Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh: an interview with Michelle Callaghan

Podcast #041 For my forty-first Dream Gardens kid lit podcast, I interviewed librarian and children’s book reviewer Michelle Callaghan about her favorite children’s book, the classic middle grade novel  Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh. Originally published in 1964, the novel tells the story of eleven year old Harriet M. Welch, a precocious watcher of people in her school and around her … Continue reading Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh: an interview with Michelle Callaghan →

The post Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh: an interview with Michelle Callaghan appeared first on Dream Gardens.

Podcast #041

For my forty-first Dream Gardens kid lit podcast, I interviewed librarian and children’s book reviewer Michelle Callaghan about her favorite children’s book, the classic middle grade novel  Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh.

Originally published in 1964, the novel tells the story of eleven year old Harriet M. Welch, a precocious watcher of people in her school and around her neighborhood on the East Side of Manhattan. Harriet records her observations and her sometimes very pointed opinions of the people she spies on in the notebook she carries around with her everywhere.  But when that notebook ends up in the hands of her fellow classmates and they read what she has been writing about them, everyone, including her best friends Sport and Janie, turn their backs on her. And the only person in the world who understands her, her caretaker Old Golly, has moved away, Harriet feels completely alone, and isn’t quite sure what to do. Make amends? Take revenge? Is all very confusing, but somehow, with a few helpful words from Old Golly, Harriet finds her way through in her own unique way.  Harriet the Spy is a book that is still as funny and heartbreaking as when it was first published, with a character that is a true original.

Michelle Callaghan is  a children’s librarian in Canada and host of the book review site Fab Book Reviews . You can find Michelle’s website at fabbookreviews.com.

All podcasts are available on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, and now Spotify. Please link, share, comment, or subscribe. And if you are interested in participating in the Dream Gardens podcast, send me a request through my contact page. My next podcast will be published on October 16th.

The post Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh: an interview with Michelle Callaghan appeared first on Dream Gardens.