Everyone has fears and worries of one kind or another. When dealing with them, it can be helpful to have support and to know that others have similar feelings. The book Guts, by Raina Telgemeier, is the story of Raina, a young girl who is experiencing stomach problems that continue to worsen the more she worries. Raina’s therapist helps her deal with her anxiety and gives her strategies to help her when she’s nervous, just like many therapists do in real life. Listen to hear more about the story Guts and to hear a psychologist talk about dealing with worries.
Story Length: 5:41
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In Jerry Spinelli’s Maniac Magee, a twelve-year-old orphan runs away in search of a home and finds himself in a small Pennsylvania town segregated by race. There, the mysterious stranger, who earns the nickname “Maniac” for his legendary athletic feats, confronts prejudice and breaks down racial barriers. Listen to hear a fifth grade book club discuss how the lessons of Maniac Magee could be applied to their own communities.
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Reading a good mystery is like solving a puzzle. Readers have to pay attention to the characters and events in order to solve the mystery. In The Westing Game, the millionaire Samuel Westing has died, and it is time to read his will. Sixteen people are invited to the reading, and the will reveals that one of them murdered Samuel Westing! Now it is up to the group to determine which one of them did it. Listen to find out more about Samuel Westing’s will and the characters working to solve the mystery.
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Fiction writing begins with a story idea. In this audio story, the idea comes from a young Arab-American girl who is a fan of mysteries. She works with an adult Arab-American writer to develop her original story idea into the first draft of a cliffhanger–a story that stops at a suspenseful moment, leaving the characters in a desperate state. Listen to learn more about the fiction writing process as well as how authors sometimes give readers an invitation to imagine what might happen next in the story.
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