Reading With Your Kids Podcast

In this inspiring episode of Reading With Your Kids, we blast off from a tiny Minnesota town all the way to the International Space Station—and then settle into the balcony of a creaky old movie theater.

First, Jed chats with astronaut Dr. Karen Nyberg and her co-author Anne McCallum about their beautiful picture book A Quilt of Stars: Astronaut Karen Nyberg Stitches a Dream. Karen shares how her childhood love of sewing and ...

In this powerful episode of Reading With Your Kids, Jed welcomes Dr. Christopher Choukalas, author of Even the Darkest Night: A Memoir of Paternal Postnatal Depression. Dr. Chris shares how what began as a simple journaling practice during a traumatic postpartum period—twins born at full term alongside his wife's life‑threatening postpartum hemorrhage—became a memoir to help other fathers feel less alone.

An anesthesiol...

On this episode of Reading With Your Kids, Jed welcomes two fantastic creators who help families see the world—and their walks around the block—a little differently.

First, Jed chats with Matt Van Rensburg, author of the Reading With Your Kids Certified Great Read "How to Sell the World: The Stonehearted Story of Greyson Grimm." Matt explains the unforgettable premise: Greyson is the caretaker of the world, tasked with ...

In this heartwarming episode of Reading With Your Kids, Jed welcomes two middle grade authors whose stories are perfect for sparking big family conversations.

First, singer-songwriter and author Tia McGraff joins us from the shores of Lake Erie to celebrate her new novel In Your Dreams, Jake, part of the Jake the Road Dog series. Tia shares how her rescue dog Jake, once just a day away from being euthanized, became a beloved "road ...

In this heartwarming episode of Reading With Your Kids, Jed welcomes back second-grade teacher and picture book author Andrew Hackett to celebrate his new book, In This Classroom, and later sits down with Susan Cain and her son Eli Cain to talk about their tender picture book, Lucky and Norman: Saying Goodbye Is Bittersweet.

Andrew shares how he juggles teaching, parenting, and writing—squeezing in drafts on soccer sidelines ...

In this episode of Reading With Your Kids, Jed welcomes three fantastic guests who each showcase a different way stories can shape our lives.

First, Bruce Littlefield joins from his farm in upstate New York to celebrate his picture book "Everything You Need to Know About Life You Can Learn from a Dog." Bruce shares how his usually optimistic outlook was shaken by a rough morning—bad news, a broken porch—and how his dog ...

In this powerful episode, Jed welcomes Andreas Schleicher, Director for Education and Skills at the OECD, to explore what truly helps kids thrive. Andreas shares global insights from major international studies, revealing that parents reading with and to their children is one of the strongest predictors of a child's cognitive, social, and emotional development. He warns that for many families, screens are replacing shared reading t...

In this episode of Reading With Your Kids, Jed welcomes two creators whose work celebrates courage, creativity, and the many ways kids can be themselves.

First, Jed chats with Rebecca Caprera about her new middle grade novel in verse, Eva to the Max. The story follows 12-year-old motocross phenom Eva "Eva Knievel" as she chases her dream of qualifying for the national championships. Along the way, Eva navigates family tension with ...

In this heartfelt episode of Reading With Your Kids, Jed Doherty welcomes Heidi E. Y. Stemple, author of Lydia Loves Bugs, and later Jezebel Rivera, author of Mommy, Where's My Dad?

Most of the conversation centers on Heidi, her work, and her remarkable family legacy. Heidi shares how Lydia Loves Bugs began on her screened-in porch during the early, anxious days of the pandemic, when she wanted to write something purely fun and com...

In this episode of Reading With Your Kids, Jed welcomes Academy Award–winning director, animator, and author Alan Barillaro to celebrate his new picture book, Today We Will Be Eaten. Alan shares how a seemingly dark premise—a ladybug and dragonfly convinced they'll be eaten—becomes a gentle, meditative story about anxiety, uncertainty, and learning to take a breath. He describes the book as a "little reset," invit...

In this episode of Reading With Your Kids, we're celebrating humor, heart, and the power of picture books to bring families together.

Most of our time is spent with Ann Koffsky, author of Blazing Humor: Mel Brooks Is Seriously Funny. Ann and Jed dive into why Mel Brooks' comedy, while very much for adults, still offers a powerful, kid-friendly life story. Ann talks about the challenge of sharing a famously edgy comedian with young ...

In this joyful, wisdom-packed episode of Reading With Your Kids, we're shining a light on two amazing creators who are helping kids (and their grownups) find calm, connection, and a love of stories.

First, Jed chats with musician, yoga teacher, and mindfulness author Kira Willey about her new parenting book The Joyful Child. Kira shares how years of performing in schools taught her the "magic formula" for engaging kids: music, rhyt...

In this episode of Reading With Your Kids, Jed welcomes Mindy Walker, executive editor of The Week Junior, to spotlight their Summer of Reading initiative and the new "50 Books Kids Love Most" list. Mindy explains that The Week Junior is a weekly, kid-focused print magazine delivered right to families' homes, covering everything from breaking news and history to science, puzzles, recipes, and world records.

For their summer reading...

In this heartwarming episode of Reading With Your Kids, Jed welcomes back Pam Allyn, creator of World Read Aloud Day and co-author of Every Child a Super Reader, to celebrate the power of reading aloud. Pam and Jed reflect on how the greatest benefit of reading with kids isn't just academic success—it's the deep, lasting bond that forms between caring adults and children.

Pam shares moving memories of her father reading the s...

In this warm and engaging episode of Reading With Your Kids, Jed sits down with two returning guests whose very different books both invite powerful family conversations.

First up is Anthony Peckham, author of The Law of Solitude, Book Three in the Children of Glass trilogy. Anthony explains how a family road trip to an obsidian mountain and a single arrowhead led to a sprawling high-fantasy world—Earth as we don't quite know...

In this inspiring episode of Reading With Your Kids, we celebrate creativity from two powerful angles: art education and graphic novels.

First, Jed chats with Matt Ross, founder and CEO of One River School and former CEO of School of Rock. Matt shares how he saw a gap in arts education—no "cool" art schools that celebrated living artists—and decided to build something new. One River School now has 15 locations across si...

In this inspiring episode of Reading With Your Kids, we begin with a short tribute to Jane Yolen, beloved former guest and legendary author of more than 400 children's books, whose stories have touched generations of young readers and their families.

Then we blast off—literally—with our guest, Dr. Kathy Sullivan, often called the most vertical woman in the world. Dr. Kathy is the first American woman to walk in space an...

In this episode of Reading With Your Kids, Jed Doherty welcomes back Jen De Oliveira to celebrate her early reader graphic novel, Pip and Pals Otter Space. Jen shares how Pip, a river otter, went through many iterations—from the youngest of three siblings, to a tinkering kid with a "fix-it" dad, to the green-furred "space otter" readers meet today. Guided (and sometimes challenged) by her editor Esther Hernandez, Jen describe...

In this powerful episode of Reading With Your Kids, we're shining a gentle, hopeful light on some of the hardest moments families face—grief, loss, anxiety, and big feelings—and how books can help us navigate them together.

First, Jed talks with Dr. Korie Leigh, a thanatologist (an expert in death, dying, grief, and loss) and author of "When Everything Changes: Parenting Through Loss and Grief." Korie explains that grie...