Podcast Launch
CBC’s new History is Lit series will explore literary history, book lore, ancient storytelling, and anywhere stories and yesteryear meet.
You may have seen the History is Lit blog posts and read about lady pirates, Beverly Cleary, the sci-fi genre, or LEGO. Today, we dive into the history behind the history!
At the beginning of lockdown in 2020, CBC’s Laura Peraza started an internal morning email to help the CBC staff stay connected and positive. We quickly discovered how much we loved starting the day with a fun, delightful, empowering story. This morning email evolved and became a way to find interesting historic events, trivia, and travel stories to discuss and learn about each other. Earlier this year, the idea grew even further as we were ready to share it more widely, and the History is Lit blog column was born!
These CBC blog posts look at books, reading, kid lit, and all things literary through a historic lens. We explore book genres, famous and underappreciated figures from history, art, and events, always finding unexamined areas … that can brighten our day. The blog posts have been so well received that a new iteration of this kid-lit history concept grew from their success: The History is Lit Podcast! Laura and her colleague John McCormack talk passionately about their love of kid lit, history, pop culture, stories, graphic novels, and books.
Therefore, on this Hallow’s eve, we are thrilled (and a little scared) to announce the first History Is Lit Podcast episode. Episode 1 deals with the history of horror books and the contemporary developments of the genre, including, some of our childhood and teen favorite graphic novels.
Find below the complete list of all the books mentioned in the podcast episode, from Poe to Gaiman and Shelley to Farizan. And the links to related resources here at the Children’s Book Council.
You can expect a monthly episode of the podcast, as well as regular blog posts and book finds for all things Literary History. Welcome to History is Lit. We hope you feel right at home!
Book Titles
- One Thousand and One Nights (or Arabian Nights) by Anonymous (Penguin Classic)
- The Castle Otranto by Horace Walpole (Penguin Classics)
- Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe (Oxford World Classics)
- Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (Whalen Book Works / Simon & Schuster Children’s Books)
- The Vampyre by John Polidori (Oxford World Classics]
- Penny Dreadfuls: Sweeney Todd, Varney the Vampire, and Spring-Heeled Jack (Simon & Schuster)
- Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (Enriched Classics / Simon & Schuster)
- Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (Penguin Classics)
- Dracula by Bram Stoker (Penguin Classics)
- Tales from the Crypt by EC Comics (EC Comics)
- The Sandman series by Neil Gaiman; art by multiple artists (Vertigo / DC Comics)
- Dead Flip by Sara Farizan (Algonquin Young Reader)
- Goosebumps Series by R.L. Stine (Scholastic)
- Say Cheese and Die! (Goosebumps)
- The Haunted Mask (Goosebumps)
- One Day at Horrorland (Goosebumps)
- Welcome to Dead House (Goosebumps)
- Weird Tales magazine by J.C. Henneberger
- Edgar Allen Poe — The Tell-Tale Heart is our favorite!
- The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (Penguin Classics)
Horror Graphic Novels
- Specter Inspectors by Bowen McCurdy and Kaitlyn Mustoy (BOOM Studios!)
- Mason Mooney by Seaerra Miller (Flying Eye Books)
- Garlic the Vampire by Bree Paulsen (Quill Tree Books / HarperCollins Children’s Books)
- The Creeps by Chris Schweizer (Amulet Books / ABRAMS)
- Something is Killing the Children by James Tynion IV (BOOM Studios!)
- Monstress by Marjorie Liu; art by Sana Takeda (Image Comics)
- The Haunted Mansion (Graphic Novel) by Joshua Williamson (Marvel)
Horror Screen
- The Twilight Zone
- The Munsters
- Nightmare on Elm Street
- The Adams Family
- Universal Monsters films
- Hotel Transilvania
Free Resources
- Neil Gaiman Gets Caught Reading
- Sara Farizan Gets Caught Reading
- Beasts and Beauty: Dangerous Tales by Soman Chainani, Illus. Julia Iredale [HarperCollins] is in the running for Favorite Book Cover of the KIDS’ BOOK CHOICE AWARDS. Vote your favorites today!
CBC’s Graphic Novel Committee Panels at the 2022 San Diego ComicCon.
- Bans Off Our Books! Responding to Challenges
- On Beyond Hero: Who’s Behind the Mask? – Exploring identity through graphic novels and story
- Retold, Reimagined, and Refreshed
- Adventure Beyond the Screen
- Entertainment, Engagement, and Empathy
[Music for the History is Lit Podcast is by Stockaudios.]
CBC’s resident history and yesteryear explorer, Laura Peraza, takes you back in time. Check out other series on our blog and our Reader Resources for more books and materials.
