Book Club for Kids

The NEA says 7 in ten middle schoolers read more than ten books a year. By high school, that number drops to less than half. Wanna get your kids excited about reading? Book Club for Kids is a free, 20 minute podcast where middle grade readers talk about books with host Kitty Felde. The show includes a celebrity reader and a conversation with the author.

Book Club for Kids was originally inspired by conversations I had with young readers at the LA Times Festival of Books. I was there meeting and greeting fans of my old station KPCC where I hosted "Talk of the City" for nearly a decade. Parents would come up to our booth to say how much they liked the station and the talk show and their kids just looked bored. These were kids trapped in mom's carpool, forced to listen to public radio, desperate to hear young voices or conversations about things that interested them. What would they like to listen to?

The Book Club for Kids was born.

The show won the prestigious Literacy in Media Award. And I believe Book Club for Kids was the reason I was named Journalist of the Year three years out of four by the LA Press Club and the Society of Professional Journalists.

A live, on-stage version of Book Club for Kids became an annual tradition for half a decade at the LA Times Festival of Books. The show moved to cable TV in Los Angeles and now, Book Club for Kids has become a podcast.

So far, our celebrity readers include the FBI's special agent for weapons of mass destruction, an LA Laker, and Washington DC Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton. The show also features interviews with the authors - including this year's Newbery Award winner Kwame Alexander.

Already, the show has gotten some buzz: it made the front page of DC's local newspaper:

http://thesouthwester.com/2015/07/06/southwest-students-stars-of-new-book-club-for-kids-podcast/?

And there's an article about the show in this month's "Washington Parent" magazine:

http://www.washingtonparent.com/articles/1509/1509-mixed-media.php Hide full description

The NEA says 7 in ten middle schoolers read more than ten books a year. By high school, that number drops to less than half. Wanna get your kids excited about reading? Book Club for Kids is a free, 20 minute podcast where middle grade readers talk about books with host Kitty Felde. The show includes a celebrity reader and a conversation with the author.Book Club for Kids was originally inspired by conversations I had with young readers at the LA Times Festival of Books. I was there meeting and greeting fans of my old station KPCC where I hosted "Talk of the City" for nearly a decade. Parents would come up to our booth to say how much they liked the station and the talk show and their kids just looked bored. These were kids trapped in mom's carpool, forced to listen to public radio,... Show full description