Dearest Diary!

In the classic way of youthful diaries, we will start with an apology for being away so long! The fall really got away from us, but we are back with a new book and a NEW SERIES.

Join us as we recap the first half of the first Royal Diaries book (a sister series of the Dear America books), all about Elizabeth I. We meet the future queen as a precocious eleven-year-old, desperate for her father's love and attention.

We cover the dizzying array of step-mothers, dip our toes into Tudor court politics, and explore the complicated familial relationships of the English royals.

Yours truly,

Cate and Jen

P.S. We started a Discord community! Come say hi!

RibbonBookClubPod.com

@RibbonBookPod on Facebook and Instagram

Edited by Danny Heck

Theme music by Ericka Page @theerickapage

Cover art by Chelsea Tanis @TheTrumpetClub

Research help by Callie Cherry @_likethefruit

Dear Diary,

Much like a real diary, sometimes we forget to update you in a while! So this week we're taking a step back to where we were this past spring: the Alamo. We had a great conversation with Kolby Lanham from the Alamo Museum. Kolby shared some fascinating stories from the Alamo and gave us the inside scoop on exciting things coming to the Alamo Museum.

Thank you to Kolby for joining us! We hope you enjoy our conversation, and stay tuned for new episodes coming!

Yours truly,

Cate and Jen

RibbonBookClubPod.com

@RibbonBookPod on Facebook and Instagram

Edited by Danny Heck

Theme music by Ericka Page @theerickapage

Cover art by Chelsea Tanis @TheTrumpetClub

Research help by Callie Cherry @_likethefruit

Dear Diary,

It's time to finish our recap of A Line in the Sand: The Alamo Diary of Lucinda Lawrence, and whoooooo boy, what a doozy.

What could possibly go wrong when you send a bunch of under-prepared Texians against the Mexican army? Turns out, a lot of death and destruction. This book carries on the proud tradition of seeing how much misery this series can inflict on its main characters. And preteen girls couldn't get enough of it!

Tune in to find out who made it through.

Yours Truly,

Cate and Jen

RibbonBookClubPod.com

@RibbonBookPod on Facebook and Instagram

Edited by Danny Heck

Theme music by Ericka Page @theerickapage

Cover art by Chelsea Tanis @TheTrumpetClub

Research help by Callie Cherry @_likethefruit

Dear Diary,

This week, we are heading to the southwest to learn about the Alamo! Our guide is Sherry Garland, and her 1998 book, A Line in the Sand: The Alamo Diary of Lucinda Lawrence.

Lucinda and her family of Mama, Papa, and her creatively named brothers live in the small frontier town of Gonzales near the Guadalupe River. Trouble is brewing between the president of Mexico, Santa Anna, and the "Texians" in San Antonio. The Lawrence family is divided in their opinions about war and independence. Tune in to hear about life on the home front in rural 1830s Texas!

Yours truly,

Cate and Jen

RibbonBookClubPod.com

@RibbonBookPod on Facebook and Instagram

Edited by Danny Heck

Theme music by Ericka Page @theerickapage

Cover art by Chelsea Tanis @TheTrumpetClub

Research help by Callie Cherry @_likethefruit

Dear Diary,

This week, we had the privilege of talking to Paul Lee, who has been studying the history of Titanic for nearly 40 years! Every year, he publishes social media posts in real time, along with the historical events of the fateful voyage of the RMS Titanic. Tune in to hear our discussion on some of the lesser-known stories of Titanic and about remembering the humanity of all those affected by the tragic disaster.

Yours Truly,

Cate and Jen

RibbonBookClubPod.com

@RibbonBookPod on Facebook and Instagram

@RibbonBookClubPod on Bluesky

Edited by Danny Heck

Theme music by Ericka Page @theerickapage

Cover art by Chelsea Tanis @TheTrumpetClub

Research help by Callie Cherry @_likethefruit

Dear Diary,

We're here with part 2 of our recap of A Voyage on the Great Titanic: The Diary of Margaret Ann Brady, and it's a DOOZY.

Flirting and snobbery abound before the fateful striking of the iceberg. But what becomes of our cast of characters? Will Margaret and Mrs. Carstairs bond over their shared trauma? Will Robert make it to safety? And will we make it through an episode without crying over a 100-year-old disaster? Tune in to find out!

Yours truly,

Cate and Jen

RibbonBookClubPod.com

@RibbonBookPod on Facebook and Instagram

Edited by Danny Heck

Theme music by Ericka Page @theerickapage

Cover art by Chelsea Tanis @TheTrumpetClub

Research help by Callie Cherry @_likethefruit

Dear Diary,

We made it to one of our most anticipated books of this series: Voyage on the Great Titanic: The Diary of Margaret Ann Brady! It was written by Ellen Emerson White and published in 1998. Boy, were the late 1990s a fantastic time to hyperfocus on the Titanic.

In this story, we meet Margaret, a precocious orphan from Whitechapel. Margaret's life is about to be turned upside down when she gets a job as a companion to the wealthy Mrs. Carstairs. Together, they plan to sail first class to America on the RMS Titanic (what could possibly go wrong???). Margaret is not sure how she feels about her luxurious new surroundings, but she does enjoy the company of a certain cabin steward named Robert.

Tune in to hear our recap of the first half of this thrilling story!

Yours truly,

Cate and Jen

RibbonBookClubPod.com

@RibbonBookPod on Facebook and Instagram

Edited by Danny Heck

Theme music by Ericka Page @theerickapage

Cover art by Chelsea Tanis @TheTrumpetClub

Research help by Callie Cherry @_likethefruit

Dear Diary,

For our historical note, we had the privilege of speaking with Barbara "Bluejay" Michalski, the Chief and Keeper of Culture of the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania. Chief Bluejay shared with us some of the stories and projects she works on to carry on the traditions of her people.

Tune in to hear her thoughts on settler/Indigenous relations in the 1700s and how this history can be explained to young ones.

Yours Truly,

Cate and Jen

RibbonBookClubPod.com

@RibbonBookPod on Facebook and Instagram

Edited by Danny Heck

Theme music by Ericka Page @theerickapage

Cover art by Chelsea Tanis @TheTrumpetClub

Research help by Callie Cherry @_likethefruit