Teen Librarian Toolbox
August 24, 2026 by Betsy Bird
"Why do you keep giving me books with such delectable behinds?" Oh yes. We're clearly having a very serious conversation on the podcast today about the nuclear arms race. You have been warned.
August 4, 2026 by Betsy Bird
Outdated? Still pertinent? We debate the book that disturbed Jon Klassen as a child.
October 20, 2025 by Betsy Bird
In our latest consideration for Halloween, Kate and I discuss the difficulty of saying the term "anapestic tetrameter" aloud, why the true star of this book should be named "Torselus Todd", and (I won't lie) we may use the term "badonkadonk" more than once.
April 15, 2024 by Betsy Bird
My husband Matt Bird joins us for the very first time for one of the most obscure Dr. Seuss titles ever conceived. Like Candide? Then this is for you.
March 27, 2023 by Betsy Bird
It's considered a classic by animation fans, but does the book hold up? We explain why this translation from film to page missed quite a few steps along the way.
October 4, 2021 by Betsy Bird
For our 200th episode we consider the controversy surrounding Dr. Seuss and his most famous cat.
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March 8, 2021 by Betsy Bird
When we heard that the Dr. Seuss estate was pulling six relatively obscure Seuss titles from publication due to offensive content, we thought we might try one on for size. So here's the first book Seuss ever made for kids.
December 7, 2020 by Betsy Bird
An orange fellow is told to leave over and over and over again. So it clearly has nothing to do with the state of the world today. If you've never listened to one of our podcasts before, I might recommend this as a place to start.
April 13, 2020 by Betsy Bird
While many people remember all too well the title of today's book, its plot (such as it is) remains, for many, a mystery. My sister certainly didn't know what to expect and, to be fair, how could she have? Can anyone truly predict Clark or the Ying or Ned? Sweet sweet Ned?
November 25, 2019 by Betsy Bird
When Kate challenged me to find a classic Thanksgiving book, she made the mistake of saying off-handedly, "Oh, it could just be about food too." Ah HAH! Food, eh? Well, we'd already done Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, so that could leave only one other famous food-related piece of children's literary history. That's right. Time to down some Green Eggs and Ham.
Teen Librarian Toolbox
by Amanda MacGregor
100 Scope Notes
by Travis Jonker
Politics in Practice
by John Chrastka
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