Reading With Your Kids Podcast

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—who secretly perform acts of kindness at school and in their community.
Lin explains why she chose neurodiverse and artsy, non‑"typical" kids as heroes, and how the books empower young readers to see that small, everyday kindnesses can create big ripples right where they live. Humor, she says, is her bridge to deeper themes: once kids are laughing at runaway snakes, disastrous "surprise us" day presentations, and a rescue dog on the loose, they're ready to engage with empathy, inclusion, and courage.
She also reflects on co‑writing with celebrities who genuinely respect children's literature, the brain break exercises embedded in the books, and the importance of co‑reading—parents and kids sharing chapter books together well into the middle grade years. Lin then looks back on founding SCBWI at age 22, growing it from a 35‑person gathering (catered by her mom's potato salad) to a 26,000‑member global force during what she calls the "golden age" of children's books.
In the Storykeepers segment, Jen Perry of Illume Books in Newburyport, MA, highlights her highly curated children's shelves and the power of playful, welcoming bookstore spaces to nurture young readers.
Finally, in the debut Real Magic Sound Lab, Jed tests two versions of the song "The Best Me I Can Be," inviting listeners to vote on which style kids will truly embrace and to download both tracks and activities for home or classroom use.

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 through information, trust her feelings, and—most importantly—listen to the girls who are bravely speaking up.
Chrystal shares the real-life inspirations behind the book, including disturbing cases in her own school district and her experiences as both a parent and a survivor of peer harassment. She talks about wanting to give kids language, signs, and emotional tools to recognize grooming, understand boundaries, and know they deserve to be believed. Chrystal also discusses how writing this story has made her more intentional as a parent, and how she balances tough topics with care, levity, and love. She even reveals that her next picture book, "We Are Joy," is a bright, uplifting counterbalance to the heaviness of "Listen to the Girls."
In the final segment, we're joined by author Michelle S. Kennedy and illustrator Bonnie Bright to talk about their picture book "Cell Phone Itis," a fun, insightful look at kids' (and adults'!) attachment to their phones. Bonnie shares the real-life moments that inspired the story and how the book opens up honest, sometimes humorous conversations in classrooms and families about screen time, safety, and being present in the real world.

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-invisible workers in the food service industry who "make sure the food shows up at your doorstep on time".  It also explores the loneliness and dislocation of being a child of immigrants, driving through other families' "normal" evenings while her own family worked late and ate at odd hours. Julie explains how the story was originally a multigenerational epic including her grandfather's escape during the Cultural Revolution, but her agent helped her refine it to the emotional core focused on her and her dad.
Angie describes her powerful emotional reaction to Julie's manuscript and the parallels with her own relationship with her father and her family's Cultural Revolution history. She breaks down her art process, including using gouache and table salt on wet paint to create rain textures that mirror the story's emotional storms, clearing as father and daughter reconnect and the moon comes out. Both Julie and Angie reflect on being only children, the quiet intimacy of car rides, and their hopes that the book serves as both a mirror and window into immigrant family life.
In the final segment, Jed travels (virtually) to Australia to chat briefly with Amelia Tonta about "Neil, the Amazing Sea Cucumber," inspired by her love of snorkeling and the overlooked, "boring" creatures on the ocean floor. Amelia discusses giving a seemingly dull character surprising heart and humor, and hints at more playful, visually driven stories to come.

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. The "sour" moments include painful setbacks and even an advisor bluntly telling her she'd never get into medical school. Candice explains how she turned that discouragement into fuel, and how her parents' unwavering belief in her – especially her late mother's message, "Don't let anyone tell you what you can and can't do" – continues to guide her. She also talks about why parents' words matter so deeply for kids' mental health, and how books can spark the most powerful family conversations.
Next, Margaret Proctor shares the delightful backstory behind "Cousins, What's Next?" Inspired by her great-granddaughter and youngest grandson getting into everything together, Margaret explores the joy, chaos, and blessings of intergenerational relationships. She reflects on being rejected by traditional publishers years ago, what it felt like to finally hold her own book ("I danced for ten minutes!"), and encourages aspiring writers to honor their ideas and just start.
Finally, Tricia Gardella introduces us to Mouse, star of the Mouse Traveler series, including "Mouse Visits Everglades National Park." Tricia talks about falling in love with this little character, weaving real national park facts into fun adventures, and why she hopes her books help kids love – and fight to protect – our national parks for generations to come.

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 long summer evenings. That sense of kid freedom and community became the heart of the book's epic, town‑wide game of capture the flag.
Sophie explains how the manuscript instantly clicked with her own memories of neighborhood play in Boston, especially capture the flag, and how that nostalgia drove her visual storytelling. She talks about the challenge of illustrating a nearly 250‑page full‑color graphic novel over four and a half to five years, keeping the art consistent and dynamic, and collaborating closely not only with JD but also with colorist Sarah Calhoun. Together, JD and Sophie describe a highly collaborative process—unusual in traditional publishing—where they constantly bounced ideas, problem‑solved scenes, and supported each other through creative highs and lows.
We also meet Jacquelyn Boylan, whose picture book A Broken Twig Can Sprout draws on her own profound losses in childhood to comfort kids facing trauma and adverse experiences. Finally, Christine Ricci McNamee returns to the show with Logan and the Disappearing Document, the latest in her Logan series, sending a magic‑bone‑powered pup on a patriotic, cross‑country mystery adventure.