Unabridged Podcast

Welcome to Unabridged, the podcast where teachers take on books! Every week, Sara, Jen and Ashley (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 each week.

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

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Pub Day Shout-Outs! for May 4, 2021, featuring Bechdel, Harjo, and Oh

May 4, 2021
4 min

Pub Day Shout-Outs! for May 4, 2021, featuring Bechdel, Harjo, and Oh

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) Here are three books coming out today that I'm excited to read! Alison Bechdel's The Secret to Superhuman Strength Description from Publisher: "From the author of Fun Home, a profoundly affecting graphic memoir of Bechdel's lifelong love affair with exercise, set against a hilarious chronicle of fitness fads in our times. "Comics and cultural superstar Alison Bechdel delivers a deeply layered story of her fascination, from childhood to adultho

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Sheila Turnage's Three Times Lucky - Marvelous Middle Grade Literature

Apr 30, 2021
3 min

Sheila Turnage's Three Times Lucky - Marvelous Middle Grade Literature

by Sara Voigt (@meaningfulmadness) Here at Unabridged, we haven't had too many book reviews on Upper Elementary/Middle Grade lit, so I wanted to take a minute to talk about one of my all time favorites. In fact, I loved this one so much, I bought a copy for each of the kids in my son's classroom when he was in 5th grade. (Don't worry--Scholastic ran a deal, and each copy was only $1. I love a bargain!) One of my all time favorite middle grade novels is Three Times Lucky by Sh

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175: Enjoy Revisiting the Classics through Retellings

Apr 28, 2021
13 min

175: Enjoy Revisiting the Classics through Retellings

In this Unabridged podcast episode, we share some retellings of classics that we've enjoyed reading. We share our picks including Hena Khan’s More to the Story, Patricia Park’s Re Jane, Rachel Hawkins’s The Wife Upstairs. These recommendations are perfect for the retellings category on our Unabridged Reading Challenge for 2021! Bookish Check-in Ashley - Aiden Thomas’s Lost in the Never Woods (Amazon | Bookshop.org) Jen - Liz Moore’s Long Bright River (Amazon | Bookshop.org) S

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Pub Day Shout-Outs for March 30, 2021, featuring Bryce, Greenidge, and Guerrero

Mar 30, 2021
4 min

Pub Day Shout-Outs for March 30, 2021, featuring Bryce, Greenidge, and Guerrero

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) Here are three books coming out today that I'm excited to read! Denny S. Bryce's Wild Women and the Blues Description from Publisher: "In a stirring and impeccably researched novel of Jazz-age Chicago in all its vibrant life, two stories intertwine nearly a hundred years apart, as a chorus girl and a film student deal with loss, forgiveness, and love... in all its joy, sadness, and imperfections. “'Why would I talk to you abo

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170: Discover New Authors with Author Imprints

Mar 24, 2021
10 min

170: Discover New Authors with Author Imprints

In this Unabridged Podcast episode, we discuss author imprints and the way that those can help readers discover new authors to love. We specifically discuss the Rick Riordan Presents imprint and share books we've read from it including Kwame Mbalia’s Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, Yoon Ha Lee’s Dragon Pearl, and Carlos Hernandez’s Sal and Gabi Break the Universe. Bookish Check-in Ashley - Angeline Boulley’s Firekeeper’s Daughter (Amazon | Bookshop.org) Jen - Jesse

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Pub Day Shout-Outs! for March 23, 2021, featuring Boteju, Engle, and Thomas

Mar 23, 2021
3 min

Pub Day Shout-Outs! for March 23, 2021, featuring Boteju, Engle, and Thomas

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) Here are three books coming out today that I'm excited to read! Tanya Boteju's Bruised Description from Publisher: "To Daya Wijesinghe, a bruise is a mixture of comfort and control. Since her parents died in an accident she survived, bruises have become a way to keep her pain on the surface of her skin so she doesn’t need to deal with the ache deep in her heart. "So when chance and circumstances bring her to a roller derby bout, Daya is hooked

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Meeting the Challenge: Celebrating Author Imprints

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

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Pub Day Shout-Outs! for March 9, 2021, featuring Khan, Hibbert, and Mans

Mar 9, 2021
4 min

Pub Day Shout-Outs! for March 9, 2021, featuring Khan, Hibbert, and Mans

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) This is a great pub day including a couple of favorite authors! Here are three books coming out today that I'm excited to read. Hena Khan's Amina's Song Description from Publisher: "In the companion novel to the beloved and award-winning Amina’s Voice, Amina once again uses her voice to bridge the places, people, and communities she loves—this time across continents. "It’s the last few days of her vacation in Pakistan, and Am

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Graphic Memoirs to Enrich Your TBR

Mar 1, 2021
3 min

Graphic Memoirs to Enrich Your TBR

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) This week, we're releasing our Unabridged Podcast Book Club episode in which we discuss Mira Jacob's graphic memoir Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations. Though we each recommend a pairing in the episode, mine (spoiler alert!) is not a graphic memoir, so I wanted to share some that I've enjoyed. (If you're interested in joining our IG chat about Good Talk on March 15, let us know!) Classics of the Format Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis: The Story

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Pub Day Shout-Outs for February 9, 2021, featuring Leitich Smith, Johnson, and Shusterman

Feb 9, 2021
4 min

Pub Day Shout-Outs for February 9, 2021, featuring Leitich Smith, Johnson, and Shusterman

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) Here are three books coming out today that I'm excited to read! Two are from Unabridged favorites, and one book is by a new-to-me author. Editor Cynthia Leitich Smith's Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids Description from Publisher: "Edited by award-winning and bestselling author Cynthia Leitich Smith, this collection of intersecting stories by both new and veteran Native writers bursts with hope, joy, resilience, the strength of c

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Five of Sara's Favorite Reads of 2020 (Part 2)

Feb 1, 2021
7 min

Five of Sara's Favorite Reads of 2020 (Part 2)

by Sara Voigt (@meaningfulmadness) This is so exciting! i can't wait to share my 2nd half picks with you! My 2020 reading had some ups and downs, but as I was reflecting on some of my favorites, I found that I had some definitive favorites for the latter part of 2020. (Be sure to check our mid-year posts: here's Jen's, Ashley's, and mine.) Sandhya Menon's When Dimple Met Rishi From the publisher: "Dimple Shah has it all figured out. With graduation behind her, she’s more than

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Pub Day Shout-Outs! for January 26, 2021 featuring Giles, Quotah, and Patel

Jan 26, 2021
4 min

Pub Day Shout-Outs! for January 26, 2021 featuring Giles, Quotah, and Patel

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) Here are three books coming out today that I'm excited to read! Chrystal D. Giles's Take Back the Block Description from Publisher: "Brand-new kicks, ripped denim shorts, Supreme tee— "Wes Henderson has the best style in sixth grade. That—and hanging out with his crew (his best friends since little-kid days) and playing video games—is what he wants to be thinking about at the start of the school year, not the protests his par

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Five of Ashley's Favorite Reads from 2020 (Part 2)

Jan 25, 2021
7 min

Five of Ashley's Favorite Reads from 2020 (Part 2)

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) I was lucky to read so many amazing books this year! Consequently, I had a really hard time with coming up with my list for this post. It's a good problem to have, I suppose, but I'm realizing that it's really tough for me to pick out "winners" for the year when it comes to reading. Like Jen, I tried to pick books that represented the range of the kinds of reading I have done this year, and that is part of what I considered w

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Pub Day Shout-Outs! for January 5, 2021, featuring Bruchac, Harris, and Bryant

Jan 5, 2021
4 min

Pub Day Shout-Outs! for January 5, 2021, featuring Bruchac, Harris, and Bryant

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) Here are three books coming out today that I'm excited to read! Joseph Bruchac's Peacemaker Description from Publisher: "A twelve-year-old Iroquois boy rethinks his calling after witnessing the arrival of a mystical figure with a message of peace in this historical novel based on the creation of the Iroquois Confederacy. "Twelve-year-old Okwaho's life has suddenly changed. While out hunting with his best friend, his friend is

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6 Great YA and Middle Grade Lit Book Picks Addressing Mental Health and Bullying

Jan 4, 2021
4 min

6 Great YA and Middle Grade Lit Book Picks Addressing Mental Health and Bullying

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) In this month's book club pick Darius the Great Is Not Okay (which is also our buddy read—DM us on Instagram if you'd like to join those chats! There's still time!), Adib Khorram discusses living with depression as a teenager in a meaningful and focused way. I wanted to share some other amazing young adult lit books (as well a middle grade lit pick) that address mental health and bullying (another important topic in Darius th

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Pub Day Shout-Outs! December 22, 2020 Special Edition

Dec 22, 2020
5 min

Pub Day Shout-Outs! December 22, 2020 Special Edition

by Sara Voigt (@meaningfulmadness) As we move toward the holidays and the end of the year, there are not many books coming out this week. I wanted to use this as an opportunity to highlight a few of my most anticipated reads that have appeared in our pub day shout-outs! Barack Obama's A Promised Land Description from Publisher: "In the stirring, highly anticipated first volume of his presidential memoirs, Barack Obama tells the story of his improbable odyssey from young man s

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Eight Winter Book Recommendations to Read This Season

Dec 14, 2020
5 min

Eight Winter Book Recommendations to Read This Season

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) In this curated list of winter book recommendations, I'm sharing books where the season of winter is a pivotal part of the story. (Actually, in two of them, Fredrik Backman's Anxious People and Margarita Montimore's Oona Out of Order, the new year specifically is an important part of the story.) These are not necessarily cozy reads (though some of them are perfect for that!), and the tone, style, and subject matter of each on

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11 Books that Support Advocacy and Education on Human Trafficking

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

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9 Books Considering Culture: Coming of Age as Children of Immigrants

Nov 23, 2020
5 min

9 Books Considering Culture: Coming of Age as Children of Immigrants

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) In this bookish fave, I wanted to share some of my favorite middle grade and young adult lit recommendations that comment on the experience of children of immigrants. While each story is unique and their life experiences are all quite different, these books have common threads, such as an examination of the different facets that create identity and an exploration of the periodic tension between the parents' native culture and

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

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

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