Rereading Our Childhood

Writer Alex Poppe joins us to talk about Deenie, Judy Blume’s 1973 novel about a girl, pigeonholed as the pretty one in her family, whose life is thrown off track when she’s diagnosed with scoliosis. Alex is the author most recently of the memoir Breakfast Wine.
Other books by Judy Blume:
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret
The One in the Middle is the Green Kangaroo
Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great
Forever
Tales of a Fourth-Grade Nothing
Then Again, Maybe I Won’t
It’s Not the End of the World
Blubber (this is the book Alex couldn’t remember the name of)
In the Unlikely Event (this is the adult novel we couldn’t remember the name of)
Also mentioned:
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, the 2023 movie (trailer here)
Judy Blume: A Life by Mark Oppenheimer
New Yorker review of Judy Blume: A Life by Katy Waldman
Otherwise Known as Judy the Great by Selina Alko, children’s biography of Judy Blume
Michigan Daily article about Deenie by Rebecca Smith, a student with scoliosis
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Recommended for fans of Deenie:
Alex: Fight Night by Miriam Toews; “The River Nemanus,” a short story by Anthony Doerr from the collection Memory Wall
Mary Grace: Karen and With Love from Karen by Marie Killilea (MG)
Deborah: Braced by Alison Gerber
Previous podcast episode:
Rereading Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret
You can find Alex at alexpoppeauthor.com, Deborah at deborahkalb.com and Mary Grace at My Life 100 Years Ago.
This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.
Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com

We had completely forgotten about Eleanor Estes's The Moffats until a friend suggested that we reread it. Published in 1941, it's the first in a series about four children growing up in small-town Connecticut in the 1910s. 
Mentioned on this episode:
Other books in the series:
The Middle Moffat (1942), a Newbery Honor Book
Rufus M. (1943), a Newbery Honor Book

The Moffat Museum (1983) 
Other books by Estes:
The Hundred Dresses (1944), a Newbery Honor Book
Ginger Pye (1951), winner of the 1952 Newbery Medal
Pinky Pye (1958)
Also mentioned:
Many Moons (1943) by James Thurber, with illustrations by Louis Slobodkin
"Eleanor Estes: Chronicler of the Family Story," by Claudia Mills, on the UConn Archives and Special Collections Blog. 
"Celebrating Children's Books Week--and a pioneering children's librarian," on Mary Grace's blog, My Life 100 Years Ago
Recommended by Deborah: The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright; Beverly Cleary's books
Recommended by Mary Grace: The All-of-a-Kind Family series by Sydney Taylor
Other episodes:
Rereading The Young Unicorns by Madeleine L'Engle
Rereading Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary
Rereading Stuart Little by E.B. White
Rereading Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
You can find Deborah at deborahkalb.com and Mary Grace at My Life 100 Years Ago.
This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.
Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com

For the first episode of our fourth (!) season, we reread E.L. Konigsburg's Newbery Medal winner From The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, which was published in 1967. This book, one of our all-time favorites, has one of the best plot premises of all time: a suburban brother and sister run away from home and camp out at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Mentioned on this episode:
Other books by Konigsburg:
Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth
A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver
About the B'nai Bagels
Also mentioned:
Ban this Book by Alan Gratz
1965 New York Times article about the Metropolitan Museum's purchase for $225 of a statue that may be a Leonardo da Vinci
1996 New York Times article about a cupid statue at the French cultural center in New York that may be by Michaelangelo
Post on the Metropolitan Museum website about celebrating the 50th anniversary of From the Mixed-Up Files
2017 Smithsonian magazine article in which Johnny Doran reminisces about playing Jamie in a film version of From the Mixed-Up Files
Recommended by Mary Grace: Freaky Friday by Mary Rodgers
Other Rereading Our Childhood episodes mentioned:
Rereading Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth by E.L. Konigsburg
Rereading Freaky Friday by Mary Rodgers
Rereading Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
You can find Deborah at deborahkalb.com and Mary Grace at My Life 100 Years Ago.
This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.
Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com

For this episode, we reread Madeleine L’Engle’s 1968 novel The Young Unicorns, the third book in the Austin family series. We discussed 1960s New York, racial representation, family musical evenings, and how absolutely bonkers this book is.
Mentioned on this episode:
Other books by L’Engle:
A Wrinkle in Time (1962)
Meet the Austins (1960)
The Moon by Night (1963)
A Ring of Endless Light (1980)
Troubling a Star (1994)
A Severed Wasp (1983)
New York Times review of The Young Unicorns by Maia Wojciechowka
Blog posts on The Young Unicorns on Pickle Me This (this is the one where the writer thinks L’Engle wrote Dave as a Black character) and Lady Fancifull
Article on The Young Unicorns by Mari Ness on Reactor
2004 New Yorker article about Madeleine L’Engle
New York Times article on race in the Wuthering Heights movie (gift link)
Other episodes:
Rereading A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
You can find Deborah at deborahkalb.com and Mary Grace at My Life 100 Years Ago.
This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.
Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com

On this episode, Deborah introduces Mary Grace to A Bear Called Paddington, the first book in the beloved series about a bear from Peru who ends up living with a London family. We discuss Paddington’s timeless appeal to children, his status as a British icon, and how the book can be read as a refugee’s story.
Mentioned on this episode:
Paddington, the 2014 movie (trailer here)
“Paddington Bear, Refugee,” by Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, June 28, 2017
Olga da Polga series by Michael Bond
Monsieur Pamplemousse series by Michael Bond
“Ma’amalade Sandwich, Your Majesty?” (video of Queen Elizabeth with Paddington on the British royal family’s website)
Article about the Paddington movie in the New York Times, January 9, 2015
Recommended for Paddington fans:
Mary Grace: Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers, Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne
Deborah: Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren, Stuart Little by A.A. Milne
Other episodes mentioned:
Rereading Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
Rereading Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers
Rereading Stuart Little by E.B. White
You can find Deborah at deborahkalb.com, Mary Grace at My Life 100 Years Ago, and Jean at jeanfreedman.com.
This episode was edited by Adam Linder of Bespoken Podcasting.
Podcast website at rereadingourchildhood.com