Bianca with Katherine Applegate and Gennifer Choldenko on Dogtown

The Children's Book Review: Growing Readers Podcast

Award-winning authors Katherine Applegate and Gennifer Choldenko's co-authored book Dogtown showcases how fiction can help instill empathy and compassion, especially in fun stories that involve animals. They discuss the immeasurable and inspiring power of literature. Their work is a testament to the fact that stories can have a meaningful impact on the human experience. Dogtown encourages us to take the time to stop and consider the world around us and to become more aware and empathetic members of our community.

Katherine Applegate is the #1 New York Times-bestselling author of beloved and award-winning books for young readers, including Odder, Home of the Brave, Crenshaw, Wishtree, Willodeen, and The One and Only Ivan, for which she won the Newbery Medal. She is also the author of the Animorphs series, and a beginning reader series, Doggo and Pupper, illustrated by Charlie Alder. Katherine Applegate lives in Southern California with her family.

Gennifer Choldenko’s best known Tales from Alcatraz series has been called “A cornerstone series in contemporary children’s literature.” Al Capone Does My Shirts―the first book in the series―was a Newbery Honor Book and the recipient of twenty other awards. All four books in the series were Junior Library Guild selections and garnered many starred reviews. Gennifer lives in the San Francisco Bay area with her loyal husband and naughty dog.

Transcription:

You can read the transcription on ⁠The Children's Book Review (coming soon)⁠.

Order a Copy:

Dogtown on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Amazon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bookshop.org⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Resources:

You can find out more about Katherine Applegate at https://katherineapplegate.com/.

You can find out more about Gennifer Choldenko at https://www.choldenko.com/.

Discussion Topics:

Katherine and Gennifer talk about:

• Their love of dogs, writing, and, of course, Dogtown
• Katherine's struggles with sitting down to write and how she uses the Pomodoro method to help her get started
• How they connected over their love for middle grade readers and collaborated on writing Dogtown
• Research for Dogtown, including volunteering at a pet shelter and training dogs for therapy work
• How the idea of robot dogs versus real dogs came about for the story
• The main characters Metalhead and Chance and what they represent
• Wallace West's illustrations in the book and how he brought it to life with his quirky and original style
• The importance of fiction in developing empathy and compassion, and how stories about animals (like Dogtown) can inspire kids to cherish and appreciate their furry companions

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