Reading With Your Kids Podcast

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...

In this episode of Reading With Your Kids, Jed welcomes two fantastic creators who show how books can tackle big feelings and big facts—all while keeping kids engaged.

First, Joy McCullough joins us to celebrate her middle grade novel in verse, Kestrel Takes Flight. Joy introduces Kestrel, a girl raised in an emotionally abusive, tightly controlled church community in San Diego. Her mom suddenly whisks her away to Montana, wh...

In this episode of Reading With Your Kids, Jed welcomes Dan Saks from New York City to celebrate his joyful new picture book, On Our Bikes. Dan shares how the story began as an echo song, "I Got a Bicycle," on his kids' music podcast Noodle Loaf, and how his love of life on two wheels—and riding with his kids—pedaled its way onto the page.

Jed and Dan swap stories about city biking in Boston and New York, the tensions b...

In this episode of Reading With Your Kids, Jed welcomes back one of preschool media's most influential creators, Angela Santomero, to celebrate her new series, "Princess Penelope's Purse of Preposterous Things."

Angela explains that Princess Penelope is a brave, kind-hearted kitten who doesn't realize how small she is. When Mother Nature grants her a magical purple purse filled with "preposterous things," Penelope must use creative...

In this inspiring episode of Reading With Your Kids, Jed welcomes two wonderful guests who are using stories and technology to help kids thrive: Carrol Titus and Inbal Alon.

First, Jed chats with Carrol Titus, president of Golden Poppy and creator of the illustrated chapter book Unicorn Blue and the Kara Doodle Quest. Carrol explains how Golden Poppy was founded to nurture a love of STEM in young children, especially at a time when...

In this heartfelt episode of Reading With Your Kids, Jed welcomes two very special guests whose books invite families into powerful conversations about love, loss, culture, and courage.

First, Jed chats with Bianca Pierce, debut picture book author of On the Ranch with Cowboy Luke. Inspired by her brother Luke, a real Montana cowboy who passed away unexpectedly in 2025, Bianca created the book as a tangible way for his daughters &n...

In this episode of Reading With Your Kids, Jed welcomes back Tim Wright from Arizona to celebrate book five in The Adventures of Toby Baxter series, Revenge of the River Home, Rutabagas. Jed shares the exciting news that this latest installment has, like the first four books, been named a Reading With Your Kids Certified Great Read, praising its powerful emotional core and hopeful message.

Tim explains how a long-running family jok...

In this episode of Reading With Your Kids, Jed welcomes Chris Navalta, author of Inspiring Stories of Soccer Greats, a powerful middle grade book timed perfectly for the World Cup. Chris, a lifelong sports fan and former sportswriter, shares how soccer's global reach and beautiful simplicity—just a ball and some space—make it the perfect backdrop for stories of perseverance, inequality, and hope.

Chris explains that his...

In this powerful episode of Reading With Your Kids, Jed welcomes Doug Noll, lawyer-turned-peacemaker and author of Deescalate: How to Calm an Angry Person in 90 Seconds or Less. Doug explains how neuroscience shows we are driven far more by emotion than by rational thought—and how our culture's habit of shaming or ignoring emotions actually damages kids' brains and relationships. He shares how simple emotional validation ("Yo...

In this inspiring episode of Reading with Your Kids, Jed welcomes Michael J. Wish, author of the middle-grade nonfiction book "Quantum Physics for Kids." Mike shares how a challenge from a fellow teacher—and a disappointing existing kids' book on the topic—pushed him to prove that even the "hardest" science can be explained to 8–12-year-olds with clarity, humor, and heart.

Drawing on his college teaching experienc...

In this powerful two-part episode of Reading With Your Kids, Jed welcomes two amazing guests whose books open doors to big conversations and joyful family reading.

First, Jed talks with Kimberly Mach, author of the middle-grade novel Present Still Missing. Set just after World War II, the story follows Irene, a baseball-loving girl whose father returns from the war physically present but emotionally distant as he struggles with PTS...

In this lively episode of Reading With Your Kids, Jed welcomes author-illustrator Maddie Frost to celebrate her new illustrated middle grade novel, Really Rubie, along with her other upcoming releases. Maddie introduces us to Rubie Fox, an 11-year-old heading off to a month-long summer camp in Vermont—without her best friend Riley, who's sidelined with a broken ankle. Based on Maddie's own camp experiences, the story explores...

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 id...

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...

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—...