Kidliterate
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Top 10 Kidliterate Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Kidliterate episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Kidliterate for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Kidliterate episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
Family Meetings + Summer Planning
Kidliterate
05/24/21 • 29 min
In our house, a weekly family meeting on Sunday afternoons helps set expectations, troubleshoot issues, and – best of all – make plans for FUN! In today’s episode Sarah does a deep dive into how family meetings work in the Powers house, from what, when, why, and how they happen to sample agenda items and ideas for making them fun for kids of different ages. As always, we share book recommendations from what we’re reading and what YOU’re reading. Join us!
Sponsor Spotlight: Sudio
Sudio makes our family’s favorite bluetooth wireless earphones. The Ett style is available now for $129, and for a limited time you can save an additional 15% with promo code PODCAST. Purchases of the Ett style also unlock 50% off a wireless charger! Shop now at Sudio.com.
Links we discussed:
- This is our last episode before a summer hiatus! Catch up with us on Instagram at @kidliterate, and be sure you’re also following @powersofmine and @themomhour
- All our past episodes can be found in our archives
We are part of the Bookshop.org Affiliate Program, which means if you click through one of our Bookshop.org links and make a purchase, we earn a small commission at no additional cost to you – AND you’ll be helping local bookstores at the same time. Thanks!
What we’re reading:
- Allegra is reading Graceful and The Last Present, part of The Wish novels by Wendy Mass
- Reid is reading birding books like Field Guide to the Birds of North America, The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America, and Sibley’s Birding Basics
- Violet is reading Owl Diaries series by Rebecca Elliott and They Threw Us Away by Daniel Kraus
- Sarah is reading The Addiction Inoculation by Jessica Lahey
What you’re reading:
- Katie, 11, is reading Mother Daughter Book Club series by Heather Vogel Frederick, and also enjoyed the Enola Holmes mysteries by Nancy Springer
- Katie’s mom Kristin enjoyed The Beekeeper’s Apprentice by Laurie R. King
Email us at [email protected] – we’d love to hear from you!
05/10/21 • 23 min
As more families start to travel again this spring and summer, we’re chatting about our own wanderlust, and how it relates to the media we consume. We talk about where we’ve been, where we’d like to go, and how the books we read and the shows we watch have inspired our travel goals. Plus we’ve got updates to what we’re reading (and listening to), and what YOU’re reading too. Join us!
Sponsor Spotlight: Ana Luisa
Ana Luisa designs ethically-made jewelry with a conscience, with new styles released every Friday. Allegra loves these Sia earrings and Sarah’s a huge fan of the Mara ring. Visit www.analuisa.com/kidlit to shop for timeless, beautiful jewelry pieces.
Links we discussed:
- Books:
- Shows:
What you’re reading:
Email us at [email protected] – we’d love to hear from you!
Technology That Helps Us Read, Listen & Play
Kidliterate
04/26/21 • 32 min
Behind the books we read, the podcasts we love, the movies we watch, and the music we listen to are the methods by which we consume the media. From smart speakers to apps, headphones to charging solutions, today’s episode is all about the tech in our lives that helps us consume the media we love. As always, we finish the episode with what we’re reading and what you’re reading. Join us!
Sponsor Spotlight: Ana Luisa
Ana Luisa designs ethically-made jewelry with a conscience, with new styles released every Friday. Check out the Ana Luisa Mother’s Day sale and get 15% all products (order by May 5 in the US to gift in time for Mother’s Day!). Allegra loves these Sia earrings and Sarah’s a huge fan of the Chloe ring. Visit www.analuisa.com/kidlitmd to shop for timeless, beautiful Mother’s Day gifts.
- Our family uses Sonos speakers enabled with Google Assistant
- We love the Spotify Premium Family Plan, and we touched on Spotify Kids
- To check out ebooks and audiobooks for free using our public library card, we use the Libby and Hoopla apps
- We also have an Audible subscription for audiobooks we plan to listen to over and over again
- Allegra and Reid have Kindle Paperwhites, which we send ebooks to wirelessly
- We talked more about kids reading on Kindles in this episode
- We use Mabels Labels to stake our claim on chargers and cords
- This Fast Charging Station for Multiple Devices helps our family keep devices charged and organized
- Allegra got her latest book recommendations from an issue of The Week Junior
- Allegra recently read 11 Birthdays by Wendy Mass, as well as Shaking Up the House by Yamile Saied Méndez
- Sarah is reading Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi
What you’re reading:
- Heidi emailed to share that her 2.5 year old loves Dinotopia, A Land Apart from Time: 20th Anniversary Edition by James Gurney. They also love the Narwhal and Jelly books by Ben Clayton and The Berenstain Bears books by Stan and Jan Berenstain
- Heidi herself is reading The New Jim Crow (Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness) by Michelle Alexander
Email us at [email protected] – we’d love to hear from you!
04/12/21 • 28 min
It’s easy to get excited about new books at the library or in stores, but sometimes we forget just how many great books we already have at home. In today’s episode Sarah and Allegra each choose four books – across multiple age levels and genres from picture books through YA fiction – to spotlight from our home shelves. We share why we chose them, why we love them, and who else might love them too. As always, we close the show with what we’re reading lately, and welcome two special guest voices to share what THEY’re reading right now too. Enjoy!
- Fox in Socks by Dr. Seuss
- Seven Blind Mice by Ed Young
- Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle’s Farm, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle’s Magic by Betty MacDonald
- Murder is Bad Manners by Robin Stevens
- Raggedy Ann Stories by Johnny Gruelle
- A World Below by Wesley King
- The Clementine series by Sara Pennypacker
- Allegra just finished A Spy in the House by Y. S. Lee (the first book in The Agency series)
- Sarah is reading Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi (we also mentioned the young reader’s edition, Stamped (For Kids): Racism, Antiracism, and You)
What you’re reading:
- Reid just finished the six-book series The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, by Michael Scott (no, not THAT Michael Scott); the best book he’s read at school in 5th grade this year is Blood on the River: James Town, 1607 by Elisa Carbone
- Violet is into Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (a read-aloud with dad), and loves puppy books at school, like Abandoned! by Jenny Dale. Her teacher is reading aloud Friendship According to Humphrey by Betty G. Birney
Email us at [email protected] – we’d love to hear from you!
Image by Ria Sopala from Pixabay
Educational (And Fun!) Nonfiction Books
Kidliterate
03/29/21 • 17 min
From encyclopedias to biographies, nonfiction additions to your home library make for great learning–and fun–at all ages. In Episode 29 we share some of the reasons we love a well-curated nonfiction collection, recommendations for capturing kids’ natural interest through nonfiction books, tips for reluctant readers, and more. Plus, as always, we share what we’re reading and what YOU’re reading. Join us!
- Don’t overlook picture books that tell a true story as an entry into nonfiction. We love:
- Everything by Emma Bland Smith, but especially Journey: Based on the True Story of OR7, the Most Famous Wolf in the West and Odin, Dog Hero of the Fires
- Raise Your Hand! by Alice Paul Tapper
- Visual encyclopedias like Smithsonian’s Animal!, Dinosaur!, and anything from the DK / Smithsonian partnership (we’re eyeing the Human Body! one, and we also own/love Timelines of Everything)
- Multi-topic compilation fact books are a hit in our house, like 5,000 Awesome Facts series
- We mentioned our episode History Through Books, which specifically touches on biographies, history books, and historical fiction
- The Who Is? and Who Was? (and What Is? / What Was?) series is a hit for a reason; we also hear the Netflix adaptation is great!
- For emerging and early readers who prefer nonfiction, we got a lot of mileage out of paperback readers like these from National Geographic or these from Ranger Rick
- Allegra finished the first book in the Twilight series (Common Sense Media review here) and is now reading This Tender Land
- Sarah is still reading Keep Sharp: Build a Better Brain at Any Age by Dr. Sanjay Gupta
What you’re reading:
Helen emailed to share that her 11-year-old just finished the Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein. She recently read Charlotte’s Web aloud to her six-year-old, followed by The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo. Helen herself recently loved Homegoing (which Sarah misread as Homecoming – oops!) by Yaa Gyasi.
Email us at [email protected] – we’d love to hear from you!
TV Series For Tweens, Teens & Families
Kidliterate
03/15/21 • 23 min
From animated comedies to edgy documentaries, 1990s mega-hits to new releases, our family is big into streaming television lately. Today’s episode is fully of recommendations for TV shows to watch as a family as well as shows specifically for elementary-aged viewers, tweens, and teens. As always, we round out the episode with book recommendations inspired by what we’re reading AND what you’re reading with your kids these days. Join us!
- We mentioned our past episode on Survivor vs. The Amazing Race
- Sarah and Allegra love listening to Office Ladies to supplement our watching of the American version of The Office
- The World’s A Little Blurry, the Apple TV+ documentary about Billie Eilish, has mature content but was such a great watching experience for parents/teen together
- All Creatures Great & Small, on PBS, is family-friendly but possibly a little slow for kids
- Gravity Falls (Disney Plus)
- We Bare Bears (Netflix)
- Wandavision (Disney Plus)
- Nailed It! (Netflix)
- The West Wing (Amazon, HBO)
- Sarah is reading Keep Sharp: Build a Better Brain at Any Age by Sanjay Gupta
- Allegra is about to start This Tender Land: A Novel by William Kent Krueger
What you’re reading:
- Joyce, mom to a 5-year-old and 3-year-old is loving Rodham: A Novel, by Curtis Sittenfeld
- With Max, age 5, she’s reading aloud Magic Tree House: Merlin Missions and Ivy & Bean
- They’ve enjoyed audiobooks The Lighthouse Family series by Cynthia Rylant; Winterbourne Home for Vengeance and Valor by Ally Carter; and the Henry Huggins books by Beverly Cleary
- Joyce’s 3-year-old’s current favorite picture books are Madeline, Seven Silly Eaters by Mary Ann Hoberman, and the Pigeon books by Mo Willems
Email us at [email protected] – we’d love to hear from you!
Image by 愚木混株 Cdd20 from Pixabay
03/01/21 • 24 min
Let’s talk about food and cooking–and the media that helps us make and eat yummy stuff! In Episode 27 we share our favorite ways to get kids inspired in the kitchen, from magazines to cookbooks, TV shows to apps. Allegra talks about a multi-course, internationally-inspired meal she recently made from scratch for a school project, and, as always, we round out the episode with what we’re reading and what YOU’re reading. Join us!
- Highlights Magazine
- Subscription Box Services
- Cookbooks
- TV Shows
- Apps
- Toca Kitchen
- Toca Kitchen Monsters
- Toca Kitchen Sushi
- NYTimes Cooking App (Apple | Google)
- Gadgets & Gifts
- Small chefs knives, like these that we’ve had for years
- Wilton Decorating Piping Tip Set
- Other episodes we mentioned
- Sarah is reading Untamed by Glennon Doyle
- Allegra is reading Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari and The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
What you’re reading:
Amibeth emailed us a great list of book recommendations based on what she is reading to, and with, her three boys, ages 6 and 3 (twins!):
Connor (Age 6):
- Zoey and Sassafras series by Asia Citro
- Real Pigeons series by Andrew McDonald
- Dragon Masters series by Tracey West
- Pet Shop Private Eye series by Colleen AF Venable
- 13-story Treehouse Series by Andy Griffiths
Read Alouds to Connor:
- Frank Einstein Series by Jon Scieszka
- Encyclopedia Brown by Donald Sobol
- Samantha Spinner and the Sup...
Getting Started With Audiobooks (Plus Audiobook Recommendations For Preschoolers Through Teens)
Kidliterate
02/15/21 • 25 min
Listening to audiobooks is a great way to pass the time on car rides or during long days at home, and we have some specific suggestions for HOW to get your kids hooked on listening to great books. In today’s episode we share ideas for getting started with audiobooks (even with very young children), plus some specific titles that we love for little kids and several more our bigger kids have been loving lately. As always, we wrap up the episode with what we’ve been reading and what YOU’ve been reading. Enjoy!
Want to help us out? Take our short listener survey before February 28, 2021 by clicking here.
- Sarah briefly mentioned The Soul of America by Jon Meacham
- Your public library most likely uses the Libby app to borrow digital titles (including audiobooks) for FREE, and read/listen to them on your preferred device
- When Violet was a preschooler we got a LOT of mileage out of Disney stories, which you can find free on Spotify (essentially the audio versions of familiar animated films)
- The Frog & Toad Audio Collection was a favorite with little listeners
- Allegra and Sarah love listening to the Little House audiobooks, long after we’ve read them in print. We enjoyed The Long Winter and Little Town on the Prairie most recently
- Violet loves The Bad Beginning, A Multi-Voice Recording: A Series of Unfortunate Events #1
- Allegra and Violet are currently listening to The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell
- Reid and Violet love the Guinea Dog collection of audiobooks
- We all thoroughly enjoyed The Tale of Desperaux
- If you haven’t already listened, check out Episode 02, which has more audiobook recommendations!
Sarah is reading All Creatures Great & Small by James Herriott (and loving it!). Allegra just finished Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys, and is thinking about starting A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith.
What you’re reading:
Jenna from British Columbia wrote to use to share what she and daughters Neva and Tessa are reading:
- Neva (age 6) is loving The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser
- Tessa (age 3) loves all the Pigeon books by Mo Willems
- Jenna is reading The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab
Email us at [email protected] – we’d love to hear from you!
Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay
Reading Habits (When, Where & How We Read)
Kidliterate
02/01/21 • 28 min
If you’re listening, you probably identify as a reader. But do you give much thought to WHERE, WHEN, and HOW you read? Today’s episode is all about our family’s reading habits; with two grownups and three kids, we run the gamut between late-night marathon readers to early birds who read in the morning, and everything in between. In this episode we also chat about electronic vs. paper books, reading in bed vs. outside, and more. Plus we’ll share what we’re reading and what YOU’re reading. Join us!
Want to help us out? Take our short listener survey by clicking here.
- Allegra mentioned that she’s reading Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World–and Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling
- Allegra also mentioned The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
- Violet (age 8) has been totally obsessed with The One & Only Ivan and The One & Only Bob, both by Katherine Applegate
- Allegra (12) and her 10-year-old brother both have Kindle Paperwhite e-readers, which Sarah has set up so that they only show certain books and aren’t browser-enabled
- Allegra has this cover for her Kindle and Reid has this one
- Allegra just finished The Selection series by Kiera Cass (here’s the Commonsense Media review)
- Sarah is finishing up The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels by Jon Meacham
- Sarah has on deck All Creatures Great & Small by James Herriott (our family also loves the James Herriot Treasury for Children, and can’t wait to watch the PBS series soon!)
- Sarah also has Untamed by Glennon Doyle on her nightstand
What you’re reading:
- Jaida wrote to share that she’s been listening to audiobooks lately, especially as a way to hear unfamiliar cultures and language pronounced by native speakers. She especially enjoyed Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram
Email us at [email protected] – we’d love to hear from you!
Image by 愚木混株 Cdd20 from Pixabay
Kidliterate Coming Soon!
Kidliterate
10/22/19 • 1 min
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FAQ
How many episodes does Kidliterate have?
Kidliterate currently has 36 episodes available.
What topics does Kidliterate cover?
The podcast is about Education For Kids, Parenting, Kids & Family and Podcasts.
What is the most popular episode on Kidliterate?
The episode title 'Travel Dreams Inspired By What We Read & Watch' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Kidliterate?
The average episode length on Kidliterate is 20 minutes.
How often are episodes of Kidliterate released?
Episodes of Kidliterate are typically released every 14 days.
When was the first episode of Kidliterate?
The first episode of Kidliterate was released on Oct 22, 2019.
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