It's a bonus edition of the Book Club for Kids.
Hi, I'm Kitty Felde.
This week we talk to readers in Los Angeles who have some summer reading suggestions.
And they answer the big question in life.
What makes a good book?
My name is Kenyatta.
I'm in fifth grade.
I go to La Ola Village Elementary School in Los Angeles.
And what's your favorite book?
My favorite book is Riley Jefferson's Awesome Friendly Adventures by Jeff Kinney.
I like it.
Because just how a plot is and how everything is basically planned out or thought.
So it's well plotted.
Yes, it's well plotted.
This book is better than other books I read is because it actually has emotions, sadness.
They go on an awesome adventure and it's very funny.
What makes this book funny?
It depends on what they say.
What makes the book funny is when people fall or do other things.
I would recommend this to somebody else because it can make other people laugh like me did.
My name is Alex.
I'm in fifth grade in Loyola Village Elementary School.
My favorite book is Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, written by J.K.
Rowling.
And why is this, of all the other Harry Potter books, better?
The reason why it's better is because it'll give you mysteries on what the plot is about and what is happening.
Well, don't all the Harry Potter books do that?
Yes, but this one has more mysteries than you would think.
Now, without giving us the plot away, give us a hint about the best one in there.
Someone who works for someone bad is doing something in the middle of a tournament.
That's all I'm going to say.
My name is Levi, and I'm from Loyola Village Elementary School.
And my book is Garlic and the Vampire.
Who wrote it was Brie Paulson.
And why do you like this book?
It's because it's really cool because, like, he goes against a vampire.
Well, that's not enough to make a book good.
What else makes this book good?
Well, it has a lot of adventures and a lot of people running and people are scared and all that.
It's really fun.
Did it scare you?
No.
Do you like scary books?
A little bit.
How scary can you go?
One million.
If you like scary books, you probably want to get this book, Garlic and the Vampire.
My name is Gabriel.
I go to school to Loyola Village Elementary.
My favorite book is The One and Only Ivan.
Oh, yeah.
Catherine Applegate.
We have done another one of her books on Book Club for Kids and we'll have a link at our website bookclubforkidsorg.
But tell me why you like The One and Only Ivan.
I like The One and Only Ivan because there is a lot of twists and turns.
The One and Only Ivan is about a young gorilla whose sister died and he goes to an abusive circus.
I like this book because it is funny and also sad.
Is it more funny or is it more sad?
I would say it's probably more funny.
What makes a good book?
A good book makes when there are twists turns, sad moments and also happy moments and also sometimes scary moments.
If you have a favorite book, you can be on the Book Club for Kids podcast, too.
Just record yourself on the voice memo app of a smartphone telling us your first name, the city where you live, the name of your favorite book and why you love it.
And email the file to us at kitty.com. at bookclubforkids.org.
You can also email us a picture of yourself with that book.
And, by the way, if you are a children's librarian anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere, we'd love to get your summer readers on the show.
Just email us for the permission slip and the easy instructions.
But basically you get the permission slip sign, you record each child on a separate audio file and email them to us at kitty, at bookclubforkidsorg.
And if you send us four or more audio files, we will dedicate a separate bonus episode to your library.
And if you'd like to know what some other librarians are doing this summer, check out this podcast for Brooklyn.
Hi, I'm Shanita.
And I'm Rachel.
And we're children's librarians at Brooklyn Public Library.
We are so excited to bring you a brand new podcast for kids.
Page Flippers.
Take on the World is a show focused on the world of work, where kids save the day by exploring their interests, discovering new books and talking to real live experts.
It's for kids ages four to 10 who love to learn new things and love to laugh and sing, of course.
And grown-ups.
We've got a segment in the show especially for you and accompanying book lists and programs that you can use in your classrooms and libraries all for free, because we're the library.
But mostly, this is for the kids.
Kids Take Over!
It worked!
We can't wait to share with you the amazing things our star-paced flippers get up to.
Just search for Page Flippers in the podcast app of your choice.
And if you're looking for a mystery to take you through this summer well, check out the Fina Mendoza Mysteries.
This 18-part series introduces basic civics lessons as our 10-year-old detective solves the mystery of a mysterious bird that pooped on the president during the State of the Union Address.
That's the Fina Mendoza Mysteries wherever you listen to podcasts.