The Children's Literature Podcast

It’s been a long time since I took any time for myself to play video games, and I randomly had the idea that if I can drag myself out of bed early enough, I could revisit Skyrim and chat about the myths and legends that went into its worldbuilding. In this foray into a damp, … <a href="https://childrensliteraturepodcast.com/2026/03/20/232-lets-play-skyrim-and-talk-about-mythology/" class="more-link">Continue reading<span class="screen-reader-text"> "232 – Let’s Play Skyrim and Talk About Mythology"</span></a>

There have recently been a bunch of ultraviolent makeovers of classic children’s stories. Some are schlocky horror fun. And some are just dreadful. Pinocchio Unstrung looks like promisingly gory twist on Carlo Collodi’s already scary tale, while THE BRIDE! was a painfully bad attempt to update Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.

Star Trek VI is *so* loaded with literary references that I had to divide my thoughts into two parts. I previously talked about the Shakespeare references in the play, but this time I’ll do a speedrun through ALL of the literary references in this film — and there are a lot! See if you can … <a href="https://childrensliteraturepodcast.com/2026/03/16/230-every-literary-reference-in-star-trek-vi/" class="more-link">Continue reading<span class="screen-reader-text"> "230 – Every Literary Reference in Star Trek VI"</span></a>

When researching the first published books of nursery rhymes, I found some hilariously inappropriate entries. Well, by modern standards, anyway. Please enjoy these silly, violent, and scatalogical poems. If you share them with your kids, don’t say I didn’t warn you if you find yourself in the principal’s office getting told off. If you’d like … <a href="https://childrensliteraturepodcast.com/2026/03/06/229-lets-read-inappropriate-nursery-rhymes/" class="more-link">Continue reading<span class="screen-reader-text"> "229 – Let’s Read Inappropriate Nursery Rhymes"</span></a>

This episode comes from my recent livestream about Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country and its Shakespearean influences. The plot is a real-time metaphor for the end of the Cold War, highlighting larger-than-life personalities and critical historical moments in a way that Shakespeare did when writing his history plays. Klingon costumes are based on Elizabethan … <a href="https://childrensliteraturepodcast.com/2026/03/04/228-star-trek-vi-is-a-shakespeare-play/" class="more-link">Continue reading<span class="screen-reader-text"> "228 – Star Trek VI is a Shakespeare Play!"</span></a>

Join me by the fireside to hear the story known as the “Russian Cinderella,” which is funny and strange . . . and has the most unusual fairy godmother I’ve ever heard of. This translation of the Russian fairy tale “Vaselesa the Beautiful” was done by Edith M. S. Hodgetts. Mrs. Hodgetts was born in … <a href="https://childrensliteraturepodcast.com/2026/03/03/227-fireside-fairy-tale-vaselesa-the-beautiful/" class="more-link">Continue reading<span class="screen-reader-text"> "227 – Fireside Fairy Tale: Vaselesa the Beautiful"</span></a>

Star Trek is what first introduced me to Shakespeare, and I wanted to visit the most Shakespearean of all Star Trek productions, which is Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. This film is Shakespearean in its structure, characters, plot, and themes, and can be a great way to introduce kids to some truly epic literature. … <a href="https://childrensliteraturepodcast.com/2026/02/10/226-star-trek-ii-the-wrath-of-khan-is-a-shakespearean-epic/" class="more-link">Continue reading<span class="screen-reader-text"> "226 – Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is a Shakespearean Epic"</span></a>

If you like Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, that’s fine. Just keep it far away from me, because I DON’T BRONTË. If you also don’t Brontë, you can get yourself a Wayne’s World style wall plaque from my Teespring Store: I also share my latest Fireside Fairy Tale, which is my own contribution to the … <a href="https://childrensliteraturepodcast.com/2026/02/04/225-i-hate-wuthering-heights/" class="more-link">Continue reading<span class="screen-reader-text"> "225 – I Hate Wuthering Heights"</span></a>

Join me on a pleasantly mild winter evening to toast a marshmallow and share my translation of “Rödkappchen,” or “Little Red Cap,” the German version of Little Red Riding Hood as collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in Kinder- und Hausmärchen, their 1812 collection of fairy tales. This version is interesting because it has … <a href="https://childrensliteraturepodcast.com/2026/01/24/224-fireside-fairy-tale-grimms-little-red-riding-hood/" class="more-link">Continue reading<span class="screen-reader-text"> "224 – Fireside Fairy Tale: Grimm’s Little Red Riding Hood"</span></a>

“What does Star Trek have to do with children’s literature?” you might be asking. Quite a lot. Star Trek introduced me to Shakespeare, and it’s been a franchise that mattered quite a lot to nerdy kids for 60 years now. The new TV series, Starfleet Academy, is aimed at teenagers. It failed to hit the … <a href="https://childrensliteraturepodcast.com/2026/01/21/223-starfleet-academy-is-anti-star-trek/" class="more-link">Continue reading<span class="screen-reader-text"> "223 – Starfleet Academy is Anti-Star Trek"</span></a>