Happy holidays! We're kicking this episode off by looking ahead to 2018: Three Scholastic Book Clubs editors share their predictions for five trends we're going to see in children's books in 2018. We also take a trip to the annual Scholastic Employee Holiday Book Fair and talk with some of our colleagues about what books are on their must-buy list this holiday season. (Spoiler alert: Everyone wants the Harry Potter illustrated editions!) 

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With Star Wars fever running high, we are talking with Jarrett Krosoczka this week, the author and illustrator of the two latest books in the Star Wars: Jedi Academy series, A New Class and The Force Oversleeps! Jarrett talks about how he got his start in children's publishing and what it's been like to take over the helm at Jedi Academy. He also shares a little bit about his forthcoming graphic novel memoir, Hey, Kiddo, which is due out in Fall 2018.

As Yoda would say, "Listen, you must!"

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This week, we're talking (and singing!) with Julia Donaldson, the 2011-2013 Children's Laureate in the UK and the author of more than 140 books for children including The Gruffalo, Stick Man, and most recently, Zog and the Flying Doctors.

In this episode, Julia and her husband, Malcolm, share part of their song "Zog and the Flying Doctors," and Julia talks with us about her passion for storytelling, her love of libraries, and why she decided to write a feminist princess.

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This week, we're talking about civics education. At a time when our republic feels particularly unsettled, we’re asking: What do students know about their government? What SHOULD they know? Teachers tell us that there is a critical need for materials that help students understand their role in a democracy and as citizens of the world—whether the lesson is understanding the three branches of government, spotting fake news, or simply learning how to disagree respectfully, teachers of all grade levels are having civics-related discussions almost daily. 

In this episode, we sit down with four of our Scholastic Classroom Magazines editors to talk about how they help teachers bring civics into the classroom. We also talk with a fourth-grade teacher from New York about the types of lessons she's sharing with her students.

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This week, we're taking you with us to the Queens Museum as we attend a special event honoring the Panorama of the City of New York exhibit — a miniature model fo New York City that was built for the 1964-1965 World's Fair. The exhibit plays a pivotal role in Brian Selznick's bestselling novel Wonderstruck, as well as its recent movie adaptation. We talk with Brian about Wonderstruck and what it was like to see his novel come to life on the big screen. Later in the episode, we also hear from Louise Weinberg, curator and archives manager from the Queens Museum, who will share some of the history of the Panorama.

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"I stopped reading books that had humans in them after Harriet [the Spy] because I knew there wouldn't be any humans like me," — Sarah Moon, author of Sparrow. 

At Scholastic, we're proud to publish authors of differend backgrounds, cultures, races, abilities, and orientations. But we also know that many of our authors have felt the same way Sarah did as a child. Like her, many felt that they didn't exist in children's books when they were growing up. And like her, many are now writing to change that for future generations. We invited them to share their stories and to talk about why representation in children's books is so crucial. These stories will break your heart, but they will also give you hope: hope that today's children will never doubt that they can be the heroes of their own stories. 

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This week, we're talking myths, magic and metaphors with bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater, whose newest novel,All the Crooked Saints, will be in stores on October 10. Maggie is joined in the studio by her editor, David Levithan, as well as some extra special guests: her dad and her brother! Later in the episode, we'll also talk with Booklist editor Daniel Kraus about Booklist's 50 Best YA Books of All Time list, which just so happens to include Maggie's New York Times bestselling series The Raven Cycle.

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This week, we're joined in the studio by Daniel José Older, author of the New York Times bestselling Shadowshaper, an urban fantasy for young adults that follows the adventures of Sierra Santiago, a Brooklyn teen with supernatural powers. Daniel is also a musician, an artist, and a former paramedic. We're talking with him about his latest book, Shadowhouse Fall, and about his efforts to bring more diversity to children's literature.

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• Learn more about Shadowshaper and Shadowhouse Fall
• Learn more about Daniel José Older
• Find Daniel José Older on Twitter

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• Daniel José Older is the New York Times bestselling author of the Young Adult series the Shadowshaper Cypher (Scholastic), the Bone Street Rumba urban fantasy series (Penguin), and the upcoming Middle Grade sci-fi adventure Flood City (Scholastic). He won the International Latino Book Award and has been nominated for the Kirkus Prize, the Mythopoeic Award, the Locus Award, the Andre Norton Award, and yes, the World Fantasy Award. Shadowshaper was named one of Esquire’s 80 Books Every Person Should Read.

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• Music composed by Lucas Elliot Eberl
• Sound mix and editing by Daniel Jordan and Christopher Johnson
• Produced by Emily Morrow

Research tells us that when families are engaged in their children's learning, great things happen. But what does it look like when families and educators are working together? To find out, we're talking with Dr. Karen L. Mapp from the Harvard Graduate School of Education (and co-author of Powerful Partnerships: A Teacher’s Guide to Engaging Families for Student Success).

This week, we’re excited to share another short episode full of read-alouds with you! Here at Scholastic, we know that reading aloud with your child is one of the most important things you can do to, and it shouldn’t stop once they can read on their own.