How do we measure up to our parents' expectations? Does everybody deserve a day off? What's the toughest part of being a homeschooled kid? Our group of readers from the Broomfield Public Library in Colorado weigh in on these questions and more as they discuss Lisa Graff's novel Absolutely Almost. Lisa talks about where the characters came from and how she wrote her first book for her newborn baby brother. NYC actor Thaddeus Fitzpatrick is celebrity reader. Kitty Felde is host.

Eragon - Christopher Paolini

Warriors - Erin Hunter

Grounded: The Adventures of Rapunzel - Megan Morrison

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J. K. Rowling

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making - Catherynne M. Valente

Holes - Louis Sachar

Eragon - Christopher Paolini

Warriors - Erin Hunter

Grounded: The Adventures of Rapunzel - Megan Morrison

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J. K. Rowling

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making - Catherynne M. Valente

Holes - Louis Sachar

Ever wonder what kids in Georgia and Florida are reading? Here's a few suggestions from readers at Druid Hills Middle School in Decatur, Georgia and Indian Trace Elementary School in Weston, Florida.

Somewhere Beyond the Sea - TJ Klune

Superman Smashes the Klan - Gene Luen Yang and Gurihiru

Unwind - Neal Shusterman

Percy Jackson the Last Olympian - Rick Riordan

The Giver - Lois Lowry

(click on the link and hear an interview with Lois Lowry!)

You can find more favorite books at our website!

The Book Club for Kids podcast began in the smallest quadrant of Washington DC called Southwest. It was the waterfront for DC, the place where ships would dock bringing everything from building supplies to fresh fish to slaves. This week marks the 178th anniversary of what Washington Post writer Colbert King calls "one of the most courageous acts in antebellum America": the attempted escape of African American slaves on a ship docked at the Southwest waterfront, a ship called the Pearl.

This week, Book Club for Kids honors its roots by reprising our one episode featuring a non fiction book: Passenger on the Pearl by Winifred Conkling, taped before a live audience at Virginia's Fall for the Book Festival. Lolita Marie is our celebrity reader.

www.bookclubforkids.org

You've been calling us with your favorite books. Here's the latest list:

Keeper of the Lost Cities - Shannon Messenger

House Arrest - K.A.Holt

The Running Dream - Wendelin Van Draanen

Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus - Barbara Park

That Pigeon Needs a Bath - Mo Willems

A Dinosaur in the Toilet - Horace Hughes

Anne of Green Gables - L.M. Montgomery

The Land of Stories - Cris Colfer

Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

Sarafina and the Black Cloak - Robert Beatty

Missing Since Monday- Ann Martin

The Cat I Never Named - Amra Sabic-El-Rayess

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Roderick Rules -Jeff Kinney

The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins

Diary of Steve the Noob - Steve the Noob

If you have a favorite book, you can be on the show, too! Just give us a call at 424- 209-2285 and tell us your first name, the city where you live, the name of your favorite book, and why you love it.

Witches, monsters, and a brave little thief. Those are the ingredients in Claire Legrand's novel "Foxheart." The book was chosen by Book Club for Kids fan Kailas. She and her two fellow readers Iona and Gabi discussed the novel one sunny Sunday afternoon upstairs at Boulder Bookstore with host Kitty Felde. Our celebrity reader is actor Wesley Mann. And writer Claire Legrand explains how "Foxheart" began as a short story on a website.

What's it like to be adopted? Does your adopted family's history become your history or do you feel the need to find your biological story? Our book this week is "The Length of a String" by Elissa Brent Weissman. It's a Holocaust story about a Jewish family separated by the war. Readers from the Girlfriends Book Club of Baltimore at Hazelwood Elementary Middle School discuss the book and pose lots of questions to our writer. Actor and producer Bari Hochwald is celebrity reader. Kitty Felde is host.

Last week, we heard a bit from writer Jennifer L. Holm when we discussed her book "Turtle in Paradise." In this Bonus Episode, we hear more about Jenni's trilogy of books inspired by family stories.