Moving is difficult, especially when you don't speak the language, you're being haunted by a witch, and your best friend is a rat. That's the starting point for Marie Arnold's middle grade novel The Year I Flew Away. Students from Jefferson Academy in Washington, D.C. discuss rodents and video games. Actor Barry Cutler is celebrity reader. Kitty Felde is host.

Before she wrote children's books, Lisa Graff worked as a nanny. What lessons from that experience did she bring to her work on the page? Lisa talks to host Kitty Felde.

Arthur Slade writes slightly dark middle grade and YA fiction. How dark? We ask him.

A pair of twins from rural Canada take Hollywood by storm. But there's a darker side to their life in silent movies. Readers from Gilbert Paterson Middle School in Lethbridge, Ontario discuss Arthur Slade's novel Flickers. Our celebrity reader is actor, comedian, and game show host Gavin Crawford. Kitty Felde is host. Spoiler alert: this episode includes plot details.

Writer Laurie Halse Anderson talks about writing that first draft, where she finds inspiration, and track and field with host Kitty Felde.

What role did African-Americans play in the Revolutionary War? Chains - the first in a trilogy by Laurie Halse Anderson - takes us to Manhattan in the 1770's. A trio of readers from Maryland discuss the book. Actress S.W. James is celebrity reader. Kitty Felde is host.

Looking for ideas of how to spend that holiday gift card? Readers from Taylor Elementary School in Arlington, Virginia have lots of suggestions for favorite books! Bomb - Steve Sheinkin Olympians Ares - George O'Connor Finding Junie Kim - Ellen Oh Big Nate- Lincoln Peirce The Tail of Emily Windsnap - Liz Kessler  Ms. Rapscott's Girls - Elise Primavera The Baby-Sitters' Club - Anne M. Martin Where the Red Fern Grows - Wilson Rawls Henry Huggins - Beverly Cleary Pinkalicious - Victoria Kann  Twins - Varian Johnson The Vampire Book: Encyclopedia of the Undead - J. Gordon Melton The Werewolf Book: Encyclopedia of Shape-Shifting Beings - Brad Steiger The Never Girls - Kiki Thorpe Cleopatra in Space - Mike Maihack The Gingerbread Man - Gail Yerrill Honestly Katie John - Mary Calhoun

Do you see colors when you do math problems? The heroine of A MANGO SHAPED SPACE. Kids from the Mother/Daughter Book Club at One More Page bookstore in Virginia discuss the book. Writer Wendy Mass says the idea literally jumped out at her from the shelf.

Writer Stuart Gibbs didn't start out as a writer of middle grade novels. He also didn't expect to be interrupted in his interview by a member of the wildlife community in the middle of Washington, DC. He talks to host Kitty Felde.

Is there really a secret school in Washington, DC to train kids to become spies? We ask the experts in this episode: kids from Key Elementary in our nation's capital, writer Stuart Gibbs, and the man whose job description includes overseeing the activities and budget of the CIA, Congressman Eric Swalwell. Our celebrity reader is jounalist Claudia Peschuitta. Kitty Felde is host.