Sarah and Chandler discuss one of Beverly Cleary’s most delightful heroines, Ramona Quimby. Recipe: Sour cream chocolate frosting Music: Before the World Was Big by Girlpool

Once Upon a Podcast

'Ramona the Pest' by Beverly Cleary

Aaannnndddd they're back! Sarah and Chandler have been on a bit of a lengthy summer break, but fall is here and they're back into a routine. This week, they are discussion Trenton Lee Stewart's thrilling and charming story The Mysterious Benedict Society. Notes: Music Album: Codes and Keys -- Death Cab for Cutie Food: Sloppy Joes and hot chocolate! 

Cracking Codes with the Mysterious Benedict Society

Sarah and Chandler discuss Richard Peck's delightful tale A Year Down Yonder. 

What Happened Down Yonder

Sarah and Chandler discuss Lois Lowry's The Giver. What does it mean to be truly human? This is the question twined throughout Lowry’s 1993 book. This dystopian fiction was well ahead of its time in this genre, and definitely falls into the teen literature category. It deals heavily with themes of the human condition, pain, and free will, to name a few. The reaction to the book was enormously positive, but as with many good but thought-provoking stories, it has its share of controversy. Lowry herself addresses some of this in her introduction for the book. Violence, euthanasia, sexuality, and more have all been cited as reasons for banning this book from school libraries. Lowry’s response to this was simple: “I think banning books is a very, very dangerous thing. It takes away an important freedom. Any time there is an attempt to ban a book, you should fight it as hard as you can. It’s okay for a parent to say, ‘I don’t want my child to read this book." But it is not okay for anyone to try to make that decision for other people. The world portrayed in The Giver is a world where choice has been taken away. It is a frightening world. Let's work hard to keep it from truly happening.” Recipe Apple pies made inside the apple itself!  Music "If You Leave" by Daughter Misc. Lois Lowry's 1994 Newbery acceptance speech.

The Beauty of Color

Today on Once Upon a Podcast, Sarah and Chandler discuss independence, wonder, and mystery in Robert McCloskey's Homer Price.  Recipe: Fried Chicken: https://bit.ly/2WuE4zl Music: Benny Goodman Helen Forrest + Benny Goodman's version of "Taking a Chance on Love" 

Small Town, Big Imagination

Writers really are quite a quirky bunch, and Roald Dahl is no exception. Today, Sarah and Chandler discuss his odd but beloved book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Recipe Lava cakes: https://bit.ly/2NntKF9 Music Album Viva la Vida (Prospekt’s March Edition) -- Coldplay 

Chocolate Is (Almost) Always the Answer

This week on Once Upon a Podcast, Sarah and Chandler discuss Katherine Paterson's heart-wrenching story Bridge to Terabithia.  Bridge to Terabithia was published in 1977, and won the Newbury Medal the following year. The book famously tackles the subject of a child who dies suddenly and tragically.  Recipe Buttery Shortbread Cookies: https://bit.ly/2Obe3By Music Album  Zentropy -- Frankie Cosmos Links Katherine Paterson Q&A: https://bit.ly/2udribA Katherine Paterson video interview series: https://bit.ly/2ueEPzL  

Death Is a Difficult Theme

Today on Once Upon a Podcast, Sarah and Chandler discuss E.B. White's classic tale Charlotte's Web.  Elwyn Brooks White was the master behind three children’s books, many books for adults, and grammar guide we still use today among many other accomplishments. White loved the country, and he had a farm in North Brooklin, Maine. It is here that his most famous story, Charlotte’s Web, is set. Published in 1952 Charlotte's Web won a Newberry Medal and is still ranks as one of the number one children’s book across the country. Many children asked if his stories were true, to which White replied “No, they are imaginary tales… But real life is only one kind of life — there is also the life of the imagination.”  Recipe Donuts Music Album The Milk-Eyed Mender by Joanna Newsom Links The masterful Andrew Ferguson on E.B. White: https://www.weeklystandard.com/andrew-ferguson/writers-seat

A Web of Wonder

Today on OUAP, Sarah and Chandler debate the correct order in which to read C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia.  They focus most of their discussion on The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (the first book published, but second in the Narnia chronology).  Show Notes Recipe Victoria Sponge: https://bbc.in/2DiLsoJ Music Album The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) soundtrack (and "The Call" by Regina Spektor) My Head is an Animal - Of Monsters and Men Intro/Outro Dee Yan-Kee: https://bit.ly/2IGkVaY

Lampposts, and Other Magical Objects

Today on OUAP, Sarah and Chandler discuss Norton Juster's The Phantom Tollbooth.  Show Notes: Recipe Alphabet Cookies: https://bit.ly/1njJ4nD Music Albums/Songs Give Up - The Postal Service (Such Great Heights) Brand New Colony  Sleeping In (“don’t wake me, I plan on sleeping in”)  Intro/Outro Music Dee-Yan-Kee: https://bit.ly/2IGkVaY 

A Land of Words & Numbers

Hosts Sarah and Chandler introduce themselves and talk about their goals for this podcast.

A Little Introduction

Is children's literature just for kids? Absolutely not! Hosts Sarah and Chandler rediscover the beauty and importance of good children's literature through discussions of a wide range of stories and tales. And thanks to Chandler's love of music and Sarah's love of food, each episode features a segment on an album and a type of food that would pair well with the book of the week. Please join us as we fall in love all over again with childhood friends and discover literature that reminds us how the purpose of good children's literature is to teach us how to grow up well.

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Once Upon a Podcast

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