Tag Archives: Mary Rodgers

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 Books 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, Books 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.