Reading With Your Kids Podcast

In this episode of Reading With Your Kids, Jed welcomes Jimmy Vee, author, magician, ventriloquist, marketer, and proud "weirdo," to celebrate his new series beginning with There Are No Dinos In This Book. Jimmy shares how his background in magic, ventriloquism, and marketing copywriting fuses into a unique creative voice for kids—funny, interactive, and packed with personality.

He explains how the classic children's magic idea of ...

In this episode, Jed welcomes two wonderful guests who are using story to build kids' hearts and minds.

First, Allie Slocom joins us from Colorado to celebrate her middle grade novel Is There Hope for Theodore Cope. Theo is an 11‑year‑old aspiring magician who's also neurodiverse and gifted. He's brilliant at math, reading, basketball, dog walking, and magic tricks—but struggles with executive functioning. Allie explains that Theo ...

In this uplifting episode of Reading With Your Kids, Jed welcomes two very different – but equally inspiring – guests who are helping kids fall in love with reading in their own ways.

First, Jed talks with educator Sheila Robitaille about Reading Eggs, a science-of-reading–based ed tech program that helps children move from learning to read to reading to learn. Sheila breaks down the five pillars of reading—phonemic awareness, phon...

In this uplifting episode, Jed welcomes New York Times bestselling author Sharon McMahon to celebrate her new picture book, We Are Mighty. Sharon shares how her lifelong love of reading started with a mom who read aloud every day and walked her to the library so often it became a second home. She and Jed talk passionately about why public libraries are "one of humanity's best inventions" and truly democratic spaces where every chil...

In this episode of Reading With Your Kids, Jed welcomes beloved author-illustrator Ryan T. Higgins, joining from his home state of Maine to celebrate his new picture book, Good Night, Bruce. Ryan shares the origin story of Bruce, the famously lovable grump who unexpectedly becomes the mom to three mice and four geese. Bruce, Ryan explains, is his outlet for all the grumpy feelings he usually keeps inside—a character who complains h...

In this episode, "Robots, Werewolves, and Wonder: Picture Books that Celebrate Imagination and Culture," Jed welcomes two sets of brilliant guests who show just how magical—and meaningful—picture books can be.

First, author Jose Lourenco and illustrator James Braithwaite join us from Toronto to celebrate their best-selling debut picture book, Billie Builds a Robocorn. Jose explains that Billie, a kid navigating a move and new schoo...

In this episode of Reading With Your Kids, Jed welcomes two picture book creators who celebrate children's creativity, curiosity, and the beauty of our differences.

First, Jed chats with Jean Huxtable Hamerski, author of Marley's Masterpiece. Inspired by her art‑loving granddaughter and a great‑nephew who once painted the house during nap time, Jean's story follows Marley, a young artist who can't stop thinking about Monet's toweri...

In this thought-provoking episode, Jed welcomes Priten Soundar Shah, author of Ethical Ed Tech, to explore how schools can make wiser choices about technology in the classroom. Drawing on his background in philosophy, policy, classroom teaching, and ed tech development, Priten explains that we've let the tools drive our decisions instead of starting with the core question: What do we really want for our students?

He and Jed talk ab...

In this powerful episode of Reading With Your Kids, Jed welcomes two picture book creators whose work helps families navigate some of life's hardest—and most beautiful—truths.

First, Shannon Gibney joins from Minnesota to talk about her picture book "Where Is My Sister?", inspired by the stillbirth of her daughter. Shannon shares the shattering experience of losing a baby late in pregnancy and the long emotional healing that follow...

In this inspiring episode of Reading With Your Kids, host Jed Doherty welcomes debut picture book author and Wall Street executive Ashley Lam, here to celebrate her new children's book "Wrapped With Love: Wonton Noodle Day With Grandma."

Ashley shares how the story was inspired by watching her young daughter cook wontons with her grandmother during COVID. Those long days in the kitchen became a powerful reminder of intergenerationa...

In this powerful episode of Reading With Your Kids, Jed welcomes back Shannon Stocker, author of the new YA novel The Roach King of Raleigh, a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. Shannon shares the deeply personal inspiration behind Quill, a high school sophomore who's juggling a painful mix of family addiction, financial hardship, sibling tension, and crushing loneliness.

To help his struggling family, Quill starts breed...

In this episode of Reading With Your Kids, Jed welcomes legendary author, producer, and SCBWI co‑founder Lin Oliver to celebrate her new middle grade novel, The After School Kindness Crew: Pooch on the Loose, co‑written with Goldie Hawn. Lin shares how Goldie's MindUP foundation and its focus on mindfulness, brain science, and helping kids self‑regulate inspired the series, which follows three "outlier" kids—Mia, River, and Tony—wh...

In this powerful and heartfelt episode of Reading With Your Kids, we welcome Chrystal D. Giles to talk about her new middle grade novel, "Listen to the Girls." Chrystal introduces us to Calla, a seventh grader whose carefree start to summer is shaken when rumors surface about her favorite teacher's inappropriate behavior with students. The story follows Calla as she navigates confusion, fear, and uncertainty, learning how to sort t...

In this heartfelt episode, Jed welcomes author Julie Leung and illustrator Angie Kang to celebrate their new picture book "Navigating Night," a moving father–daughter story that beautifully coincides with AAPI Month.

Julie shares that Navigating Night grew out of her memories of riding along on Chinese food deliveries with her dad in rural Georgia in the 1990s. The book is part memoir, part homage to her father and to the often-inv...

In this episode of Reading With Your Kids, we're celebrating three very different – but beautifully connected – picture books and their creators.

First, Dr. Candice Childs joins us to talk about her autobiographical picture book "CC, Sour and Sweet Journey to Medical School." She shares how the "sweet" parts of her journey are actually the moments of growth, resilience, and purpose that came from repeated failure and perseverance. ...

In this episode of Reading With Your Kids, we spend most of our time in the joyful, high‑energy world of JD Amato and Sophie Morse, the creative team behind the middle grade graphic novel The Endless Game. JD shares how the story grew out of his own childhood in the Chicago suburbs—moving around a lot, finally landing in one neighborhood where kids knocked on his door and pulled him into a world of street games, friendships, and lo...

In this episode of Reading With Your Kids, host Jed Doherty welcomes author Kristen Mei Chase and illustrator Basia Tran to celebrate their Gracie Wei chapter book series. Kristen explains that Gracie is a mixed-race Asian American fourth grader with "a lot of opinions and a heart of gold," designed to reflect many real kids and offer representation she didn't see for herself or her own children growing up. She clarifies the differ...

In this episode of Reading With Your Kids, we're celebrating both the cozy and the creepy sides of kids' lit!

First, we welcome Alyssa Satin Capucilli, creator of the beloved Biscuit series, as she celebrates 30 years of her small yellow puppy who has helped millions of children become independent readers. Alyssa shares the heartwarming real-life moment that inspired Biscuit, explains the difference between picture books and first ...

In this episode, Jed welcomes Emily Sun Li, debut picture book author of Mister Chow's Night Market, for a warm and lively conversation about creativity, culture, and doing life a little differently. Emily shares how living in Taiwan for two years—zipping around on a moped, drinking fresh juice, and visiting night markets almost every evening—inspired her story of a sleepy grocery store and its equally sleepy, grumpy owner, Mister ...