These Books Made Me

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Betty Smith's "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" was an instant classic with American audiences when it was released in 1943. Drawing on her own life, Smith vividly captures Brooklyn in the 1910s through the eyes of her heroine, Francie Nolan. The novel's poignant depictions of poverty, urbanism, education, immigration, and especially family resonated with wartime America, but does it hold up today? Our hosts ponder whether this book is really for children at all (alcoholism, bigamy, child labor, oh my!) and whether a book so rooted in a historical period can be timeless. We also have a discussion with a local County Councilwoman that unlocked our first ever bonus content! 

These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System podcast network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at [email protected]. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/. 

We cover a lot of ground in this episode and used some books and articles as jumping off points. Here’s a brief list of some of them if you want to do your own further research:

• Jacqueline Woodson on A Tree Grows: https://lithub.com/jacqueline-woodson-on-the-two-books-that-helped-her-grow-as-a-writer/
• Maureen Corrigan's "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn’ was a classic. Does Betty Smith’s follow-up warrant reconsideration?"
• Robert Cornfeld's "The Tree Still Grows in Brooklyn"
• "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and the Jewish Question" by Van Wallach
  
  
  
  

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Louise Fitzhugh's beloved 1960s title "Harriet the Spy" captivated young readers for generations as they followed the confident and abruptly honest 11-year-old main character on her spying adventures in New York City. Looking back on it more than 50 years later, the podcast hosts wonder - was Harriet a good role model? Or even a good person? Plus, we'll talk to an expert from the International Spy Museum to find out which spies Harriet should have been looking up to as role models and assess her spying technique.

These Books Made Me is a podcast about the literary heroines who shaped us and is a product of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System Podcast Network. Stay in touch with us via Twitter @PGCMLS with #TheseBooksMadeMe or by email at [email protected]. For recommended readalikes and deep dives into topics related to each episode, visit our blog at https://pgcmls.medium.com/. 
 
We mentioned a lot of topics and articles in this first episode. Here’s a brief list of some of them if you want to do your own further research: 

• Debbie Reese’s post on her American Indians in Children’s Literature Blog: https://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/2020/12/not-recommended-harriet-spy-by-louise.html
• More about Harriet the Spy and its queer representation: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/oct/06/harriet-the-spy-helped-me-come-to-terms-with-my-queer-identity
• Excerpt of the book “Sometimes You Have to Lie” by Leslie Brody:
  https://lithub.com/the-hidden-literary-heritage-of-harriet-the-spy/
• Wikipedia article about egg creams:
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egg_cream
• And for some fun, figure out exactly which cheese YOU are with this Buzzfeed quiz: https://www.buzzfeed.com/kylieb4f1899a33/what-type-of-cheese-are-you-cviclxegzk
• More information about the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C.: https://www.spymuseum.org/