The time has come to confront the smiling man once and for all. Will Coco, Ollie, and Brian succeed in returning to a normal life filled with therapy? Only one way to find out! Join Mara and Josh as they finish the Small Spaces quartet with Katherine Arden's Empty Smiles.

Also discussed: Labyrinth, Looney Tunes, Marlon Brando, Killer Klowns from Outer Space, Spore, and Stranger Things.

Next month we will be reading The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier.

Contact us at hfkpodcast@gmail.com or @hfkpodcast on Twitter and Instagram. We're also on GoodReads: www.goodreads.com/user/show/90379252-josh-mara

Theme music composed by Ben Ash. Visit him at www.benash.com. Mixing and drums by Chaz Bommarito, guitar by Jakael Tristram.

Note: This month's episode is being uploaded in WAV format instead of MP3 due to technical challenges. Please let us know if this affects your downloading or listening experience.

Empty Smiles (Hello Fellow Kids #53)

This month, Mara and Josh apparently fall into a mirror world where Long Lankin doesn't exist. Instead, there is only Jonathan Auxier's The Night Gardener, a story that is superficially similar but vastly different in end result. Take a trip to the other side!

Also discussed: Wings of Fire, Henry Sellick, flip books, Bohemian Rhapsody, anti-anxiety medication, and either Amy Adams, Naomi Watts, or Nicole Kidman.

Next month we will be reading Hooky by Miriam Bonastre Tur.

Contact us at hfkpodcast@gmail.com or @hfkpodcast on Twitter and Instagram. We're also on GoodReads: www.goodreads.com/user/show/90379252-josh-mara

Theme music composed by Ben Ash. Visit him at www.benash.com. Mixing and drums by Chaz Bommarito, guitar by Jakael Tristram.

Note: This month's episode is being uploaded in WAV format instead of MP3 due to technical challenges. Please let us know if this affects your downloading or listening experience.

The Night Gardener (Hello Fellow Kids #54)

In another new move to prove just how hip and current they are, Mara and Josh tackle a popular webcomic series! Specifically, the print release of Miriam Bonastre Tur's Hooky. Follow them as they read 400 pages of comics in a way different from how it was originally intended!

Also discussed: Colonel Sanders, Gundam Wing, iyashikei, Elizabeth II, Everything Everywhere All at Once, and r/catsstandingup.

Next month we will be doing a special end-of-the-year episode, and will return to book discussions in January with The Vanderbeekers of 141st St by Karina Yan Glaser.

Contact us at hfkpodcast@gmail.com or @hfkpodcast on Twitter and Instagram. We're also on GoodReads: www.goodreads.com/user/show/90379252-josh-mara

Theme music composed by Ben Ash. Visit him at www.benash.com. Mixing and drums by Chaz Bommarito, guitar by Jakael Tristram.

Note: This month's episode is being uploaded in WAV format instead of MP3 due to technical challenges. Please let us know if this affects your downloading or listening experience.

Hooky (Hello Fellow Kids #55)

This month we take a break from book discussions to offer a collection of outtakes from previous episodes! These segments were recorded for various episodes throughout 2022, but have never before been released. Straight from the cutting room floor, it's The Clips Show!

Also discussed: Chirp, Long Lankin, Dark Waters, The Night Gardener, Empty Smiles, and Hooky.

Next month we will be discussing The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser.

Contact us at hfkpodcast@gmail.com or @hfkpodcast on Twitter and Instagram. We're also on GoodReads: www.goodreads.com/user/show/90379252-josh-mara

Theme music composed by Ben Ash. Visit him at www.benash.com. Mixing and drums by Chaz Bommarito, guitar by Jakael Tristram.

Note: This month's episode is being uploaded in WAV format instead of MP3 due to technical challenges. Please let us know if this affects your downloading or listening experience.

The Clips Show (Hello Fellow Kids #56)

Happy New Year! This episode is totally on time!

To kick off 2023, Mara and Josh begin a new series, featuring a group of quirky siblings and the people surrounding them. Are the Vanderbeekers a suitable replacement for the Penderwicks? Let's find out.

Also discussed: Arrested Development, It's a Wonderful Life, squatter's rights, the Daily Bugle, New England, and Burger King.

Next month we will be discussing Amari and the Great Game by B. B. Alston.

Contact us at hfkpodcast@gmail.com or @hfkpodcast on Twitter and Instagram. We're also on GoodReads: www.goodreads.com/user/show/90379252-josh-mara

Theme music composed by Ben Ash. Visit him at www.benash.com. Mixing and drums by Chaz Bommarito, guitar by Jakael Tristram.

Note: This month's episode is being uploaded in WAV format instead of MP3 due to technical challenges. Please let us know if this affects your downloading or listening experience.

The Vanderbeekers Of 141st Street (Hello Fellow Kids #57)

Mara and Josh return to B. B. Alston's imaginative world with the sequel to Amari and the Night Brothers. How does this book hold up to the lofty standards of the first? Tune in to find out!

Also discussed: Colleen Hoover, Mortal Kombat, prison phone calls, Children of Blood and Bone, Animal Crossing, and leftist YouTube.

Next month we will be reading The Ogress and the Orphans by Kelly Barnhill.

Next month we will be discussing Amari and the Great Game by B. B. Alston.

Contact us at hfkpodcast@gmail.com or @hfkpodcast on Twitter and Instagram. We're also on GoodReads: www.goodreads.com/user/show/90379252-josh-mara

Theme music composed by Ben Ash. Visit him at www.benash.com. Mixing and drums by Chaz Bommarito, guitar by Jakael Tristram.

Hello Fellow Kids

Amari and the Great Game (Hello Fellow Kids #58)

Mara and Josh visit the imagination of Kelly Barnhill for a second time with her latest novel, The Ogress and the Orphans! How does it stack up to The Girl Who Drank the Moon? Will they successfully figure out who is narrating the story this time? Tune in and find out!

Also discussed: Rage Against the Machine, Angela Anaconda, goats, the Twilight Zone, food drives, and Lemony Snicket.

Next month we will be on hiatus, and will return with a new episode in May!

Contact us at hfkpodcast@gmail.com or @hfkpodcast on Twitter and Instagram. We're also on GoodReads: www.goodreads.com/user/show/90379252-josh-mara

Theme music composed by Ben Ash. Visit him at www.benash.com. Mixing and drums by Chaz Bommarito, guitar by Jakael Tristram.

The Ogress and the Orphans (Hello Fellow Kids #59)

An update on the future of the podcast and a short review of Jason Reynolds's novel Miles Morales: Spider-Man.

Theme music composed by Ben Ash. Visit him at www.benash.com. Mixing and drums by Chaz Bommarito, guitar by Jakael Tristram.

An Announcement, and a Review of Miles Morales: Spider-Man

We're back for the spooky season! This Halloween, Mara and Josh discuss Madeline McGrane's graphic novel The Accursed Vampire. Listen in to see how it stacks up.

Also discussed: Jurassic Park, Alex Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, CoinStar machines, Pingu, and genderfluid frogs.

Theme music composed by Ben Ash. Visit him at www.benash.com. Mixing and drums by Chaz Bommarito, guitar by Jakael Tristram.

The Accursed Vampire (Hello Fellow Kids #60)

To close out 2019, Mara and Josh sat down and discussed their personal favorite kids/YA/teen reads from over the years. Maybe these lists will explain why they still read books written for middle-schoolers. Also discussed: sensitivity readers, boy bands, Rasputina, paper clip currency, cartoon theme songs, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Next month we will be reading A Glory of Unicorns, an anthology edited by Bruce Coville.

Contact us at hfkpodcast@gmail.com or @hfkpodcast on Twitter and Instagram. We're also on GoodReads: www.goodreads.com/user/show/90379252-josh-mara

Theme music composed by Ben Ash. Visit him at www.benash.com. Mixing and drums by Chaz Bommarito, guitar by Jakael Tristram.

Mara & Josh's Top 10 YA Reads (Hello Fellow Kids #21)

Join Mara and Josh, two totally young and hip kiddos, as they explore what's hot (and sometimes what's not) in young adult and teen literature! New episodes posted on the first of each month.

Contact us at hfkpodcast@gmail.com or @hfkpodcast on Twitter.

Theme music composed by Ben Ash. Visit him at www.benash.com. Mixing and drums by Chaz Bommarito, guitar by Jakael Tristram.

Mara & Josh's Top 10 YA Reads (Hello Fellow Kids #21)

Hello Fellow Kids

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