Time Travel, Weightlifting, and Big Dreams: Powering Kids’ Stories
Reading With Your Kids Podcast
Release Date: 08/11/2026
Do Bees Pee and Do Parents Fail? Curiosity, Nature, and Unconditional Love
Reading With Your Kids Podcast
In this episode of the Reading With Your Kids Podcast, we’re celebrating two powerful picture books that spark big conversations in families. First, Jed chats with Dr. Linda Booth Sweeney, author of Do Bees Pee? The Curious and Amazing Ways Nature Avoids Pollution. Linda shares how a giggle-worthy question opens the door to serious science, systems thinking, and hope-filled conversations about our planet. She explains how nature “thinks in loops, not lines”—turning waste into food and showing us brilliant, closed-loop designs that can ease kids’ eco-anxiety. From bees and elephants...
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Time Travel, Weightlifting, and Big Dreams: Powering Kids’ Stories
Reading With Your Kids Podcast
In this inspiring episode of the Reading With Your Kids Podcast, Jed welcomes two incredible creators whose stories celebrate history, heart, and big dreams. First, Jed chats with Emma Otheguy, author of the new middle grade novel Adventure in the City of Stories. Emma takes us to New York City in 1930, a moment when skyscrapers were racing into the sky, the subway was rapidly expanding, and Latino literary luminaries like Pura Belpré, Gabriela Mistral, and Arturo Schomburg were quietly changing history. Through time-traveling cousins Jorge, Segi, and Camila, Emma uses adventure and magic to...
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i Was Chuck Berry’s Roadie for a Night: Buzz McLain & Grace Gidman on Kids’ Books and Big Imagination
Reading With Your Kids Podcast
This episode of the Reading With Your Kids Podcast is a joyful celebration of creativity, family reading, and the power of stories to travel across generations. First, Jed welcomes Buzz McLain, longtime journalist and debut picture book author of “Where There Are More Than Two.” Buzz’s playful, read‑aloud rhyming book introduces kids (and their grownups!) to the wonderful world of collective nouns—from a murder of crows to a band of gorillas. He shares how a simple writing exercise turned into a picture book that sat in a drawer for ten years before children’s book coach Barbara...
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Heroes of 1776: Janie Nitze Is Teaching Kids the Real Courage Behind the Declaration
Reading With Your Kids Podcast
In this inspiring episode of Reading With Your Kids, Jed welcomes Janie Nitze, co-author of the picture book Heroes of 1776, to shine a light on the real human courage behind the Declaration of Independence. Speaking from historic Concord, Massachusetts, Janie shares how her background clerking for Justice Neil Gorsuch and their shared concern about the decline in civic education led them to create a children’s book that doesn’t just march through events, but highlights the sacrifices of men, women, and even children of the Revolutionary era. Janie explains that many of the Declaration’s...
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Korean Folk Tales & Big Feelings: Stories that Heal
Reading With Your Kids Podcast
In this warm and wide-ranging episode of Reading With Your Kids, Jed welcomes two guests who are using stories to nurture both imagination and emotional resilience. First, Julie Kim joins us from Washington State to celebrate her new book, Korean Folk Tales for Kids. Julie shares how she carefully chose ten tales—from hilarious trickster stories to thoughtful, heart-centered narratives—that feel both deeply Korean and universally human. She talks about “The Gratitude of the Zelkova Tree” and how it reflects our relationship with nature and the environment, and why she deliberately...
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Rare Genes, Big Hearts & Grouchy Groundhogs: Stories That Help Kids Shine
Reading With Your Kids Podcast
In this inspiring episode, Jed welcomes two wonderful guests whose work helps kids feel seen, valued, and excited about reading. First, Jed talks with Melissa White Boyer, author of I Am Rare: Discovering What Makes Us Shine. Inspired by her son’s diagnosis with the rare genetic disorder Weidman-Steiner syndrome, Melissa shares the long, emotional journey to finally getting a diagnosis and the shock of realizing there was no roadmap for what came next. She explains how that experience led her and her husband to found the Rare Genes Movement nonprofit, and how her picture book helps all...
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Hands, Hearts, and Habitats: ASL, Deaf Culture, and Rainforest Conservation
Reading With Your Kids Podcast
In this uplifting episode, Jed welcomes back Kathy McMillan, ASL interpreter, children’s librarian, and creator of the new picture book series “Sign the Seasons.” Kathy shares how the four-book series—starting with Sign the Seasons: Fall—invites kids and families to learn American Sign Language through everyday seasonal concepts like trees, squirrels, and weather. She explains how Familius Publishing partnered with her in a uniquely thoughtful way, involving her in every stage of illustration and bringing in both an ASL/Deaf culture advisor and an early childhood education advisor (a...
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Being Brave Even When You're Scared
Reading With Your Kids Podcast
Join host Jed Doherty for a heartwarming, dog-filled episode of the Reading With Your Kids podcast, featuring two picture books that celebrate courage, love, and healing. In the first half, Jed chats with Jonathan Graziano, creator of the beloved Noodle “Bones or No Bones” videos, about his new picture book “Milton Makes a Move.” Jonathan shares Milton’s real-life journey from a hoarding situation in Korea to finding a forever home with him. They talk about how Milton’s anxiety and bravery mirror what many kids feel when facing big firsts—starting a new school, moving, or trying...
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Just Enough: The Tidy Dad’s Philosophy for Stuff, Space, and Sanity
Reading With Your Kids Podcast
In this episode, Jed welcomes Tyler Moore, better known as Tidy Dad, to talk about his book “Tidy Up Your Life.” Tyler shares how a season of overwhelm—upsizing his family and career at the same time—left both his apartment and his mental health in disarray. That experience pushed him to explore the deep connection between a cluttered home and a cluttered mind, and how small, consistent decisions can transform both. Living with his wife and three daughters in a 750-square-foot New York City apartment (plus a modest cottage), Tyler has been forced to define what is “just...
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Dark Thrills & Noble Quests: Using Story to Talk About Values with Kids
Reading With Your Kids Podcast
In this episode of Reading With Your Kids, Jed welcomes two very different – but beautifully complementary – guests whose books open the door to big family conversations. First, Jed chats with Rachel Peterson, author of the YA thriller Killing Sadie. Rachel, who describes herself as “aggressively pleasant,” explains why such a cheerful person writes about murder, anxiety, and worst‑case scenarios. She shares how dark, campy thrillers and B‑horror movies helped her manage her own anxious teen years, and why today’s teens may find comfort and “self‑therapy” in scary stories...
info_outlineIn this inspiring episode of the Reading With Your Kids Podcast, Jed welcomes two incredible creators whose stories celebrate history, heart, and big dreams.
First, Jed chats with Emma Otheguy, author of the new middle grade novel Adventure in the City of Stories. Emma takes us to New York City in 1930, a moment when skyscrapers were racing into the sky, the subway was rapidly expanding, and Latino literary luminaries like Pura Belpré, Gabriela Mistral, and Arturo Schomburg were quietly changing history. Through time-traveling cousins Jorge, Segi, and Camila, Emma uses adventure and magic to help kids explore immigration, identity, and the power of stories—without the dry textbook feel. She also shares how reading memoirs and digging into old fire insurance maps at the New York Public Library helped her bring the past to vivid life.
Then we travel (in the present!) to Chile to meet Fernanda Frick, creator of the middle grade graphic novel Raise the Bar. Fernanda introduces us to Sam Sánchez, a teen who dreams of becoming an Olympic weightlifter, even when the odds—and the adults—say it’s nearly impossible. Fernanda talks about researching elite athletes, drawing thousands of panels, and turning a canceled animated series into a richer, more honest book that tackles burnout, pressure, and choosing your own path.
This episode is a celebration of reading together, dreaming big, and truly seeing our kids—whether they’re curled up with a novel or chasing an Olympic barbell.