Episode 107 - The Headless Cupid, by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

We’re so excited to round out the ZKSHT (Zilpha Keatley Snyder Holy Trinity) with The Headless Cupid. Along with The Egypt Game and The Witches of Worm, this book developed Grace’s little brain into a spooky kid mystery machine. Madeleine’s jonesing for a trip to the Winchester Mystery House and is very upset with Amanda; we’re both reminiscing about the power of playing pretend. Join in the glory of ZKS’ unparalleled work - articulating children’s inner monologues with such specificity and zero condescension.

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The first edition cover, and some of Alton Raible’s magnificent illustrations.

Episode 106 - Mossflower, by Brian Jacques

It’s Badgerin’ Time. We return to the joyous, violent, and feast-laden world of Redwall with Mossflower, by Brian Jacques! Grace breaks down the reasons why this is her favorite of his works, we continue the great “Humans in Mossflower???” debate, and Bella and Boar become our gods. Grab your candied chestnuts and join us.

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Some wonderful Redwall coverage by The Toast.

The Redwall Cookbook by Brian Jacques and Christopher Denise

Depressing Redwall Netflix adaptation news

I knew everyone loves cottagecore but may I present to you a marvelous subset... crittercore pic.twitter.com/foYNf3fkOK

— kei 🔜 fwa ✨ (@faintsun) May 11, 2020

Episode 105 - Magic's Pawn, by Mercedes Lackey

We’re heading back to Valdemar with Magic’s Pawn, by Mercedes Lackey! This absolute doozy of an episode showed us that we could talk about this book for the rest of our lives. Vanyel and Tylendel’s love story, revenge mission and subsequent Bad But Life-Changing Stuff are at turns stirring, sweet, cathartic and crushing. Tune up your mind speech and listen in - and let us know if you have a concrete internal monologue along the way.

This episode was a listener request - thank you, Gyuri! If you’d like to request a book for us to cover, leave a comment or email us at dragonbabiespodcast@gmail.com.

CW - Mentions of suicide. To reach the suicide hotline, call or text 988 (in the US).

There is a wee bit of static on this episode, we will vanquish it next time (and are only recording separately for 4 more months thank god).

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Our Arrows of the Queen episode

Episode 104 - The Ragwitch, by Garth Nix

Head to the nearest midden and abandon all hope - The Ragwitch has you in her thrall! We have a blast discussing Garth Nix’s first novel and following Paul and Julia’s external and internal journeys. We consider the ways in which this work shows the beginnings of the Abhorsen series and do our best to start a rumor that Garth is a necromancer. Typical Dragon Babies stuff. Grab your creepiest doll and join us!

This episode was a listener request - thank you, Rachael! If you’d like to make a request, leave a comment or email us at dragonbabiespodcast@gmail.com.

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A collection of Ragwitches -

My Enduring Obsession with The Snow Queen (Grace's Reading Corner)

Have you been craving a close reading of the final passage of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen? No? Well, you should probably listen to this Grace’s Reading Corner not-so-mini episode about why society loves a snowy queen anyway.

This episode focuses specifically on the illustrated edition by the wonderful Mary Engelbreit, which remains a personal influence.

This is a very vibes-forward Cold Book Episode, so grab some cocoa and a blanket and snuggle up for a listen!

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A translation of Hans Christian Andersen's "Sneedronningen" by Jean Hersholt (original fairy tale)

Mary Engelbreit illustrations mentioned:

The Santa Claus Book

The 1957 Russian adaptation

A Summary and Analysis of Hans Christian Andersen’s ‘The Snow Queen’ Fairy Tale by Dr. Oliver Tearle