KJZZ's Lit Squad

Lit Squad S1:E8 — The NDN Girls Book Club

The NDN Girls Book Club is a new group aimed at helping Native American writers. It’s the brainchild of poet Kinsale Drake, and the group features workshops for young writers, as well as author talks. It also works with tribal libraries and Indigenous booksellers to get more books by Native authors — and those that feature Native stories — to more readers.

Lit Squad S1:E7 — 'A Snake Falls to Earth' combines tradition and technology

A 9-year-old girl’s effort to translate her great-great grandmother’s stories from Lipan Apache to Spanish and the impacts of technology and climate change on that effort are among the themes of the novel “A Snake Falls to Earth." The young adult novel has been called a “coming-of-age story that beautifully combines tradition and technology.” This is the second novel from author Darcie Little Badger, who describes herself as a writer of fantasy books.

Lit Squad S1:E6 — Author A.S. King explores how book censorship makes kids feel

More and more school districts are facing challenges from parents and other community members who want certain books out of classrooms or libraries. It was that kind of incident that led Amy Sarig King to write her latest novel, “Attack of the Black Rectangles.”

Lit Squad S1:E5 — Why it's important to see kids' struggles reflected in literature

Dusti Bowling writes middle-grade books, as well as chapter books for younger readers. Bowling grew up in Arizona and still lives in the Valley; most of her books take place here. One of her series focuses on a girl named Aven Green, who was born without arms. She’s also written about characters dealing with poverty, with absent parents or parents struggling with addiction.

Lit Squad S1:E4 — Why this author's 1st YA novel was the easiest book he's ever written

R. Eric Thomas writes for TV, the stage and has written two non-fiction books. But he’s now jumped into the young adult genre with a novel called "Kings of B’More." It tells the story of two Black, queer best friends, one of whom is moving away. Before that, though, they have a grand day out together.