Reading With Your Kids Podcast

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.

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 difference between chapter books (often ages 6–10, transitional early readers) and middle grade (roughly grades 4–8), noting that Gracie Wei bridges those spaces with accessible text and some bigger ideas.
Basia shares how she brings humor and heart to the black‑and‑white illustrations and describes the joy of revisiting the same cast over three books until they felt like "old friends." She talks about working through an art director rather than directly with Kristen, and the particular challenge of drawing specialized items like a wheelchair‑bicycle combination.
Kristen discusses crafting a diverse ensemble—including characters with different bodies, abilities, and backgrounds—so that any one of them could be a main character. She highlights the series' core themes: social‑emotional learning, empathy, bravery, and "pivoting" in life, supported by caring adults who model kindness and firm, loving guidance. She also hints at a possible fourth Gracie Wei book and other projects in the works.
In the final segment, Jed talks with Pam Ehrenberg about her rhyming board book Planting Parsley, which introduces young children to the Jewish holiday Tu Bishvat and connects families to nature. Pam reflects on writing from a child's perspective, the precision required for rhyming picture books, and how diverse cultural traditions can deepen kids' sense of connection to the earth and to one another.

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 readers, and talks about why pattern, repetition, and those famous "woof woofs" are so powerful for young readers. She also reflects on generations of kids—and now teachers—who grew up with Biscuit, and offers thoughtful advice for aspiring children's authors.
Then we shift from puppies to paranormal with Melanie Dale, author of the middle grade gothic novel Girl of Lore. Melanie introduces us to Mina Murray, her lore-obsessed heroine in small-town London, Georgia, where vampire legends might be more than just tourist bait. Melanie shares how her love of Dracula, classic horror, and even her work writing for Creepshow all fed into this spooky, funny, emotionally rich story. She also opens up about weaving mental health, friendship, and mother–daughter dynamics into the book, and suggests ways families can read and discuss it together.
Whether you're snuggling up with Biscuit or turning pages with the lights turned low, this episode celebrates the joy of reading with kids at every age and stage.

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 Chow. When they can't manage mornings, they reinvent the store as a night market, celebrating night owls, Taiwanese snacks, and the courage to pivot instead of forcing yourself to fit a schedule that doesn't work for you.
Emily and Jed talk about adaptability as a crucial skill for kids today, the joy and community of Taiwanese night markets, and the importance of stories that are immersively rooted in a culture rather than told through an outsider's gaze. Emily also reflects on intergenerational relationships, explaining why she loves that older characters are central to her book and how picture books can show that growth and self-discovery don't stop when you become an adult.
She describes her path from teaching in Connecticut to teaching in Taiwan, then studying writing for children, discovering picture books as a poetic form, and learning how to leave space for the illustrator's storytelling.
Later in the episode, Jed is joined by Andrea Wang, author of the Newbery Honor–winning picture book Watercress, who talks about growing up as one of the only Asian American kids in rural Ohio, finding refuge in books, and writing emotionally honest stories about family, belonging, and heritage.