We asked the cast of The Fina Mendoza Mysteries podcast to tell us a little more about their characters.

The podcast is based on the award-winning book "Welcome to Washington, Fina Mendoza" by Kitty Felde. More information at the website finamendozamysteries.com.

Journalist Susan Valot interviews writer/producer Kitty Felde about the creative choices behind THE FINA MENDOZA MYSTERIES.

The podcast is based on the award winning book "Welcome to Washington, Fina Mendoza" by Kitty Felde. More information at the website finamendozamysteries.com.

A mysterious break-in, a congressional lobbying effort about voting, and a sneaky way to get kids excited about the upcoming election...without the nastiness of politics.

In this special bonus episode of THE FINA MENDOZA MYSTERIES, our young detective is attending classes via Zoom. She and her classmates take on a genius project, researching a recent amendment that would allow 16 and 17 year olds to vote. She and her classmates ask, "Why stop at 16? Why not let them vote?"

They put the question to real-life Congressman Mark Takano (D-California) who approves of lowering the voting age to 16.

Meanwhile, Fina has another mystery to solve: who keeps breaking into their vacant classroom and trashing it? She checks in with her detecting partner, a canine called Senator Something, and visits the scene of the crime.

There is free curriculum for this episode.

It's a new school year for Fina Mendoza, another year of distance learning. Her teacher assigns a Genius Project, letting students pick the topic they'd like to research and present to the class. Since it's an election year and Fina's congressman father is back in California campaigning for re-election, Fina decides to research voting. Specifically, letting kids younger than 18 cast a ballot.

Real-life Congressman Mark Takano of Riverside, California zooms with the class to answer questions about youth voting.

There is also a mystery to be solved: who broke into their classroom, ransacking the backpacks and rifling the teacher's desk. Fina consults with her detecting partner, a giant orange dog named Senator Something, and talks her sister into accompanying her on a field trip to see if her hunch about the culprit is correct.

There is FREE curriculum for this episode.

The Fina Mendoza Mysteries are written and produced by Kitty Felde

Our cast includes:

Amy Solano as Fina Mendoza

Monica Vigil as Gabby

Susan Valot appears as Ms. Greenwood

India Scalione plays Becka

Eddie Pike plays Michael and

Myka Scalione plays Margaret

Laura Stegman appears as Congresswoman Mitchell

And Steve DeVorkin is Senator Something

Hannah Matzecki is our associate producer. Our music is by composer and musician Andrew Barkan. Our logo designer is Imelda Hinojosa.

The Fina Mendoza Mysteries are based on the book "Welcome to Washington, Fina Mendoza" by Kitty Felde. You can get an autographed copy of the book at our website finamendozamysteries.com.

It's a new school year for Fina Mendoza, another year of distance learning. Her teacher assigns a Genius Project, letting students pick the topic they'd like to research and present to the class. Since it's an election year and Fina's congressman father is back in California campaigning for re-election, Fina decides to research voting. Specifically, letting kids younger than 18 cast a ballot.

Real-life Congressman Mark Takano of Riverside, California zooms with the class to answer questions about youth voting.

There is also a mystery to be solved: who broke into their classroom, ransacking the backpacks and rifling the teacher's desk. Fina consults with her detecting partner, a giant orange dog named Senator Something, and talks her sister into accompanying her on a field trip to see if her hunch about the culprit is correct.

There is FREE curriculum for this episode.

THE FINA MENDOZA MYSTERIES is based on the award-winning book "Welcome to Washington Fina Mendoza" by Kitty Felde.

The Fina Mendoza Mysteries are written and produced by Kitty Felde

Our cast includes:

Amy Solano as Fina Mendoza

Monica Vigil as Gabby

Susan Valot appears as Ms. Greenwood

India Scalione plays Becka

Eddie Pike plays Michael and

Myka Scalione plays Margaret

Laura Stegman appears as Congresswoman Mitchell

And Steve DeVorkin is Senator Something

Hannah Matzecki is our associate producer. Our music is by composer and musician Andrew Barkan. Our logo designer is Imelda Hinojosa.

The Fina Mendoza Mysteries are based on the book "Welcome to Washington, Fina Mendoza" by Kitty Felde. You can get an autographed copy of the book at our website finamendozamysteries.com.

I'll bet you didn't get to ride in a parade or spend Thanksgiving with your congressman dad answering questions at a Veteran's hall. That's how Fina's spending her Thanksgiving on a return visit to California.

www.finamendozamysteries.com

In this year of upended traditions, we check in with the Mendoza family as they remember their own favorite Christmas past. And we celebrate a Capitol Hill tradition: the lighting of the Capitol Christmas tree.

Here's a link to the 2020 Capitol Christmas Tree celebration.

How do you explain the events of January 6th to children?

This special 2-part episode is designed for teachers and parents to talk to young people about what happened and why and what larger lessons can be drawn from the attack on the U.S. Capitol.

FREE curriculum for this episode can be downloaded here.

The episode takes place on January 6th, 2021, in a classroom meeting on zoom because of the pandemic. Our 10-year-old detective Fina Mendoza, the daughter of a congressman, has a new mystery to solve: who stole the 5th grade's pizza, a prize for the winner of a reading competition with the 4th grade?

Fina and her classmates have parents who work in the U.S. Capitol and they learn of the attack on that workplace during class. Their teacher, Miss Greenwood, helps them understand the events in a larger context. They discuss the electoral process, George Washington's decision not to run for a third term, high fives in baseball, and how John Adams and Thomas Jefferson found a way to reconciliation after a particularly nasty election.

The Fina Mendoza Mysteries are based on a series of novels by Kitty Felde, including Welcome to Washington Fina Mendoza and State of the Union, published by Chesapeake Press and can be ordered at your local library, Amazon, or your favorite indie bookstore.

Felde covered Capitol Hill for public radio for nearly a decade. She used to explain how Congress works to grownups. Now, she explains it to children.