February Fantasy and Spring Dreaming
"Life, with its rules, its obligations, and its freedoms, is like a sonnet: You're given the form, but you have to write the sonnet yourself."
Readers, we’ll be honest: January was rough. Instead of planning and dreaming and goal-setting, we dealt with respiratory illnesses, teething babies, and frigid winter days that forced us to slow way down. It’s taken us awhile to build our momentum back up, but new spring reading selections and a cozy theme are helping to lift us out of the winter doldrums.
We hope the promise of spring—and spring reading—is lifting your spirits these days, too. Let’s take a look at what’s coming up in the Novel Pairings podcast feed and Patreon learning community.
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Theme: Fantasy
2/7 Episode 111: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
2/14 Episode 112: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
2/28 Episode 113: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis and The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman
February Patreon Plans
Click here to download a full calendar of spring events.
Wednesday 2/8 @ 7 pm ET Reading Children’s Literature with a Literary Lens (recorded): learn how to apply critical theory to books that are meant for young readers. We’ll share essential questions to ask yourself (or your kids and students) as you read, as well as practical tips for noticing deeper meaning in children’s literature.
Tuesday 2/28 @ 7 pm ET Book Club Discussion: join us as we discuss both The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe AND The Golden Compass. We usually meet on Wednesdays, but since this is a short month, we’ve changed the day. We hope this means a few of you who don’t always get to join our discussion will get to participate!
Theme: Historical Fiction
3/7 Episode 114: Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor
3/21 Episode 115: Spring Anticipated Books
3/31 Episode 116: Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman
March Patreon Plans
Wednesday 3/8 @ 7 pm ET The Role of Children’s Literature in the Adult Reader’s Life (partially recorded): in a seminar-style discussion, we will share our thoughts, questions, and analysis on this topic, using shared texts as a starting point. These events feel like your college classroom discussions; participants are on camera, so we only record the first part where Chelsey and Sara introduce the topic.
Wednesday 3/29 @ 7 pm ET Book Club Discussion: join us as we discuss Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.
Theme: Orphans and Scamps
4/4 Episode 117: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
4/11 Episode 118: Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
4/18 Episode 119: From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
April Patreon Plans
Wednesday 4/12 @ 7 pm ET Themes and Tropes in Children’s Literature (recorded): learn about the common themes and archetypes found in kid lit, such as the hero’s journey, identity, adolescence/puberty, equality, and more. This class will be full of examples!
Wednesday 4/26 @ 7 pm ET Book Club Discussion: join us as we discuss Anne of Green Gables.
Theme: Children’s Literature in Translation
5/2 Episode 120: Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
5/16 Episode 121: Summer Anticipated Books
5/23 Episode 122: The Wild Book by Juan Villoro
May Patreon Plans
Wednesday 5/10 @ 7 pm ET Office Hours (recorded): ask us anything about children’s classic, literary theory, deeper reading, reading life problems, or more personal topics in this fun Q&A event.
Wednesday 5/24 @ 7 pm ET Book Club Discussion: join us as we discuss Inheart.
Final Notes
We hope you found this visual content plan helpful, readers! And we hope to see you in our learning community this season as we explore the world of children’s literature. Today on Patreon: don’t miss Sara’s bonus episode featuring two additional pairings for Frankenstein and Little Women!
Next week, we’ll be back in your inbox with supplemental content for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
Until then, we declare after all, there is no enjoyment like reading. How much sooner one tires of anything than of a book!
XO,
Chelsey & Sara