1 Aug 2026
S3 Ep 10: "A book that makes us want to write - go get another a copy to destroy" and other tips on how to read like a writer.
Welcome to a very special episode! We are so excited to welcome back two wonderful, insightful, Read To Write Kidlit alumni authors for a special season finale! In this episode we will talk about specific strategies for reading as a writer, tell you how we approach reading each book for the podcast, and hear from Jennifer Nielsen (author of Iceberg and featured in Season one Episode 4) and Naomi Milliner (author The Trouble With Secrets featured in Season 2 Episode 7 and Season 3 Episode 6) about what line or passage from a mentor text was most influential on their growth as a writer. You will also find how Kate Albus and Rebecca Bendheim read like writers further down the newsletter.
Additionally, we have curated a special resource just for our listeners! We are calling this our “Directory” and has keywords to help you find the episode that will help you most in your writing journey. Keep scrolling for a peek at our directory now.
You can listen to the podcast above or on Apple Podcasts. (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/read-to-write-kidlit-podcast/id1709210829) We also have transcripts available if listening is not for you. Note: Transcripts on Substack are only available in the web version, not the app.
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Music credits: Will Saulnier
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Read to Write KidLit Directory
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Other tips for reading like a writer from previously featured authors
Kate Albus Season 1, Episode 2 (Nothing Else but Miracles):
Some years ago, I asked my family to tell me their favorite passages from their favorite books. A phrase, a sentence, an exchange of dialogue, a paragraph. I collected them and wrote them all out in teeny-tiny handwriting, filling a single sheet of blank paper. Then I framed it and hung it in our living room. It includes passages from old books (a scene from The Wind in the Willows was one of mine)… from newer ones (an exchange from Lonesome Dove came from my husband)… from non-fiction (my daughter contributed a line from a memoir of a girl’s experience battling polio)… even from horror (one of my son’s selections was ‘sometimes, dead is better,’ courtesy of Stephen King). The list goes on.
It’s our own unique syllabus. A collection of passages that have stayed with us, as individuals, and as a family.
I believe that reading – that developing your own syllabus – is the very best way to learn to write. As a writer who has never taken a proper writing class, it’s the only way I know how. There’s something about reading widely, and reading voraciously, that fills us up with a sort of ‘story wisdom’ that’s hard to put into words. That internal syllabus gives us the rhythm of story. The ebb and flow. It helps us feel and understand the parts of storytelling that best please us, each in our own way, whether it’s character, plot, or the simple joy of the words themselves.
Our task, as writers, is to create our own internal syllabi, filling ourselves with our own personal treasure troves of story wisdom. A more delightful task I cannot fathom.
Happy reading… and happy writing.
Rebecca Bendheim-Season 3 Episode 8 (When You’re Brave Enough):
Passage from a mentor text, The List of Things That Will Not Change by Rebecca Stead.
Ten-year-old Bea’s dad is marrying a man named Jesse, and he comes to Bea’s class to give out oysters for their colonial breakfast. When Bea’s nemesis Carolyn makes fun of her dad for marrying a man, and no one wants to try the oysters, Bea’s best friend Angus does it.
“No one did anything. Carolyn had a face like she was smelling something. Lizette leaned over and whispered to me, “I’m allergic to shellfish, or I would. I swear, Bea.” Jesse just sat there looking hopeful. I could barely stand it. That’s when Angus stood up. He walked to the front, and Jesse handed him the half shell with the oyster in it. Angus carefully squeezed a lemon slice over it. When he had it loaded up with juice, I still wasn’t sure he could do it. But he ate that oyster. And then he shrugged and said, “Not as good as a brownie. But not bad.”
This passage taught me about building up to a moment, because throughout the whole book before this, Stead talks about how much Angus HATES shellfish, how frustrating Carolyn is, what a fantastic guy Jesse is (he even saves Bea’s dad’s life when he chokes on an orange), and that Jesse has experienced homophobia before from his family. All these threads come together and suddenly, the simple act of a kid eating an oyster becomes this beautiful tearjerking moment! The specificity of it also really works because this is so much more powerful than Angus simply telling Carolyn to stop making fun of Jesse and Bea’s dad.
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Looking ahead
We are taking a break in August and will return in September! Keep reading and keep writing!
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