Episode #16: "Funnier When You Add A Doodle"
On this episode, we're excited to bring you Katie Kirby and Maddie Frost.
Katie Kirby was the #2 bestselling children’s author in the U.K. in 2025. She is a writer/illustrator who lives in Hove, England, with her husband, two sons, and dog Sasha. After spending several years working in London media agencies, she decided to write a blog for adults, Hurrah for Gin, which soon became a bestselling book. The Extremely Embarrassing Life of Lottie Brooks was her first novel for kids, and there are currently nine books in the series. Like Lottie, Katie loves talking nonsense and often embarrasses herself in public.
Maddie Frost is an award-winning, bestselling author and illustrator. She has been praised as a “powerhouse creator,” making over a dozen books for kids. You might recognize some of her books like the WOMBATS! series, Cats on Cats on Cats, and Little Boo. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband and daughter. Really Rubie is her first middle grade series. For more about Maddie, visit her website at Maddie-Frost.com. Or on Instagram @HelloMaddieFrost.
Read Along!
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In the third installment of the Lottie Brooks series, discover the crush calamities, friendship fumbles, and homework mishaps of an 11 (and 3/4) year old girl trying to survive her first year of middle school.
Dear Diary,
BIG, MEGA, SUPER-HUGE news! I, Lottie Brooks, your favorite sixth grader (probably) will be going on her VERY FIRST DATE! (I won't ruin the surprise and tell you who with.) There just One Little Problem. I don't know what happens on a date. Or what I should wear. Or what I should do if my date tries to kiss me! Or if I smell good. *sniffs* Actually, it turns out I have A LOT OF PROBLEMS!
Luckily, I always have my BFFs, Molly and Jess, by my side to cheer me on. Not to mention my pet hammies! Plus, mom likes to remind me there is more to life that boys. And I agree. There's also cheese paninis, slumber parties, braces (that one's not ideal), and bubble tea, and being the queens of sixth grade.
I may not be sure of everything, but I do know that with my besties, my families, and maybe even a bubble tea or two, I can survive anything—even a mega-complicated crush.
eaturing sprayed stenciled edges (depicting doodles by Rubie)!
A New York Times bestseller!
The true middle school experience—awkward, DRAMATIC, and really fun!—comes to life in this hilarious diary-style series featuring color-lined pages and black and white illustrations. In the first book, Rubie has to face sleepaway camp without her BFF!
Hello, summer! Eleven-year-old Rubie Fox can’t wait to go to sleepaway camp for the very first time. She and her best friend Riley Swisher will go away for an entire month TOGETHER, and they’ll even be able to spy on Riley’s crush Owen, who will be across from Camp Pineview, over at the boys’ camp, Moose-Ridge.
But when Riley drops a bomb—she can’t go to camp because she broke her ankle—Rubie has to go by herself. Which sort of makes her feel RAGE…how can she go to camp without Riley?! But her mom has already paid for it, so she’s stuck with her plushie chicken Jim the Duck and a cabin full of girls she doesn’t know.
But Rubie just might make another BFF, break out of her shell, and even meet a boy…all without Riley. Camp might be more eventful than Rubie ever thought it could be—with more drama than she ever imagined!
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