Returns, the 2018 movie sequel

Alli Hoff Kosik’s childhood rereading podcast, SSR, which recently signed off after seven years and over 300 episodes.

Recommended for fans of Mary Poppins:

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Pippi Longstocking (Deborah)

The Edward Eager magic books, Ballet Shoes, and Harriet the Spy (Mary Grace)

Other Rereading Our Childhood episodes mentioned:

Rereading Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild

Rereading The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

The podcast is hosted by Buzzsprout at rereadingourchildhood.buzzsprout.com and is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other platforms.

You can find Deborah at deborahkalb.com 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.

Rereading The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper

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In this episode, we read Susan Cooper’s 1973 novel The Dark is Rising, which was a Newbery Honor Book. It’s the story of Will, a British boy who discovers on his eleventh birthday that he’s the last of the Old Ones, destined to fight against the forces of the Dark. It takes place over the period from the winter solstice to the twelfth day of Christmas, so it’s a great holiday season read. (If the whole “magical British boy/eleventh birthday” thing sounds familiar, Cooper is widely considered to have influenced J.K. Rowling.)

Mentioned on this episode:

Other books in the The Dark is Rising series:

Over Sea, Under Stone (1965)

Greenwitch (1974)

The Grey King (1975)

Silver on the Tree (1977)

Also by Susan Cooper:

Dawn of Fear

Also mentioned:

The Phoenix and the Carpet by E. Nesbit, which a woman reads to the children of Will’s village during a snowstorm.

The 2022 BBC radio adaption of The Dark is Rising, available here

The Seeker, the 2007 movie based in The Dark is Rising, trailer here

Kids’ reviews of The Dark is Rising at Common Sense Media

2020 Backlisted podcast episode on The Dark is Rising

2022 Backlisted podcast episode on Ballet Shoes

The Lost Land of Susan Cooper, Susan Cooper’s official website

Other episodes mentioned:

Rereading The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright

Rereading A W r inkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

Rereading Half Magic by Edward Eager

Rereading The Owl Service by Alan Garner

Rereading Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild

Rereading The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander

Rereading Black Hearts in Battersea by Joan Aiken

Rereading February’s Road by John Verney

Rereading The Children of Green Knowe by L.M. Boston

Recommended for fans of The Dark is Rising: the Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling, The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander, and Black Hearts in Battersea by Joan Aiken (Deborah); The Once and Future King by T.H. White and the Callendar family series, including Friday’s Tunnel and February’s Road, by John Verney.

You can find Deborah’s author interviews at 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.

Rereading The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

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(You can listen to this episode here.)

On this episode, Deborah rereads, and Mary Grace reads, a book that needs no introduction: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, also known as The Wizard of Oz. They discuss weird sequels, the history of sunglasses, the monoculture, and, of course, the movie.

Mentioned on the episode:

Also by L. Frank Baum:

The Tin Woodman of Oz (1918)

Father Goose, His Book (1899)

Other Rereading Our Childhood episodes:

Rereading Black Hearts in Battersea by Joan Aiken

Rereading Half Magic by Edward Eager

Also mentioned:

The Wizard of Oz, the movie. You can see the original trailer, which is fascinating (though blurry), with lots of talk about the book, here.

The Wiz, the adaptation starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson. You can see the trailer here.

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, by Gregory Maguire.

Recommended for fans of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz:

Mary Grace: Half Magic and other books by Edward Eager.

Deborah: Other books in the Oz series, The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander.

The podcast is hosted by Buzzsprout at rereadingourchildhood.buzzsprout.com and is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other platforms.

You can find Deborah’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.

Rereading The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander

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(You can listen to this episode here.)

Mary Grace and Deborah discuss The Book of Three (1964), the first book in Lloyd Alexander’s five-book series The Chronicles of Prydain. Loosely based on Welsh mythology, the book chronicles the adventures of Taran, assistant pig-keeper to the oracular pig Hen Wen; Eilonwy, a strong-minded princess; and an entertaining cast of travel companions.

Other books in the series:

The Black Cauldron (1965), a Newbery Honor Book

The Castle of Llyr (1966)

Tara n Wanderer (1967)

The High King (1968), winner of the 1969 Newbery Medal

Other books by Lloyd Alexander:

Time Cat (1963). (Deborah discussed Time Cat on a blog post on her favorite children’s books featuring time travel.)

And Let t he Credit Go (1955), Alexander’s first novel, based on his experience working in a bank

Janine is French (1960)

The Wizard in the Tree (1974)

Park Avenue Vet (1960)

Fifty Years in the Doghouse (1964)

The King’s Fountain (1971), illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats

Also mentioned on the episode:

A 2012 School Library Journal poll on the best children’s novels, with The Book of Three at #18 and The High King at #68

Sam, Banks, and Moonshine, the Caldecott Medal-winning picture book by Evaline Ness, who illustrated the covers for the original editions of the Prydain Chronicles

Trailer of the Disney movie The Black Cauldron, based on The Book of Three and The Black Cauldron

2010 Slate article on the movie The Black Cauldron

Recommended for fans of The Book of Three:

Deborah: A Wrinkle in Time (discussed on a previous episode), The Phantom Tollbooth (discussed on a previous episode)

Mary Grace: The Owl Service (discussed on a previous episode), The Dark is Rising series

Mary Grace found a fellow The Book of Three fan at The English Bookshop, a wonderful bookstore in Uppsala, Sweden.

The podcast is hosted by Buzzsprout at rereadingourchildhood.buzzsprout.com and is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other platforms.

You can find Deborah’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.

Rereading The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

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(You can listen to this episode here.)

On this episode, Mary Grace and Deborah discuss The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Juster’s 1961 classic about Milo, a boy who’s bored with life until a mysterious tollbooth takes him and his electric car to The Lands Beyond, where he meets the warring kings of Dictionopolis and Digitopolis and many other memorable characters. Jules Feiffer’s numerous illustrations are as important a part of the story as the text.

This is the last episode of the season. We’ll be back in May.

Mentioned on this episode:

The Dot and the Line (1963), written and illustrated by Norton Juster

The Odious Ogre (2010) by Norton Juster, illustrated by Jules Feiffer

Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson

The New York Times Book Review podcast’s 2020 interview with Jules Feiffer, where he talks about his friendship and collaboration with Juster

Juster’s 2021 New York Times obituary

A 2015 Smithsonian Magazine profile on Juster where he discusses his synesthesia

Recommended for fans of The Phantom Tollbooth:

Half Magic by Edward Eager

The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum and the other Oz books

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

The podcast is hosted by Buzzsprout at rereadingourchildhood.buzzsprout.com and is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other podcast platforms.

You can find Deborah’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.

Our Favorite Children’s Books from 50 Years Ago

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(You can listen to this episode here.)

Mary Grace and Deborah ring in 2024 with a special episode where they count down their five favorite books from 50 years ago, defined as published between 1972 and 1974. They (mostly) didn’t reread these books for the episode, so their choices are based on their childhood memories.

As Mary Grace mentions, the format was inspired by the Book Riot podcast, which has done a number of similar countdowns, including a fun episode on the top bookish phenomena of the past 25 years.

Here are Deborah’s and Mary Grace’s favorites–but we suggest that you listen to the episode before looking at the list!

Deborah’s Favorites

5. Nobody’s Family is Going to Change by Louise Fitzhugh
4. A Billion for Boris by Mary Rodgers
3. Victoria by Barbara Brooks Wallace
2. The Genie of Sutton Place by George Selden
1. A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver by E.L. Konigsburg

Mary Grace’s Favorites

5. A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L’Engle
4. Dinky Hocker Shoots Smack! by M.E. Kerr
3. Glory in the Flower by Norma Johnston
2. A Billion for Boris by Mary Rodgers
1. The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper

You can find Deborah’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.

Rereading Half Magic by Edward Eager

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You can listen to this episode here.

In this episode, Mary Grace and Deborah discuss Edward Eager’s Half Magic, the first of Eager’s seven books of magical adventures. Four bored siblings living in a Midwestern city in the 1920s find a magic amulet…except it only grants half of what you wish for. We talk about what has and hasn’t held up in the seven decades since Half Magic was published, about Eager’s life, and about the obscure jokes Eager threw in to entertain himself.

The Half Magic children go to see Sandra, a 1924 silent movie (now lost) starring Barbara La Marr. As Mary Grace discusses on the podcast, this movie is not at all appropriate for children. Here’s a still, and you can read the review from Moving Picture World, which didn’t like the move any more than the children did, here.

Barbara La Marr and Bert Lytell in “Sandra”

As Mary Grace mentions, Edward Eager had a career in show business as well as being a children’s writer. You can listen to this YouTube recording of Peggy Lee singing “Good-Bye, John,” lyrics by Eager, and decide whether you agree with her that he was more talented as a writer than as a lyricist.

The original cover of Half Magic appears at the top of the post. Mary Grace and Debby were a bit alarmed by the illustration chosen for the current paperback edition (not by original illustrator N.M. Bodecker), which features two knights who have been chopped into pieces. (Don’t worry, they don’t remain in this state for long.)

Here are links to other books Debby and Mary Grace recommend for fans of Half Magic.

Recommended by Mary Grace (not just because Debby wrote them! They’re wonderful books!):
George Washington and the Magic Hat, by Deborah Kalb
John Adams and the Magic Bobblehead, by Deborah Kalb
Thomas Jefferson and the Return of the Magic Hat, by Deborah Kalb

Recommended by Debby:***
The Time Garden, by Edward Eager
Time Cat: The Remarkable Journeys of Jason and Gareth, by Lloyd Alexander
Tom’s Midnight Garden, by Philippa Pearce
A Traveller in Time, by Alison Uttley
A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L’Engle

Debby’s post on these books appeared on the website shepherd.com.

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.

Rereading Freaky Friday by Mary Rodgers

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(You can listen to this episode here.)

In this episode, Mary Grace and Deborah reread one of their childhood favorites, Mary Rodgers’ 1972 mother-daughter body-switching story Freaky Friday. They also discuss Rodger’s posthumous 2022 memoir Shy, which was a New York Times Notable Book.

Here’s the original Edward Gorey cover:

And the cover for the sequel, A Billion for Boris:

The cover of the paperback edition Mary Grace read, which left her longing for her 1970s copy, turns out to be nowhere to be found on the internet.

Mentioned in this episode:

The intro to the PBS show Mystery!, with animation based on illustrations by Edward Gorey.

Summer Switch by Mary Rodgers, in which Ape Face and his dad switch bodies, with less-than-hilarious results.

Freaky Monday, a supposedly co-authored by actually more like licensed 2009 addition to the franchise.

The 1976 movie starring Barbara Harris and Jodie Foster.

The 2003 movie starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan.

Vice Versa, F. Anstey’s 1882 novel about a British man who switches bodies with his son.

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.