Before executive editor Katie Carella came to Scholastic, she taught first, second, and third grades, and she noticed a hole in her classroom library: There weren't enough books for the readers who were ready to move beyond leveled readers, but who weren't quite ready for chapter books. 

And so, she created Branches — and now Acorn — highly illustrated, easy-to-read books with engaging storylines and characters that will help kids fall in love with reading.

In this episode, you'll hear more from Katie about the Branches and Acorn books and the needs they fill. We also talk with three authors — Troy Cummings (The Notebook of Doom), Rebecca Elliott (Owl Diaries), and Jonathan Fenske (Crabby) — about exactly what goes into making these delightful, compelling books for kids.

Additional resources:

Guests:

Special thanks: