Intro

Welcome

first

Welcome to our first episode!

While struggling with coming back to teaching and microphone adjustments, Kyle and McKay run through a few favorite things they've read, watched, and listened to this week. Featured in this new Party Pack structure - 

For Every One, Jason Reynolds

Mr. Tiger Goes Wild, Peter Brown

Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me, Mariko Tamaki & Rosemary Valero-O'Connell 

The Anthropocene Reviewed, John Green

Thanks always to Stephen Sansom for our music!

Kyle, McKay, and their creaky chairs discuss The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Pérez and  Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu. Channeling their inner angry girls, they discuss why adults think kids have it so easy, the role of punk culture in literature, and how zines are just the coolest. "Moxie girls fight back!"

After really, really enjoying reading New Kid by Jerry Craft, the first Graphic Novel to win the Newbery Medal, McKay and Kyle talk about how wonderful the book was and how awards function for teachers and students. 

Email us at [email protected] :) 

NCTE = National Council of Teachers of English - duh, McKay :)  

McKay and Kyle discuss Eric Bell's Alan Cole Is Not a Coward and the beauty of Middle Grade books. They explore the distinctions between Middle Grade and YA, how Harry Potter charts the progression from Middle Grade to YA, and why adults should read Middle Grade books. 

Kyle and McKay explore the feelings and thoughts that drive YA and their mutual admiration for the intentions of story. Of course John Green and Jason Reynolds feature prominently. 

What is the responsibility of the YA author? McKay and Kyle discuss Looking for Alaska--the TV show and the book--while trying to unpack the responsibilities of authors and teachers. Along the way we get into the hit HBO show, Euphoria; 13 Reasons Why; The O.C.; nostalgia in television; Jason Reynolds; teaching difficult knowledge; and how hard it is to know what to do with hidden curriculum.