Reading With Your Kids Podcast

In this episode, host Jed Doherty welcomes three picture-book creators to discuss culture, creativity, and belonging.
Author Teresa Robeson and illustrator Ping Zhu introduce Animals of the Chinese Zodiac: Meet Your Match. The book shares facts and personality traits for the twelve zodiac animals, plus the legend explaining how they were chosen. Teresa reflects on sharing cultural stories with young readers, while Ping describes growing up with zodiac traditions and creating a welcoming introduction for readers new to them. She also talks about her love of painting on paper and a playful flowchart that helps readers discover which animal's traits feel like their own. Together, they celebrate books as mirrors for children who recognize their experiences and windows into unfamiliar cultures.
Next, author Christine Rivera Creque discusses The Same Luna, a story about a girl visiting Puerto Rico, disoriented by unfamiliar food, language, and family traditions. With help from her abuela, Luna begins to connect beneath the same moon. Christine shares how childhood visits and wanting her daughter to connect with Puerto Rican roots inspired the book. She recalls island favorites and suggests families explore heritage through language, food, music, and dance.
The conversation also touches on the island's beauty, its ongoing recovery and infrastructure challenges, and the importance of caring for Puerto Rico. Christine says her next manuscript follows a work-from-home parent and child navigating a Zoom meeting. Across both conversations, the guests show how picture books can spark curiosity, affirm identity, and help families feel at home across cultures.

On this episode of Reading with Your Kids, guest host Madison Lucchesi welcomes author Teri Arvesú González to discuss The Stories We Inherit. What began as a letter to her son grew into a book honoring his graduation from Jesuit education and exploring nine generations of family history. Teri reflects on how we inherit both strengths—like resilience and courage—and limiting expectations. Her hope is that readers will reflect on what helps them grow and preserve family stories. She encourages families to put down their phones, make time for conversation, and ask older relatives about their memories. Drawing on her journalism career, she shares advice for curious journalists and aspiring storytellers: question old assumptions, start creating, and fact-check carefully.
In the episode's second conversation, Jed Doherty talks with author Nancy Paris about her middle grade novel It's Me, Lily McKee. Paris drew on her childhood as a dancer, her teaching dance, and the antics of her students to create Lily, a big-hearted eight-year-old with a lively imagination. She shares how writing became a creative outlet during the pandemic and explains how dance builds discipline, teamwork, and confidence. The pair also discuss choreography as a tradition passed from teacher to student, supported by video. Paris is now writing a sequel, tentatively titled Lily McKee and the Too Bossy Problem, where Lily mixes ballet and kung fu in a story about leadership and listening. Together, these warm, thoughtful, and engaging interviews celebrate the many ways stories connect generations, inspire creativity, and help us understand ourselves.

Reading With Yur Kids host Jed Doherty welcomes two guests to explore joy, storytelling, and place. First, Watson Kawecki, interim executive director of Clowns Without Borders, describes the organization's work bringing performances, connection, and laughter to communities facing difficult circumstances. Its 13 active projects in 2026 span partnerships around the world, including refugee camps, schools, hospitals, and community spaces. Teams travel in small groups and work only when invited, with local needs and performer safety guiding each visit. Watson shares how a lifelong love of clowning led from Ringling Brothers and hospital clown care to humanitarian work. She explains that evidence for healthcare clowning is growing, though it remains uncommon in U.S. children's hospitals. Listeners can donate, find clown-training resources, and attend fundraisers in October.
The conversation then turns to New Orleans author Rachel Marsh and her middle-grade novel, Grandpere's Ghost Swamp. Rachel explains how Basil's ghostly adventures reveal Louisiana's disappearing wetlands and introduce young readers to environmental change in an approachable way. The book draws on Rachel's experiences in the French Quarter, Cajun culture, and the region's folklore. She discusses the cozy-spooky tone, her writing journey, and the shift in Basil's friend Tommy's career-day ambition from a mafia boss to a ghost hunter. Rachel reflects on the differences and wetland connections between New Orleans and Boston, and shares that her next project is a scarier young adult boarding-school story inspired by Cajun and Creole folklore. Together, both interviews celebrate creativity, resilience, and finding ways to bring joy and wonder into everyday life.

Jed Doherty welcomes authors Carmen Rubin and Leslee Flanagan to explore how picture books connect children with history, family, and the world around them.
Historian Carmen Rubin shares the story behind A Night for the Rice Carriers, honoring Yaya and Panza, West African women who hid rice in their braids while escaping enslavement. Their knowledge helped them survive and build new communities. Rubin celebrates their courage and ingenuity rather than focusing only on suffering. She chose a picture book to introduce history early through rhythm, imagery, and joy. Recalling stories shared as her grandmother braided her hair, Rubin stresses the importance of passing family histories between generations. The book invites conversations about ancestry, bravery, identity, and community. She also previews a 1960s-set book about a friendship between a Black girl and a Jewish boy.
Author Leslee Flanagan discusses Sea Glass Kids: Ocean Pollution Solutions, inspired by volunteering at Mystic Aquarium and seeing animals harmed by plastic and discarded fishing gear. In the story, children educate their community and encourage people to reduce pollution. Flanagan says the problem can feel overwhelming, but small actions add up, and children can motivate adults. Trash from inland neighborhoods can reach the ocean through storm drains and streams. A former teacher and lifelong animal lover, she reflects on her winding career, cancer diagnoses, and determination to create meaningful work. Both authors celebrate resilience and show how stories can help people of every age learn, connect, and make a difference in their communities.

Joe Sutphin and Kevan Chandler joined host Jed Doherty to discuss creating their graphic novel adaptation of Winnie the Pooh. Joe explained that his earlier collaboration on Watership Down helped open the door to the project. He wanted Kevan as his writing partner, drawing on their close friendship and successful work together. Kevan, who grew up being read Winnie the Pooh, described joining the project as a dream come true and a joyful responsibility.
Their goal was to make A. A. Milne's original story visually accessible without reinventing it. Joe and Kevan worked to preserve beloved lines while using dialogue and illustrations to reveal character expressions, physical humor, and the warmth of friendship. They hope the graphic novel gives families another inviting way to read together, enjoy familiar quotes, and discover the story's clever, "heady" humor. Joe said the book was a pleasure to draw, while Kevan shared that working on it sparked ideas for future fiction about friendship, community, and accessibility.
Joe is developing a solo graphic novel for Moody Publishers, and the pair are preparing release events, including a planned New York Comic Con launch. Kevan also discussed his nonprofit, We Carry Kevin, which helps families find accessibility backpacks and support.
In the second conversation, author Julie Brangers introduced Hey Giraffe, a picture book full of fun facts about giraffes. She hopes to inspire children to explore nature through zoo visits, library books, and simple activities, and plans to donate proceeds to a sanctuary or safari.