Mary Grace McGeehan
@marygracemcgeehan.bsky.social
Talking about children’s books at rereadingourchildhood.buzzsprout.com, living my best 1920s life at mylife100yearsago.com
Definitely!
You know what’s ripe for a comeback is the Wolves of Willoughby Chase series by Joan Aiken. Smart & non-condescending YA, fantastical without being fantasy, dark and Dickensian as hell, extremely lefty and anticapitalist, a full dozen sequels, amazing Edward Gorey covers.
November 24, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Definitely!
One of the best things about Theater Shoes is that the children in the book attend the same theatrical school as the three sisters in Ballet Shoes, and we learn about their later lives through their letters to the children.
Our friend Jean Freedman, an expert on theater and World War II London, was the perfect guest to join us to talk about Noel Streatfeild's 1944 novel Theater Shoes (originally published in the UK as Curtain Up).
rereadingourchildhood.buzzsprout.com/2169533/epis...
rereadingourchildhood.buzzsprout.com/2169533/epis...
November 20, 2025 at 1:03 PM
One of the best things about Theater Shoes is that the children in the book attend the same theatrical school as the three sisters in Ballet Shoes, and we learn about their later lives through their letters to the children.
Reposted by Mary Grace McGeehan
On our latest podcast episode, Mary Grace and I discussed E.B. White's classic CHARLOTTE'S WEB!
@rereadingpodcast.bsky.social
rereadingourchildhood.buzzsprout.com/2169533/epis...
@rereadingpodcast.bsky.social
rereadingourchildhood.buzzsprout.com/2169533/epis...
November 13, 2025 at 11:44 AM
On our latest podcast episode, Mary Grace and I discussed E.B. White's classic CHARLOTTE'S WEB!
@rereadingpodcast.bsky.social
rereadingourchildhood.buzzsprout.com/2169533/epis...
@rereadingpodcast.bsky.social
rereadingourchildhood.buzzsprout.com/2169533/epis...
Also, I mispronounced "divining rod" about 15 times.
On our third annual Encyclopedia Brown podcast episode, we matched wits with the boy detective (you can too!), delved into the social history of Bugs Meany's hat, and solved the mystery of what state Idaville is in.
www.buzzsprout.com/admin/216953...
www.buzzsprout.com/admin/216953...
September 18, 2025 at 11:35 PM
Also, I mispronounced "divining rod" about 15 times.
Reposted by Mary Grace McGeehan
Q&A with Christina Baker Kline and Anne Burt about their new novel, PLEASE DON'T LIE.
tinyurl.com/e7fw2ay6
tinyurl.com/e7fw2ay6
September 4, 2025 at 10:10 AM
Q&A with Christina Baker Kline and Anne Burt about their new novel, PLEASE DON'T LIE.
tinyurl.com/e7fw2ay6
tinyurl.com/e7fw2ay6
This book mysteriously appeared in the not-quite-full box of books I mailed to myself from Dublin. What, do they keep copies of NYRB Classics lying around to stop the books from rattling around? Wouldn’t bubble wrap be cheaper?
July 26, 2025 at 1:58 PM
This book mysteriously appeared in the not-quite-full box of books I mailed to myself from Dublin. What, do they keep copies of NYRB Classics lying around to stop the books from rattling around? Wouldn’t bubble wrap be cheaper?
I never would have reread Little Women as an adult if it weren’t for the podcast—one of the many reasons I feel lucky to be doing it. Thanks for joining us, Jamie!
We had a great time visiting the world of Louisa May Alcott's classic novel Little Women with our friend Jamie Stiehm. Favorite quote from Jamie: "When's the last time you went skylarking and wore a frock?"
rereadingourchildhood.buzzsprout.com/2169533/epis...
rereadingourchildhood.buzzsprout.com/2169533/epis...
July 17, 2025 at 1:01 PM
I never would have reread Little Women as an adult if it weren’t for the podcast—one of the many reasons I feel lucky to be doing it. Thanks for joining us, Jamie!
COVID put the kibosh on my plans to go to the T.S. Eliot International Summer School at Oxford, but as I recovered in Dublin I went ahead and did my seminar project: this blog post on what reviewers thought of Virginia Woolf's 1922 novel Jacob's Room.
mylife100yearsago.com/2025/07/10/v...
mylife100yearsago.com/2025/07/10/v...
July 17, 2025 at 11:47 AM
COVID put the kibosh on my plans to go to the T.S. Eliot International Summer School at Oxford, but as I recovered in Dublin I went ahead and did my seminar project: this blog post on what reviewers thought of Virginia Woolf's 1922 novel Jacob's Room.
mylife100yearsago.com/2025/07/10/v...
mylife100yearsago.com/2025/07/10/v...
A lot of Americans commemorated this July 4 in a minor key. I was one of them, in COVID isolation in Dublin. I wanted to recognize our country's anniversary in some way, though, so I took a look at magazine covers from 100 years ago: mylife100yearsago.com/2025/07/04/j...
July 13, 2025 at 11:29 AM
A lot of Americans commemorated this July 4 in a minor key. I was one of them, in COVID isolation in Dublin. I wanted to recognize our country's anniversary in some way, though, so I took a look at magazine covers from 100 years ago: mylife100yearsago.com/2025/07/04/j...
As we discuss on the podcast, this book includes racist tropes that are painful for a current-day fan of Eager to read. A subsequent book, The Well-Wishers, contains a strong anti-racism message.
We celebrated the beginning of (northern hemisphere) summer by discussing Magic by the Lake, the sequel to Half Magic. Edward Eager is charming and witty as always, but this book includes several scenes that don't pass muster today. rereadingourchildhood.buzzsprout.com/2169533/epis...
June 20, 2025 at 1:47 PM
As we discuss on the podcast, this book includes racist tropes that are painful for a current-day fan of Eager to read. A subsequent book, The Well-Wishers, contains a strong anti-racism message.
This episode was especially fun for me because I recently visited Australia, where Mary Poppins author P.L. Travers was born.
For our latest episode, we reread Mary Poppins and discussed, among many other things, the very different book and movie versions of the magical nanny.
www.buzzsprout.com/2169533/epis...
www.buzzsprout.com/2169533/epis...
May 17, 2025 at 1:05 PM
This episode was especially fun for me because I recently visited Australia, where Mary Poppins author P.L. Travers was born.
This was one of Deborah's childhood favorites, but I somehow missed it as a child. Better late than never!
For our latest episode, we read Sydney Taylor's wonderful All-of-a-Kind Family, the story of five sisters growing up on New York's Lower East Side in the 1910s. rereadingourchildhood.buzzsprout.com/2169533/epis...
April 19, 2025 at 6:47 AM
This was one of Deborah's childhood favorites, but I somehow missed it as a child. Better late than never!
Words of wisdom from Nancy as she drives along a highway in her convertible: "“Oh, why can’t all people be nice like this scenery and not make trouble?”
For the first episode of our third season, writer Sara Fitzgerald joined us to discuss the first Nancy Drew book, The Secret of the Old Clock. rereadingourchildhood.buzzsprout.com/2169533/epis...
March 20, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Words of wisdom from Nancy as she drives along a highway in her convertible: "“Oh, why can’t all people be nice like this scenery and not make trouble?”
I returned to the world of 100 years ago to check out the first issue of the New Yorker. The writing was mostly pretty bad, but there were some glimpses of the great magazine it would become.
mylife100yearsago.com/2025/02/28/t...
mylife100yearsago.com/2025/02/28/t...
March 1, 2025 at 4:25 PM
I returned to the world of 100 years ago to check out the first issue of the New Yorker. The writing was mostly pretty bad, but there were some glimpses of the great magazine it would become.
mylife100yearsago.com/2025/02/28/t...
mylife100yearsago.com/2025/02/28/t...
Surprisingly, the author of this quintessentially British novel turns out to have spent much of her life right around the corner from my old apartment in Washington, D.C.
For our latest episode, we reread Frances Hodgson Burnett's beloved 1911 novel The Secret Garden, which has arguably the best setting in all of children's literature.
rereadingourchildhood.buzzsprout.com/2169533/epis...
rereadingourchildhood.buzzsprout.com/2169533/epis...
January 25, 2025 at 12:30 PM
Surprisingly, the author of this quintessentially British novel turns out to have spent much of her life right around the corner from my old apartment in Washington, D.C.
Reposted by Mary Grace McGeehan
CALL FOR PAPERS 📢📢📢📢
Annual Meeting of the International T. S. Eliot Society
2–5 July 2025
Dublin, Ireland
Join us for the first time ever in Dublin 🤓🥳
Annual Meeting of the International T. S. Eliot Society
2–5 July 2025
Dublin, Ireland
Join us for the first time ever in Dublin 🤓🥳
January 6, 2025 at 11:17 PM
CALL FOR PAPERS 📢📢📢📢
Annual Meeting of the International T. S. Eliot Society
2–5 July 2025
Dublin, Ireland
Join us for the first time ever in Dublin 🤓🥳
Annual Meeting of the International T. S. Eliot Society
2–5 July 2025
Dublin, Ireland
Join us for the first time ever in Dublin 🤓🥳
I belatedly rang in 1925 on my blog with a countdown of the top posts of 1924. The twenties are in full roar, and I'm looking forward to an eventful year ahead.
mylife100yearsago.com/2025/01/09/t...
mylife100yearsago.com/2025/01/09/t...
January 11, 2025 at 11:25 AM
I belatedly rang in 1925 on my blog with a countdown of the top posts of 1924. The twenties are in full roar, and I'm looking forward to an eventful year ahead.
mylife100yearsago.com/2025/01/09/t...
mylife100yearsago.com/2025/01/09/t...
Judy turned out to be not just a Little House fan but an expert on Laura Ingalls Wilder. I learned a lot!
We were excited to welcome our first guest, Judy Kalb, to discuss Little Town on the Prairie, the seventh book in Laura Ingalls Wilder's beloved Little House series.
www.buzzsprout.com/admin/216953...
www.buzzsprout.com/admin/216953...
January 9, 2025 at 11:59 AM
Judy turned out to be not just a Little House fan but an expert on Laura Ingalls Wilder. I learned a lot!
Annual DC to Cape Town book haul. We’ll see how many of these I get to.
January 8, 2025 at 9:36 AM
Annual DC to Cape Town book haul. We’ll see how many of these I get to.
A takeaway from our end-of-year favorite books countdown: 1964 was one of the best years ever for children’s books.
For our last episode of the year, we talked about our favorite children books from 60 years ago, which we defined as 1964-66. We turned out to both have the same favorite: Louise Fitzhugh's The Long Secret, the sequel to Harriet the Spy.
rereadingourchildhood.buzzsprout.com/2169533/epis...
rereadingourchildhood.buzzsprout.com/2169533/epis...
January 2, 2025 at 8:03 AM
A takeaway from our end-of-year favorite books countdown: 1964 was one of the best years ever for children’s books.
It took until 11:20 p.m on New Year’s Eve, but I completed my 2024 book challenge.
January 1, 2025 at 11:10 AM
It took until 11:20 p.m on New Year’s Eve, but I completed my 2024 book challenge.
For my annual blog post on children's books of 100 years ago, I found a mix of great reads and wouldn't-fly-in-2024 fare. mylife100yearsago.com/2024/12/25/c...
December 26, 2024 at 3:24 PM
For my annual blog post on children's books of 100 years ago, I found a mix of great reads and wouldn't-fly-in-2024 fare. mylife100yearsago.com/2024/12/25/c...
One of the best things about doing our podcast is introducing Deborah to books she didn't read as a child, like The Dark is Rising, one of my all-time favorites.
This week, we read The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper. It's the story of Will, who discovers on his eleventh birthday that he’s an Old One, destined to fight against the Dark. It takes place over the holidays and is a great December read.
rereadingourchildhood.buzzsprout.com/2169533/epis...
rereadingourchildhood.buzzsprout.com/2169533/epis...
December 14, 2024 at 11:17 PM
One of the best things about doing our podcast is introducing Deborah to books she didn't read as a child, like The Dark is Rising, one of my all-time favorites.
The only thing I remembered from my childhood read of this moving, evocative novel was the scene where the main character's aunt is making a dress for her and the diagonal stripes on the front don't line up. Memory is so weird.
On our latest episode, we discuss Betsy Byars' Newbery Medal-winning 1970 novel The Summer of the Swans. rereadingourchildhood.buzzsprout.com/2169533/epis...
December 8, 2024 at 1:42 AM
The only thing I remembered from my childhood read of this moving, evocative novel was the scene where the main character's aunt is making a dress for her and the diagonal stripes on the front don't line up. Memory is so weird.