Just Dads Reading Books is about understanding your children based on what they read. E.J. Sanders and Matt Martens investigate children&#39;s books and young adult novels so you don&#39;t have to. We&#39;ll never tell kids they can&#39;t read something, but we will try to make them feel cool for reading the good stuff.

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Don&#39;t be alarmed. It&#39;s just two dads here to engage in their yearly tradition. If you&#39;re seeing this, it&#39;s because we really love you and miss you. Enjoy! Music by Russian Baths: <a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/07N9Lr8AIzUbDzjPXUXTLr?si=vegRwDLXSF-IpupxjuEPJQ" rel="nofollow">https://open.spotify.com/artist/07N9Lr8AIzUbDzjPXUXTLr?si=vegRwDLXSF-IpupxjuEPJQ</a>

The Skull Revisted Revisted

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Hey there, it&#39;s been a minute. We&#39;ve been struggling to hit a consistent schedule recently and we wanted to talk to you, our listeners, about this and how we&#39;d like to update the show going forward to better fit in with some of the changing aspects of our lives.We still love to read and react to these books together, and we want you to be a part of that, but we&#39;re going to shift some of our focus away from regular releases, and follow a bit more of our passions, which hopefully will include the ability to do more author interviews, like the one at the end of this episode with Intisar Khanani who we met at GenCon!If you want to chat with us and recommend books or tell us your reaction to book we&#39;ve covered on the show, please email us at justdadsreadingbooks@gmail.comMusic by Russian Baths: <a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/07N9Lr8AIzUbDzjPXUXTLr?si=vegRwDLXSF-IpupxjuEPJQ" rel="nofollow">https://open.spotify.com/artist/07N9Lr8AIzUbDzjPXUXTLr?si=vegRwDLXSF-IpupxjuEPJQ</a>

A JDRB Update

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Matt lacks the language of classical literature which meant his mind was measured and ripe for Zach Weinersmith&#39;s graphic novel depiction of Beowulf. EJ is bringing a bit more book-smarts to this beat, but honestly we&#39;re both just relishing in the rhythm of reading a prose as composed as this.If you want to chat with us and recommend books or tell us your reaction to book we&#39;ve covered on the show, please email us at justdadsreadingbooks@gmail.comMusic by Russian Baths: <a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/07N9Lr8AIzUbDzjPXUXTLr?si=vegRwDLXSF-IpupxjuEPJQ" rel="nofollow">https://open.spotify.com/artist/07N9Lr8AIzUbDzjPXUXTLr?si=vegRwDLXSF-IpupxjuEPJQ</a>

Bea-Wolf

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We finally get to have a very special guest on JDRB! Cole Wehrle is here to join us as a fellow dad with a deep love for Lloyd Alexander. He loves the Chronicles of Prydain so much he made numerous overt references to it in his board game Oath, by Leder Games! But this isn&#39;t a board game show! Let&#39;s talk about the first book!If you want to chat with us and recommend books or tell us your reaction to book we&#39;ve covered on the show, please email us at justdadsreadingbooks@gmail.comMusic by Russian Baths: <a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/07N9Lr8AIzUbDzjPXUXTLr?si=vegRwDLXSF-IpupxjuEPJQ" rel="nofollow">https://open.spotify.com/artist/07N9Lr8AIzUbDzjPXUXTLr?si=vegRwDLXSF-IpupxjuEPJQ</a>

The Book of Three (w/ Cole Wehrle)

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A year ago we read The Skull by Jon Klassen. And in it, Jon puts forward the idea that stories are interesting to retell in just the way you remember them. So we took that as a challenge and agreed to meet up one year later to see how well we could remember the story of The Skull.If you want to chat with us and recommend books or tell us your reaction to book we&#39;ve covered on the show, please email us at justdadsreadingbooks@gmail.comMusic by Russian Baths: <a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/07N9Lr8AIzUbDzjPXUXTLr?si=vegRwDLXSF-IpupxjuEPJQ" rel="nofollow">https://open.spotify.com/artist/07N9Lr8AIzUbDzjPXUXTLr?si=vegRwDLXSF-IpupxjuEPJQ</a>

The Skull Revisited

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Where&#39;d all the picture books go?! Don&#39;t worry, we&#39;re done with all that heavy TEEN stuff, and we&#39;re incredibly ecstatic to talk about Carson Ellis&#39; work. Seriously, this is maybe an all-timer...If you want to chat with us and recommend books or tell us your reaction to book we&#39;ve covered on the show, please email us at justdadsreadingbooks@gmail.comMusic by Russian Baths: <a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/07N9Lr8AIzUbDzjPXUXTLr?si=vegRwDLXSF-IpupxjuEPJQ" rel="nofollow">https://open.spotify.com/artist/07N9Lr8AIzUbDzjPXUXTLr?si=vegRwDLXSF-IpupxjuEPJQ</a>

Carson Ellis

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Matt read this graphic novel when he was 19 years old and boy I tell ya that&#39;s just a real wild time to be reading something like this. He decided he wanted to make his friend EJ sad for a little while, so he made him read it to. But what&#39;s it like to read it as an adult? Let&#39;s check in...If you want to chat with us and recommend books or tell us your reaction to book we&#39;ve covered on the show, please email us at justdadsreadingbooks@gmail.comMusic by Russian Baths: <a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/07N9Lr8AIzUbDzjPXUXTLr?si=vegRwDLXSF-IpupxjuEPJQ" rel="nofollow">https://open.spotify.com/artist/07N9Lr8AIzUbDzjPXUXTLr?si=vegRwDLXSF-IpupxjuEPJQ</a>

Blankets

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This is one of those books that has some delightful merit that we just bounced off of. It&#39;s an action-filled romp through an inventive world and maybe you just shouldn&#39;t listen to books like that like they&#39;re going out business. Either way, let&#39;s pick apart what didn&#39;t work for us!If you want to chat with us and recommend books or tell us your reaction to book we&#39;ve covered on the show, please email us at justdadsreadingbooks@gmail.comMusic by Russian Baths: <a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/07N9Lr8AIzUbDzjPXUXTLr?si=vegRwDLXSF-IpupxjuEPJQ" rel="nofollow">https://open.spotify.com/artist/07N9Lr8AIzUbDzjPXUXTLr?si=vegRwDLXSF-IpupxjuEPJQ</a>

A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking

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It&#39;s a big ol&#39; finish line this week at JDRB. With this episode, we will have read all of the &#34;critical path&#34; Avatar books and comics that we intent to read (until these cool new Roku books come out...) So let&#39;s celebrate!If you want to chat with us and recommend books or tell us your reaction to book we&#39;ve covered on the show, please email us at justdadsreadingbooks@gmail.comMusic by Russian Baths: <a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/07N9Lr8AIzUbDzjPXUXTLr?si=vegRwDLXSF-IpupxjuEPJQ" rel="nofollow">https://open.spotify.com/artist/07N9Lr8AIzUbDzjPXUXTLr?si=vegRwDLXSF-IpupxjuEPJQ</a>

Avatar: The Last Airbender - Imbalance

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An episode so nice we recorded it twice! But also, JUST KIDDING, this isn&#39;t nice at all. This is possibly the most spiteful, angry book we&#39;ve ever read and we loved every single page of it. What if Medieval China was just as patriarchal and oppressive, but also had giant mechs that fed off of the energy of the male pilot&#39;s female concubine? That one sentence should be enough to get you to read this book, so I don&#39;t know what you&#39;re still doing here...If you want to chat with us and recommend books or tell us your reaction to book we&#39;ve covered on the show, please email us at justdadsreadingbooks@gmail.comMusic by Russian Baths: <a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/07N9Lr8AIzUbDzjPXUXTLr?si=vegRwDLXSF-IpupxjuEPJQ" rel="nofollow">https://open.spotify.com/artist/07N9Lr8AIzUbDzjPXUXTLr?si=vegRwDLXSF-IpupxjuEPJQ</a>

Iron Widow

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Early Reader books are a genre Matt and EJ have only lightly tapped into, and so far we&#39;re sticking to some reliable author/illustrators. Our most recent foray into this was the Elephant and Piggie books by Mo Willems, and this time we&#39;re checking out the Jack Books by Jon Klassen&#39;s favorite collaborator Mac Barnett! These have a pretty bold take on kid&#39;s lit because they feature a main character who is constantly up to no good! Is that okay?!If you want to chat with us and recommend books or tell us your reaction to book we&#39;ve covered on the show, please email us at justdadsreadingbooks@gmail.comMusic by Russian Baths: <a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/07N9Lr8AIzUbDzjPXUXTLr?si=vegRwDLXSF-IpupxjuEPJQ" rel="nofollow">https://open.spotify.com/artist/07N9Lr8AIzUbDzjPXUXTLr?si=vegRwDLXSF-IpupxjuEPJQ</a>

Jack Books by Mac Barnett

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*CONTENT WARNING*This is a heavy episode folks. Elana K. Arnold held nothing back in her book What Girls Were Made Of, so much so that Matt even questioned if he was fit to record a podcast about it. But we came out the other side stronger and more aware of how to talk about this kind of stuff so join us on this important journey, won&#39;t you?!If you want to chat with us and recommend books or tell us your reaction to book we&#39;ve covered on the show, please email us at justdadsreadingbooks@gmail.comMusic by Russian Baths: <a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/07N9Lr8AIzUbDzjPXUXTLr?si=vegRwDLXSF-IpupxjuEPJQ" rel="nofollow">https://open.spotify.com/artist/07N9Lr8AIzUbDzjPXUXTLr?si=vegRwDLXSF-IpupxjuEPJQ</a>

What Girls Are Made Of

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We&#39;re gonna claim a handful of &#34;endings&#34; to our Avatar journey, and this is one of them! Gene Luen Yang and Gurihiru have taken us on some delightful journeys and this is the last comic we get to read from them!If you want to chat with us and recommend books or tell us your reaction to book we&#39;ve covered on the show, please email us at justdadsreadingbooks@gmail.comMusic by Russian Baths: <a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/07N9Lr8AIzUbDzjPXUXTLr?si=vegRwDLXSF-IpupxjuEPJQ" rel="nofollow">https://open.spotify.com/artist/07N9Lr8AIzUbDzjPXUXTLr?si=vegRwDLXSF-IpupxjuEPJQ</a>

Avatar: The Last Airbender - North and South

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We discovered this hidden gem of an independent writer. He goes by Dr. Seuss and though you may have never heard of him, he wrote a lot of books! We wanted to do our civic duty and shine a light on an unappreciated artist. Thank goodness we won&#39;t have to talk about weird race stuff...If you want to chat with us and recommend books or tell us your reaction to book we&#39;ve covered on the show, please email us at justdadsreadingbooks@gmail.comMusic by Russian Baths: <a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/07N9Lr8AIzUbDzjPXUXTLr?si=vegRwDLXSF-IpupxjuEPJQ" rel="nofollow">https://open.spotify.com/artist/07N9Lr8AIzUbDzjPXUXTLr?si=vegRwDLXSF-IpupxjuEPJQ</a>

Dr. Seuss

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It&#39;s taken us a while, but we&#39;ve finally finished our journey with Nnedi Okorafor! The series hasn&#39;t been concluded, but the most recent entry in the adventures of Sunny Nwazue, Akata Woman, was released 2022 and we&#39;ll wait as long as we must for whatever comes next. And with this entry, there&#39;s a lot of growing up to do!If you want to chat with us and recommend books or tell us your reaction to book we&#39;ve covered on the show, please email us at justdadsreadingbooks@gmail.comMusic by Russian Baths: <a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/07N9Lr8AIzUbDzjPXUXTLr?si=vegRwDLXSF-IpupxjuEPJQ" rel="nofollow">https://open.spotify.com/artist/07N9Lr8AIzUbDzjPXUXTLr?si=vegRwDLXSF-IpupxjuEPJQ</a>

Akata Woman

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We disappeared there for a little bit, but the Dads are back on track. What better way to bring this show back into the world than with our favorite thing: Avatar! We&#39;re nearing the end of our main arc of the Avatar graphic novels, so let&#39;s see how our latest entry compares to the rest of the series.If you want to chat with us and recommend books or tell us your reaction to book we&#39;ve covered on the show, please email us at justdadsreadingbooks@gmail.comMusic by Russian Baths: <a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/07N9Lr8AIzUbDzjPXUXTLr?si=vegRwDLXSF-IpupxjuEPJQ" rel="nofollow">https://open.spotify.com/artist/07N9Lr8AIzUbDzjPXUXTLr?si=vegRwDLXSF-IpupxjuEPJQ</a>

Avatar: The Last Airbender - Smoke and Shadow

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We missed last week due to a horrible move across country for Matt leaving him computerless for more time than he expected! But it was all worth the wait because we finally get to talk about the follow up to Nnedi Okorafor&#39;s Akata Witch!If you want to chat with us and recommend books or tell us your reaction to book we&#39;ve covered on the show, please email us at justdadsreadingbooks@gmail.comMusic by Russian Baths: <a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/07N9Lr8AIzUbDzjPXUXTLr?si=vegRwDLXSF-IpupxjuEPJQ" rel="nofollow">https://open.spotify.com/artist/07N9Lr8AIzUbDzjPXUXTLr?si=vegRwDLXSF-IpupxjuEPJQ</a>

Akata Warrior

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Read books with your kids. It&#39;s fun. But boy is it so much easier and more fun when you have books like Mother Bruce by Ryan T. Higgins. Illustrations that evoke so much emotion, humor that actually works for all ages, and stories that are FUN to read. We&#39;ve got a new favorite author/illustrator, folks...If you want to chat with us and recommend books or tell us your reaction to book we&#39;ve covered on the show, please email us at justdadsreadingbooks@gmail.comMusic by Russian Baths: <a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/07N9Lr8AIzUbDzjPXUXTLr?si=vegRwDLXSF-IpupxjuEPJQ" rel="nofollow">https://open.spotify.com/artist/07N9Lr8AIzUbDzjPXUXTLr?si=vegRwDLXSF-IpupxjuEPJQ</a>

Mother Bruce

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Quick! More Avatar while no one is looking! This is a quick look at a shorter Avatar comic, but also we finally get to start talking about the new live action Avatar series. We&#39;ve only watched a couple of episodes, and we&#39;ll be slowly watching over the next few Avatar comic episodes, so join us for the ride!If you want to chat with us and recommend books or tell us your reaction to book we&#39;ve covered on the show, please email us at justdadsreadingbooks@gmail.comMusic by Russian Baths: <a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/07N9Lr8AIzUbDzjPXUXTLr?si=vegRwDLXSF-IpupxjuEPJQ" rel="nofollow">https://open.spotify.com/artist/07N9Lr8AIzUbDzjPXUXTLr?si=vegRwDLXSF-IpupxjuEPJQ</a>

Avatar: The Last Airbender - Toph Beifong's Metalbending Academy

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One more! We&#39;re still putting off our Akata Warrior episode but we got our hands on the next set of Avatar graphic novels! This one is perhaps a less impressive entry than the first two, but honestly how is one supposed to compete with those in the first place? If anything, we get a nice filler episode that feels in line with the tone of the show itself!If you want to chat with us and recommend books or tell us your reaction to book we&#39;ve covered on the show, please email us at justdadsreadingbooks@gmail.comMusic by Russian Baths: <a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/07N9Lr8AIzUbDzjPXUXTLr?si=vegRwDLXSF-IpupxjuEPJQ" rel="nofollow">https://open.spotify.com/artist/07N9Lr8AIzUbDzjPXUXTLr?si=vegRwDLXSF-IpupxjuEPJQ</a>

Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Rift

Just Dads Reading Books is about understanding your children based on what they read. E.J. Sanders and Matt Martens investigate children's books and young adult novels so you don't have to. We'll never tell kids they can't read something, but we will try to make them feel cool for reading the good stuff.