Reading With Your Kids Podcast

Latest Episodes:

A Match Made In The Lymph Nodes! Jun 11, 2024

Show notes

On this episode of Reading With Your Kids we are celebrating healthy romance and immune systems. First up Kaitlin Hill celebrates her YA romance novel "Wild About You." She shared about the college experiences explored in the book, including the main character Natalie struggling with mental health while navigating school, a reality show, and a new romance. The hosts discussed the high cost of college and pressure on students. Kaitlin hopes that Wild About You will help spark family conversations about these challenges.

Next, Dr. Namita Gandhi celebrated her children's book "Immune Heroes" which talks to kids about the immune system. She described characters like Captain T cell and their battle against bacteria villains. Gandhi and the host talked about building kids' immunity through diet, sleep, handwashing, and avoiding sickness. Families could read this book together and discuss health.

To wrap up our episode we have a listen back to our conversation with Jen Malone about her YA romance novel "Changes in Latitude". Jen tells us the novel examines the complicated relationship between a mother and daughter through misunderstandings resolved by communication. Reading together could help families explore different perspectives.

Click here to visit our website - www.readingwithyourkids.com

Ruby Rene Had So Much To Say! Jun 09, 2024

Show notes

On this episode of Reading with Your Kids we welcome several guests celebrating new children's books. Our first guest is author Ashley Iman, who wrote the debut picture book Ruby Renee Had So Much To Say. Ashley discussed how the book was inspired by her own childhood experiences as a talkative student. She wanted to create a character like her younger self that found positive ways to share her curiosity about the world.

Our next guests are father-son duo Steve and Cliff Simmons, who have written a series of books together called Where Do Creatures Sleep At Night. In their latest book, they explore where ocean creatures sleep, such as sharks, whales, and sea turtles. Steve discussed how the books aim to teach children about nature and the environment and instill a love for the planet. Cliff provided a fun fact about how sharks need to continuously swim even when sleeping.

Click here to visit our website – www.ReadingWithYourKids.com

Life After Whale Jun 07, 2024

Show notes

Jed Doherty welcomed author Lynn Brunelle and illustrator Jason Chen to Reading With Your Kids to celebrate "Life After Whale". Lynne explains that the book was inspired by her curiosity about what happens to a whale's body after it dies. She discovered that the decomposing whale creates an entire ecosystem, allowing thousands of creatures to survive through interconnected food chains. Jason discusses his illustration process, which began with visual research like photographs from Lynn's initial research and visits to whale skeletons. He aims to make the invisible visible, such as showing the inside of a blue whale. Jason also includes diagrams to illustrate complex concepts like chemicals leaching from whale bones. The creatives emphasize how the book teaches about scale - it compares the immense size of blue whales to everyday objects children can understand. Lynne notes a blue whale is as long as several school buses or could contain as many children lined up as its length. Jason considers how to depict scale clearly in his illustrations for young readers. Both Lynne and Jason hope to spark curiosity in children about the natural world. They discuss using the book to start conversations with questions and finding ways to engage children's imagination. Jason also shares some exceptional advice on how parents can inspire and support their children's art.

We also welcomed Sandy Whiting to the show to celebrate her new book, "Meatball Man Head Detective: Case of the Missing Pepper Shaker". Sandy explains that the story features a meatball detective named Meatball Man who solves mysteries in the town of City with his friends Breadstick and Chi Stick. She discusses developing the story concept through creative role playing with her own children during a family dinner.

Click here to visit our website - www.readingwithyourkids.com

Celebrating 20 Years Of Dan Gutman's My Weird School Jun 06, 2024

Show notes

Dan Gutman is on Reading With Your Kids to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his popular "My Weird School" series, now at 100 books. He shares how his daughter inspired the first book and his process of writing about a different school staff member in each installment. Sophia Brown talks about her picture book "Fun at Grandma's House" and the joy of spending time with grandchildren. She encourages grandparents to read with their grandkids. Both authors reflect on building relationships through shared reading experiences with their families. They overcame challenges to connect with young readers through simple, engaging writing styles. Jane Yolen discusses empowering girls by embracing fears and adventures. She recounts real-life experiences facing snakes and bears to show courage comes in overcoming what scares us most. All guests emphasize the importance of unconditional love, confidence, and bonding through shared reading. The podcast encourages families to make quality time reading together a priority and inspires becoming life-long storytellers.

Click here to visit our website - www.readingwithyourkids.com

Dragons, Demons and Didgeridoos Jun 04, 2024

Show notes

Get ready to dive into the realm of fantasy on this episode of Reading With Your Kids. Steven A Guglich starts us on our adventure as he celebrates the first book in his Middle Grade Novel Piercing The Veil. Steven tells us his main characters, Jeremy Goodson, an overweight teacher from NYC, and Masaru Hagen, adopted son of an American Tech entrepreneur, are confronted by something that neither of them can explain, that sets these two complete strangers from opposite sides of the world to embark on an unforgettable journey that will forge them into living legends. Steven also talks about his process in creating the Veil universe. In addition to being an author Steven is also the principal of an elementary and middle school and shares some insights he believes can help create better outcomes for all students.

We are also joined by Malia Maunakea who has returned to the show to celebrate Lei and the Invisible Island. This is an exciting follow up Lei and the Fire Goddess. After saving her best friend and ancestral guardian, Kaipo, from Pele the fire goddess's traps and successfully preventing lava from destroying her tūtū's house, all Lei wants to do is take a nap. The only problem? Kaipo's ʻaumakua pendant is missing, and without it, he will soon rot . . . emotionally and physically. Malia has a deep, passionate love for the land, culture and people of her beloved Hawaii. She is excited to share that love and hopes, in addition to thrilling readers, her books give fans a taste of what Hawaii is all about.

Click here to visit our website - www.readingwithyourkids.com

When Cicadas Collide! Jun 02, 2024

Show notes

Get ready for a bug-tacular episode of #ReadingWithYourKids! Roger McMullen discusses his new graphic novel Cicadapocalypse. He shares his fascination with cicadas that started after witnessing an emergence in Maryland as a teenager. Roger explains the unique 13-17 year life cycle of periodical cicadas and how they emerge in large numbers across different regions. He created Cicadapocalypse to educate children about cicadas in a fun way through the story of squirrels experiencing an emergence. Roger used an educational approach first to develop the narrative and then illustrated the book. The illustrations help immerse readers in the cicada world. We also take a listen back to a couple of our past buggy interviews. Anna Maria Rodriguez discusses her book Secrets of the Scuba Diving Spider. She shares the fascinating secret that one species of spider can build an air bubble and dive underwater to hunt and lay eggs. We also hear from Fernanda Lazaro who talks about The Tillson Bugger Adventures series. The books follow three friends who get into misadventures involving insects. In the second book, The Case of the Missing Mustache, centipedes cause terror in the characters' house.

Click here to visit our website - www.ReadingWithYourKids.com

Laughing With The Nearly Departed May 31, 2024

Show notes

In this episode of #ReadingWithYourKids we are celebrating the Nearly Departed, Long Names and a pair of Creatures named Pickle Juice and Patty Cakes. First up we speak with José Pablo Iriarte, he author of the debut #MiddleGrade #Novel Benny Ramirez and the Nearly Departed. Jose tells us that Benny Ramírez can see dead people . . . Well, one dead person, anyway. A hilarious and heartwarming story about a boy who can suddenly see the ghost of his famous musician grandfather! Jose talks about the book, his hometown of Miami and his thoughts on why tweens love spooky stories! We also welcome Suma Subramaniam, author of My Name Is As Long As A River. Suma tells us this book celebrates how special our names are. She also gives us a look inside the varied cultures of India. Heather Marie closes the show by telling us about her delightful new series inspired by her two puppies Pickle Juice and Patty Cakes. She tells us her dogs went through difficult medical issues as puppies. She started this series to help teach kids to never give up, always be kind and to learn to accept differences in others.

Click here to visit our website - www.readingwithyourkids.com

Dystopian Adventures & Fish With Weird Teeth May 30, 2024

Show notes

You are going to love this episode of Reading With Your Kids! First up is author Megan Schaulis. She is on the show to celebrate her YA dystopian novel "Protector". Megan explained how her book takes place in a near-future world where the king's bodyguards have been genetically enhanced. The main character Noah must compete against these enhanced women to become a protector, despite being a normal athlete.

Megan and the host Jed Doherty discussed how dystopian novels allow authors to address real issues through fictional stories. They brought up ethical questions around genetic manipulation and enhancement. The conversation also touched on themes from the biblical story of Esther, which inspired Megan's book.

We then switch gears and welcome author and illustrator Bonnie Kelso to the show. She introduced her new children's book "Sea Smiles", which takes a humorous look at sea animals with unusual teeth. Bonnie discussed how the book is part of a three-book series relating child milestones to ocean creatures. She also shared her background in exhibit design for museums like the Smithsonian.

Throughout the episode, Bonnie and Jed shared personal anecdotes about their experiences with the ocean. They also debated the importance of encouraging children to dream and discussed creating art that introduces kids to real concepts.

Click here to visit our website - www.readingwithyourkids.com

Bubblegum Bison's Bath Time Bonanza! May 28, 2024

Show notes

This episode of Reading With Your Kids begins with two of our favorite guests Scott Rothman and Pete Oswald. Scott and Pete return to the show to celebrate their new children's book "Bubblegum Bison Needs a Bath." Rothman is the author and Oswald is the illustrator. They have collaborated on five books together and love working as a team. Rothman writes in a visual style that lends itself well to Oswald's humorous illustrations.

The guests discussed the creative process of writing and illustrating picture books. Scott tells us how much he loves seeing Pete's illustrations, which often include hidden jokes and details. They brainstormed ideas for future books involving the adventures of Blue Bison and Bubblegum Bison.

The second half of the episode featured author Courtney Cino celebrating her book "The Lights That Stay." This story inspires children with themes of growth, resilience, and self-esteem. Cino emphasized the importance of helping kids visualize themselves achieving goals in the future. Courtney believes families reading books together is a way to bond and have meaningful conversations.

Cino's background in biotech marketing provided insights into the similarities between creating compelling visual stories in that field and writing picture books. Both require carefully refining content to concisely convey important messages through words and images.

Click here to visit our website - www.readingwithyourkids.com

Three Great Kids & One Amazing Mom! May 26, 2024

Show notes

This episode of Reading With Your Kids features three very impressive kids and one fantastic mom. First, 13-year-old Orion Jean celebrates his new book "Race to Kindness" and inspires listeners with his message of spreading kindness. Orion discusses founding his organization Race to Kindness after being named Time Magazine's Kid of the Year. Next, Kaili Powers and her mom Mei celebrate their children's book "It's Not That Spicy", which introduces readers to Asian cuisines. They share their experiences overcoming fears of spicy food and embracing different cultures through food. The episode also features 9-year-old author Amelie Anastasia, who wrote her first book at age 8 and is fundraising for a wildlife sanctuary. Throughout, the guests emphasize the importance of representation in children's books and inspiring curiosity about other cultures. The kids showcase their passion for writing, helping others, and making a positive impact on communities through small acts of kindness.

Click here to visit our website - www.readingwithyourkids.com