Tabook!
Adrianna R, María J
Children's books are in the news lately -- and not always for good reasons. Books for people under 18 are disproportionately the targets of bans and censorship. This is obviously a major issue for free speech, for the rights of often underrepresented groups to tell their stories and for the rights of others to be able to hear those stories. But it’s also a sign that children’s books are actually right in the middle of important political conversations, and attempts to ban them can be ignored at our peril.
This podcast is a deep dive into the children's books that have been censored over the years – and the reasons why. Because it turns out that for as long as children’s books have existed, controversy has never been far behind.
We hope you’ll come along, whether you love children’s books like us, or just enjoy a good story about sex, drugs, war criminals, government crackdowns, accusations of Satanism -- and rabbits drinking tea.
For business inquiries: [email protected]
All episodes
Best episodes
Seasons
Top 10 Tabook! Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Tabook! episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Tabook! 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 Tabook! episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
09/14/24 • 38 min
To start off Season 2, María and Adrianna discuss the New York Times list that's been setting the literary world ablaze, and we pitch 10 children's books that should have made the cut.
Check out the full NYT list here.
What books would you add to the list?? DON'T SAY ATONEMENT >>
Check us out on instagram
For business inquiries: [email protected]
01/17/24 • 17 min
The story's been repeated for almost a hundred years: in 1931, Alice in Wonderland was banned in China because it depicts talking animals. But is the story even TRUE?? Adrianna and María put on our detective hats and examine the evidence. We also take a look at some AMAZING Chinese "Alice" sequels. Alice in China is willing to die to defend a music conference and apologies to Lewis Carroll but that's an improvement 💅
> Medium: "On Literary Censorship: Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland"
> Guardian: "Ten things you didn't know about Alice in Wonderland"
> Ripley's Believe it or Not: "Alice in Wonderland Was a Banned Book, But For a Weird Reason"
> The original 1931 New York Times article
> Anne Lyon Haight's "Banned Books"
> Sen Wong's article in the Lewis Carroll Newsletter
> Response detailing timing of Alice publications
> Paper on Chinese "Sequels" to Alice
Check us out on instagram
For business inquiries: [email protected]
12/20/23 • 28 min
What happens when a beloved children's classic has something problematic, outdated, or just plain boring in it -- and the author isn't around to fix it? Sometimes editors take matters into their own hands. We discuss editing controversies involving Shakespeare, Roald Dahl, Doctor Seuss, and even Goosebumps, and Maria offers up a much better version of Twilight.
Sources:
> BBC: Roald Dahl: The fierce debate over rewriting children's classics
> NYT: The Truth About the ‘Censorship’ of Roald Dahl
> Smithsonian Magazine on Thomas and Henrietta Bowdler
> RL Stine editing controversy [x] [x]
> Edited "Night Before Christmas"
Check us out on instagram
For business inquiries: [email protected]
11/27/23 • 24 min
Shel Silverstein was a beloved children’s book author, poet, illustrator, and f*ckboy. Is The Giving Tree super misogynistic? How much should an author’s life affect our judgment of his work? How bad does your childhood have be to make you hate happy endings?? And ... most importantly ... would you?
Sources:
>Carnegie Mellon University's Banned Books Project
>LA Times
>Banned Books Awareness Blog Post
>Biography.com - Shel Silverstein
>"The Early Life of the Talented Shel Silverstein"
>New Yorker Retrospective
Check us out on instagram
For business inquiries: [email protected]
01/10/24 • 24 min
María and Adrianna do a deep dive into the pre-publication scandal surrounding Laura Moriarty's YA novel American Heart. Did the book deserve the online backlash? We read through some spicy goodreads comments, and María contemplates a career change.
___
Sources:
>> trump allies’ statements on muslim registry x x
>> laura moriarty’s slate interview x
>> kirkus’ statement on the review change x
>> vulture interview with claiborne smith x
>> laura moriarty’s npr interview x
>> new yorker article condemning the review change x
Check us out on instagram
For business inquiries: [email protected]
Are You There, G*d?
Tabook!
10/23/23 • 27 min
Maria and Adrianna discuss the controversial novels of author and activist Judy Blume — from “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” and “Forever” to the slightly sus “Then Again, Maybe I Won’t”. We talk about deranged first kiss fantasies and the importance of children reading about experiences that are different from their own.
Check us out on instagram
For business inquiries: [email protected]
11/04/24 • 24 min
In this episode we look at Yevgeny Prigozhin — who spent 9 years in a Russian penal colony, interfered in US elections, and founded a mercenary group that has committed war crimes across the globe. And he wrote a really weird children’s book! What’s that about??
We look at the 2002 picture book "Indraguzik", Adrianna has a theory, and María decides what her supervillain name would be.
Check us out on instagram
For business inquiries: [email protected]
09/28/24 • 30 min
In this episode, we explore the life of Elena Fortún, a Spanish children’s book author whose books were considered a bad example for young women by Franco’s dictatorship. There’s secret societies, whisky and cigars, and fascist nuns. It’s getting hot in here, it’s not just us, right??
Also in this episode: Harry Potter is a dom confirmed.
Check us out on instagram
For business inquiries: [email protected]
01/31/24 • 19 min
María and Adrianna talk about Maia Kobabe's Gender Queer, which has topped the charts in recent years as the #1 most banned and challenged book in the US. Adrianna takes the plunge and actually reads it (it's really good!). María chats One Direction fanfic ... there's something for everyone here.
Buy Gender Queer here or at your local bookstore.
Check us out on instagram
For business inquiries: [email protected]
09/07/24 • 7 min
Maria and Adrianna catch up on some news they've missed during the pod's hiatus -- including some WILD new laws.
Season 2 of Tabook! begins next week!
Check us out on instagram
For business inquiries: [email protected]
Show more best episodes
Show more best episodes
FAQ
How many episodes does Tabook! have?
Tabook! currently has 17 episodes available.
What topics does Tabook! cover?
The podcast is about Literature, Fox News, Podcasts, Books, Arts, Children and Politics.
What is the most popular episode on Tabook!?
The episode title 'So Putin's Chef Wrote A Children's Book' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Tabook!?
The average episode length on Tabook! is 22 minutes.
How often are episodes of Tabook! released?
Episodes of Tabook! are typically released every 13 days, 15 hours.
When was the first episode of Tabook!?
The first episode of Tabook! was released on Oct 1, 2023.
Show more FAQ
Show more FAQ