Michele Norris

A Daughter's Struggle To Overcome A Legacy Of Segregation

Michele Norris — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 07:18:00 +0000

As we head into the summer months, NPR is looking back to the summer of 1963, a momentous year in civil rights history. As part of NPR's partnership with The Race Card Project, which asks people to distill their thoughts on race to six words, Host/Special Correspondent Michele Norris is asking people who were on the front lines of history to share their memories and their thoughts on race in America today.

The legacy of the late Alabama Gov.

Living In Two Worlds, But With Just One Language

Michele Norris — Thu, 23 May 2013 07:05:00 +0000

NPR continues its conversations about The Race Card Project, where NPR Host/Special Correspondent Michele Norris asks people to send in six-word stories about race and culture.

For A Black Doctor, Building Trust By Slowing Down

Michele Norris — Wed, 01 May 2013 07:14:00 +0000
It may be hard to imagine that people can distill their thoughts on a topic as complicated as race into just six words. But thousands of people have done just that for The Race Card Project, in which NPR host/special correspondent Michele Norris invites people to send in their microstories about race and cultural identity.

March Kids' Book Club Pick: 'The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz'

Michele Norris — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 22:01:00 +0000
Our next book club adventure takes us on a journey that is familiar to people across generations: We will be taking a trip down the yellow brick road with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, first published in 1900.

A Young Artist Finds Solace In Creatures Of The Sea And Sky

Michele Norris — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 22:01:00 +0000
In February, NPR's Backseat Book Club read a novel about a troubled kid who finds both strength and solace in the artwork of the renowned naturalist John James Audubon. The novel, Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt, takes place in 1968 in a little town in upstate New York where middle-schooler Doug Swietek is drowning in life's complications.

The Year's Outstanding 'Backseat' Reads, For Ages 9 To 14

Michele Norris — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 12:03:00 +0000
Since this was an election year, NPR's Backseat Book Club decided to hold an informal poll to identify the best-loved children's books of 2012. We know that "kid lit" is a big category, stretching from baby-proof board books all the way to young-adult titles with fetching werewolves on the covers. But we're interested in books that hit the sweet spot for backseat readers — kids between 9 and 14 years of age.

How 'Black Beauty' Changed The Way We See Horses

Michele Norris — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 19:16:00 +0000
NPR's Backseat Book Club is back! And we begin this round of reading adventures with a cherished classic: Black Beauty by Anna Sewell. Generations of children and adults have loved this book.

November Kids' Book Club Pick: 'The Red Pyramid'

Michele Norris — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 16:50:00 +0000
Mention the name Rick Riordan to adults, and they might say, "Huh?" But kids? They know. Riordan has been burning up the best-seller lists with three different series of books that all feature modern-day kids entangled in the lives of ancient gods.

June Kids' Book Club Pick: 'Diary Of A Wimpy Kid'

Michele Norris — Thu, 31 May 2012 21:32:00 +0000
The next installment in NPR's Backseat Book Club heads back to where this all started: Diary of a Wimpy Kid, by Jeff Kinney. It was our 2009 interview with Kinney that sparked the idea for a special book club dedicated to kids. On the day before Kinney arrived at our studios, we asked our youngest listeners to send us the questions they would put to the author of the blockbuster series. We were floored by the response. An avalanche of emails hit our inbox from kids all over the country.

May Backseat Book Club Pick: 'Heart Of A Samurai'

Michele Norris — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 18:48:00 +0000
Our May book takes us on the most action-packed adventure yet for NPR's Backseat Book Club. In the Newbery Honor-winning Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus, we meet 14-year-old Manjiro, a Japanese boy who works on a fishing boat. Manjiro looks out across the sea and wonders what lies there. "Barbarians live there," he's told.