{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"History, Harmony & Hope","description":"On this episode of Reading With Your Kids, we\u2019re celebrating two very different \u2013 but wonderfully complementary \u2013 books for young readers. First, Jed talks with Maria Dolores Aguila, author of the middle grade novel in verse \u201cThe Sea of Lemon Trees: The Corrido of Roberto Alvarez.\u201d Maria shares the powerful true story behind her book: the 1931 Lemon Grove incident in California, when Mexican and Mexican American children were illegally segregated into a makeshift \u201cschool\u201d in a converted barn. Their families organized, chose Roberto Alvarez as the lead plaintiff, and won a court case that reintegrated the school \u2013 more than 20 years before Brown v. Board of Education. Maria explains how family research led her to discover her own connection to Mexican repatriation, and why so much of this history has been forgotten. She also talks about writing the story in free verse to make it accessible, especially for reluctant readers, and describes the deeply engaged reactions she sees when she visits Title I schools in San Diego and shares this local, living history with kids. Then Jed welcomes David McMullin, a former musical theater performer turned children\u2019s author, to talk about his joyful new board book \u201cRock and Roll, Baby.\u201d Inspired by the classic lullaby \u201cRock-a-Bye Baby,\u201d David reimagines it as a boisterous, musical romp, with each spread capturing a different music style\u2014rock, country, punk, Latin, R&B\u2014and a different moment in a baby\u2019s day. David reflects on moving from Broadway to books, dealing with hundreds of rejections, and the magic that happens when parents sing, play, and read with their little ones. ","author_name":"Reading With Your Kids Podcast","author_url":"http:\/\/readingwithyourkids.libsyn.com\/site","html":"