Unabridged Podcast

Welcome to Unabridged! Ashley and Jen (shown left to right in the photo) talk books, share recommendations, and celebrate all things bookish. On our blog (see our posts below!) we share bookish faves, pub day shout-outs, show notes, and book reviews.

Want to get more involved? Check out our 2022 reading challenge, join our buddy reads on Instagram, or sign up on Patreon!

Learn More

Support Unabridged

Aug 3
3 min

Graphic Novel Recs for Young Readers

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) Hi! It's been quite a while since I shared some thoughts and recommendations on a Bookish Fave. It's been a crazy year for me personally and for my family, but I'm hopeful that the fall of this year will bring calmer times. One genre I've really enjoyed discovering and reading over the past few months is graphic novels. The ones I'm recommending in today's Bookish Fave are all appropriate for young audiences - I've read these

8 views0 comments

May 16
3 min

4 Children's Books to Tickle Your Funny Bone

by Sara Voigt (@meaningfulmadness) My kids are getting bigger, and I don't get to read aloud to them much anymore. (They don't want me to--*insert crying emoji here.*) Anyhoo, I thought I would share some of the picture books my kiddos enjoyed me to read aloud to them when they were little. Get ready for your funny bone to be tickled. Eileen Spinelli and David Slonim's Silly Tilly (Bookshop.org) From the publisher: “'Tilly is not an ordinary goose. She takes her baths in appl

4 views0 comments

Feb 28
4 min

3 Books that Solidified My Love of Reading As a Youngster

By Sara Voigt (@meaningfulmadness) When I think about what was transformative in my experience as a reader, I think about three specific books. Some readers I talk to cannot remember ever not being a reader--he/she/they walked into kindergarten ready and eager to read. This was not me. I don't really remember reading voraciously until the fourth grade. My wonderful fourth grade teacher, Ms. Newland, handed each child in my class a wrapped gift the day we left for winter break

8 views0 comments

Feb 7
4 min

7 Picture Books that Celebrate Love and Promote Empathy

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) Our community experienced a tragedy this week as someone with violent intent came onto one of our college campuses, Bridgewater College, with a gun. Two campus police officers lost their lives. I've been thinking a lot about how we talk with our children about violence and tragedies, and today I wanted to share some picture books that focus on love, teach about feelings, and promote empathy. Harris J's Salam Alaikum: A Messag

18 views0 comments

Sep 21, 2021
4 min

Pub Day Shout-Outs! for September 21, 2021, featuring Oshiro, Gorman and Long, and Sayman

by Sara Voigt (@meaningfulmadness) Here are three books coming out today that I'm excited to read! Mark Oshiro's The Insiders (Amazon | Bookshop.org) Description from Publisher: "Three kids who don’t belong. A room that shouldn’t exist. A year that will change everything. Perfect for fans of Rebecca Stead and Meg Medina, this debut middle grade novel from award-winning author Mark Oshiro is a hopeful and heartfelt coming-of-age story for anyone who’s ever felt like they didn’

3 views0 comments

Sep 20, 2021
3 min

5 Versatile Authors to Check Out Now

by Sara Voigt (@meaningfulmadness) On Wednesday, we'll be sharing authors who write either for multiple age groups, genres, or both. We discussed several of our favorite authors on the episode. Here are some other authors who we love who write broadly! Jason Reynolds: It is no secret that here at the podcast, we adore Jason Reynolds. He has a myriad of books written for both upper elementary/middle grade readers and young adult readers. Some of our favorites include The Track

16 views0 comments

Aug 30, 2021
5 min

Book Series for Reluctant (Early) Readers

by Sara Voigt (@meaningfulmadness) After I became a mom, I was always looking for books to pique my kids' interests. As they got older and were moving on to early chapter books, I realized I had two reluctant readers on my hands. What I love about series books for reluctant readers is that once a child loves one book in a series, it is easy for him/her/them to find their next read--the next book in the series! Here are some of the series that my kids have enjoyed over the yea

13 views0 comments

Mar 29, 2021
4 min

8 Amazing Books to Read by AAPI Authors (Plus 2 Picture Books!)

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) Our hearts are heavy as we consider the victims of the horrific shootings in Atlanta last week and the ongoing racist assaults on the AAPI community. Be sure to check out the movement to # StandUpforAAPI on Bookstagram. Today we celebrate a few of our favorite books from AAPI authors. Adult Picks Helen Hoang's The Bride Test - I've shared my love of this romance novel many times including when I talked about it as one of my f

26 views0 comments

Mar 22, 2021
4 min

Meeting the Challenge: Celebrating Author Imprints

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) This year, for the Unabridged Podcast Reading Challenge (find out more here!), we are celebrating author imprints. On Wednesday, we're releasing an episode all about Rick Riordan Presents, but I wanted to spotlight some other imprints you may want to check out. Do you have favorite author imprints? Let us know @unabridgedpod! Rick Riordan Presents Description from the website: "Rick Riordan Presents is one small branch of the Disney-Hyperion P

14 views0 comments

Nov 30, 2020
2 min

11 Books that Support Advocacy and Education on Human Trafficking

by Sara Voigt (@meaningfulmadness) It is the eve of the first of December, which means for me, the eve of Dressember, an organization I have been advocating for for several years. My friend RuthAnn is the person who inspired my involvement. I am a part of her Dressember team. We were lucky enough to have her as a guest on the podcast last November. (Listen to the episode here.) In it, RuthAnn discusses Dressember, advocacy, and some of the books on this list. In addition, thi

13 views0 comments

Nov 10, 2020
4 min

Pub Day Shout-Outs! for November 10, 2020 featuring Baer, Collins, Namey, and Schmidt

by Sara Voigt (@meaningfulmadness) Here are four books coming out today that I'm excited to read! Manda Collins's A Lady's Guide to Mischief and Mayhem Description from Publisher: "England, 1865: Newspaper columnist Lady Katherine Bascomb finds herself the subject of speculation when her latest article leads to an arrest in the murders plaguing London. The English believe women ought not to write about such vulgar things as crime, and a particularly attractive detective inspe

10 views0 comments

Oct 26, 2020
4 min

Graphic Novel Roundup

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) This year has been a great one for me to dive into some wonderful graphic novels, graphic memoirs, and comic books. I read differently with these, using a different type of interpretation than when I'm looking solely at text. My boys, who are 10 and 13, love graphic novels, and I can always count on them to pass on the ones they love. Here are some recommendations from my reading this year: Molly Knox Ostertag's The Witch Boy trilogy (The Witc

9 views0 comments

Sep 28, 2020
3 min

Great Early Chapter Books for Kids featuring Female Protagonists

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) My girls are three and six, and my six year old has recently developed a significant interest in reading chapter books. However, my three year old only wants to join us if there are pictures, so I'm always on the lookout for excellent early chapter books with frequent pictures. Here are a few we've found and loved so far. Debbie Dadey's Mermaid Tales series - This is by far my children's first love when it comes to chapter bo

17 views0 comments

Sep 7, 2020
6 min

5 Books to Inspire Girls (and Boys!)

by Sara Voigt (@meaningfulmadness) As a mother to a daughter, I am really interested in finding books that promote strong females. Luckily, there are more and more books being published to meet just this need. Here are some of my (and my daughter's!) favorites: Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 Tales of Extraordinary Women by Francesca Cavallo and Elena Favilli From the publisher: "The New York Times bestselling Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls is a children's book p

9 views0 comments

Aug 10, 2020
4 min

Grit in Kid Lit -- Picture Books that Encourage Resilience

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) As we find our way through this challenging time in our world, I've been thinking a lot about how books can help us and our kids as we navigate hard times. In this compilation, I share a few favorite authors, including Kwame Alexander, Jacqueline Woodson, and Peter H. Reynolds, but I also pull in some authors who are new to me, including Troy Cummings and Ashley Franklin. I also include picture books by Chelsea Clinton, Juan

49 views2 comments

Jun 17, 2020
39 min

130: Great Books for the Classroom by Black Authors

In this Unabridged Podcast discussion, we recommend some books by Black authors that we think would be a great fit in the classroom. We talk about recommendations for Kid Lit, Middle Grade, and YA Lit, and we touch on books by several of our favorite authors, including Jacqueline Woodson, Kwame Alexander, and Ibi Zoboi. Bookish Check-in Ashley - Anna Solomon’s The Book of V Jen - Ibram X. Kendi’s Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America Sa

24 views0 comments

Jun 15, 2020
2 min

Middle-Grade Books We Love by Black Authors

by Sara Voigt (@meaningfulmadness) We at Unabridged stand with the Black Lives Matter movement. There are SO many books that we love by Black authors, and we look forward to lifting up those amazing books. Today we are talking about some of our favorite middle-grade authors and books that we think would be amazing in any classroom. This is definitely not a complete list, but this features some of our favorite authors for middle-grade lit, including Jason Reynolds, Sharon M. D

38 views0 comments

Jun 13, 2020
32 min

Bonus: Re-release of Jason Reynolds Highlight with LONG WAY DOWN, GHOST, and WHEN I WAS THE GREATEST

In this bonus episode, we wanted to share a re-release of an episode highlighting three novels by Jason Reynolds, one of our favorite Black authors for young people and for the classroom. We feel his body of work has applications across many age levels and grades. You can check out his body of work here. We tried to go very light on the spoilers in this episode, but a few minor spoilers were hard to avoid as we revealed what we loved about these books. Timeline Introduction a

79 views0 comments

Apr 29, 2020
42 min

123 - How to Help Young People Keep Reading when School Is Out

This week, we're talking about all of the things that work for us and that have worked for our students to keep the reading momentum going! We talk about favorite authors like Jason Reynolds, Jacqueline Woodson, and Mo Willems, and we share about awesome audio options like Lavar Burton's weekly reading opportunities. To get full access to all of the resources we curated, be sure to sign up for our newsletter where you'll be able to download our guide! Bookish Check In Sara -

39 views1 comment

Apr 20, 2020
2 min

12 Amazing Picture Books for Tumultuous Times

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) As we navigate these unprecedented times, I've been thinking a lot about how to help the young people in our lives to cope with all of the changes and uncertainty swirling around them. As I always do when struggling or trying out something new, I find myself turning to books. If you're looking to pick out some books, some of my favorite kid lit authors include Peter H. Reynolds, Susan Verde, and Jo Witek (all pictured above),

Unabridged Podcast

Scroll to the bottom to listen to our latest episodes!

Find us on your favorite podcast catcher or subscribe below!