Listen now:
(5:54)

Download the MP3 (5.4 MB)

• Dictionary people, are you paying attention?
  
• Karen’s book review: Sidekicks by Dan Santat
• Nancy’s book review: Captain Nobody by Dean Pitchford
• A review from YOU: Never Mind by Avi
• A new exclamation marks record!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And don’t forget: write in with a book review below. We’ll feature a kid review in our next podcast!

— Karen and Nancy

[contact-form-7]

Btw, our new year’s resolution is to be more humble. How do you think we’re doing so far?

Anyway, let’s not delay the podcast any further. In this edition: Karen sings, we discuss sibling rivalry, and we share a VERY enthusiastic kid-submitted book review.

Listen now:

(7:24)

Download the MP3 (7.1 MB)

• Karen sings; are you listening?
  
• Karen’s book review: The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies
• Nancy’s book review: The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente
• A review from YOU: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
• Exclamation marks!!!!!!!

And don’t forget: write in with a book review below. We’ll feature a kid review in our next podcast!

— Karen and Nancy

Inspired by the brief reference to “God Bless Ye Merry Hippogriffs” in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, we present our imagined version of the song:

(PS – If you’re on the go — or busy waging a war on Death Eaters — just download the audio.)

There are even more verses in the real song, but we figured you could only take so much of Karen’s singing. (Hardy har har.)

Do you ever sing your own version of famous songs? Leave a comment with your ideas for new and improved lyrics to any tune, holiday-related or not!

— Happy holidays from Karen and Nancy!

Instrumentals courtesy of Songsculptor.com

The word is filking.

Filking means re-writing the lyrics to a song, with your own twist. For the holidays, we decided to try our hand at filking with some traditional carols — adapted for children’s book lovers!

Today, we present to you… “Jingle Bells” from the perspective of Greg Heffley, the star of Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid series:

(PS – If you’re on the go — or busy figuring out how to score some free hot cocoa — just download the audio.)

Hope we didn’t kill your eardrums with Karen’s singing voice! You have two days to recover, and then check back here at Kidsmomo for another attempt at kidlit Christmas carol filking. (HA HA HA. Filking. That sounds funny…)

— Happy holidays from Karen and Nancy!

Thank you to Cameron Lui for arranging and performing the instrumentals!

Well, we don’t get a definite answer in our latest podcast, but Karen definitely tries to get at the truth. Plus, we’ve got book reviews involving a magical building, a wacky grandma, and a Native American legend. Not to mention a visit from an adventurous author!

Listen now:

(6:16)

Download the MP3 (10.5 MB)

• Author visit from C. Alexander London, author of the Accidental Adventures series
  
• Karen’s book review: A Season of Gifts by Richard Peck
• Nancy’s book review: Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George
• A review from YOU: The Story of Pocahontas by Caryn Jenner
• Cannibal in the room? Yikes!

And don’t forget: write in with a book review. We’ll feature a kid review in our next podcast!

— Karen and Nancy

But don’t go! We’ve also got an author serenade, speculation on a strange name, a defense of stubbornness, and more. So tune in below:

Listen now:

(7:01)

Download the MP3 (11.8 MB)

• Special visit (and singing!) from Meg Haston, author of How to Rock Braces and Glasses
• Karen’s book review: Liesl and Po by Lauren Oliver
• Nancy’s book review: Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle’s Farm by Betty MacDonald
• A review from YOU: The Clique series by Lisi Harrison
• Karen gets a little, shall we say, over-excited…

And don’t forget: As we mention in the podcast, we’re giving away a signed copy of How to Rock Braces and Glasses! Enter before December 1 for a chance to win!

Also, write in with a book review below. We’ll feature a kid review in our next podcast!

— Karen and Nancy

Sorry.

Anyway… we’ve also got book recommendations, wacky facts, and cruelty to turkeys. So rise above your fear of lame humor and give our podcast a spin:

Listen now:
 
(6:39)
Download the MP3 (3.2 MB)
• Karen’s book review: How to Rock Braces and Glasses by Meg Haston
• Nancy’s book review: Every Day On Earth, written by Steve Murrie and Matthew Murrie, illustrated by Tom Bloom
• A review from YOU: Libby on Wednesday by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
• Comedy, drama, romance, and burritos

And don’t forget: As we mention in the podcast, we’ve got TWO book giveaways running right now! Enter for a chance to win signed copies of Aaron Starmer’s books (DWEEB and The Only Ones) and Dancing With The Pen: A Collection of Today’s Best Youth Writing.

And speaking of writing, you should write in your review below! Or send in a review of any book you love. We’ll feature a kid review in our next podcast!

— Karen and Nancy

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!

Sorry. Told ya we couldn’t hide it…

Now, you’re probably wondering why we’re so excited. Well, you’ll just have to listen to our latest podcast! But here’s a hint: sweepstakes!

And we’ve also got flying bowling balls, zombie breakfast, battle in the streets of New York, and drool. So tune in, already!

Listen now:
(6:59)

Download the MP3 (3.4 MB)

• Intergalactic author visit from Aaron Starmer
• Karen’s book review: Floors by Patrick Carman
• Nancy’s book review: The Pushcart War by Jean Merrill
• A review from YOU: Skeleton Man by Joseph Bruchac — perfect for Halloween!

And don’t forget: As we mention in the podcast, we’ve got THREE sweepstakes running right now! Enter for a chance to win signed copies of the Sweet Farts books, When Life Gives You O.J., and Aaron Starmer’s books (DWEEB and The Only Ones).

Of course, if you’ve already read any  of ‘em,  write in your review below. Or send in a review of any book you love! (Or any spooky Halloween picks?) We’ll feature a kid review in our next podcast!

— Karen and Nancy

Why should you be thanking us? Well, the wait is finally over! It’s time to unveil the first Kidsmomo podcast in our new format!

We’re mixing things up, turning a new leaf, welcoming a new day, and all those other things that people say when they’re introducing something new and awesome. So get your ears ready, friends… You’re welcome.

Listen now:
(7:22)
Download the MP3 (3.5 MB)
• Author cameos from Raymond Bean and Erica Perl
  
• Karen’s book review: 13 Gifts by Wendy Mass
• Nancy’s book review: The Phantom Tollboth, written by Norton Juster and illustrated by Jules Feiffer
• A review from YOU: 90 Miles to Havana by Enrique Flores-Galbis
• Hamster pee

And don’t forget: As we mention in the podcast, we’ve got two (count ‘em, TWO) sweepstakes running right now! Enter for a chance to win signed copies of the Sweet Farts books and When Life Gives You O.J. Of course, if you’ve already read those books — or any good books lately — send in your review. We’ll feature a kid review in our next podcast!

— Karen and Nancy

But school doesn’t have to be all bad! You could discover a secret society, meet a girl named Hamlet, try shoofly pie, or peek inside a diary. All that and more in our latest podcast, all about school stories!

Listen now:
(8:52)
Download the MP3 (4.3 MB)
• “Trouble with a capital T” — aka our mystery book revealed!
• Our More School Stories picks (Benjamin Pratt and the Keepers of the School and The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet)
• A school story review from YOU (Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth)
• Evil laughter
• Crickets

AND a very big announcement: Kidsmomo is now two years old, and we’ve decided to mix things up a bit. So we’re bidding farewell to our bi-weekly themes format and making way for a ton more exclusives like author interviews and sweepstakes! (And we’ll still do our regular podcasts, so don’t shed a tear over those!) This also means you guys can send in any book reviews you want, without feeling restricted to a particular topic. So keep those reviews coming, and stay tuned for some major awesome-sauce!

— Karen and Nancy