Reading With Your Kids Podcast

In this powerful episode of Reading With Your Kids, we're shining a gentle, hopeful light on some of the hardest moments families face—grief, loss, anxiety, and big feelings—and how books can help us navigate them together.
First, Jed talks with Dr. Korie Leigh, a thanatologist (an expert in death, dying, grief, and loss) and author of "When Everything Changes: Parenting Through Loss and Grief." Korie explains that grief isn't just about death; kids grieve through divorce, incarceration, deportation, climate disasters, illness, pet loss, and ambiguous losses when someone is missing but not gone. She introduces the idea of disenfranchised grief—the very real pain society often refuses to recognize.
Korie's book is designed like a field guide for families in crisis: quick, concrete, and practical. The first half explains how kids understand loss at different ages and how caregivers can check in with their own emotions. The second half offers scripts, "say this/not that" examples, and tips for specific situations like death, pet loss, hospitalization, divorce, and more. She stresses the importance of being honest and concrete with kids ("died" instead of "went away") while also honoring each family's faith and cultural beliefs.
Then Jed welcomes Emily Gatto, licensed clinical social worker and author of "June's Big Wave" and the June series. Through a warm, kid-friendly narrator, June walks readers through worry, anxiety, new activities, sibling struggles, and sleep issues, using age-appropriate cognitive behavioral tools. Emily shares how stories help kids name their feelings, practice coping skills, and give parents a natural way to start big conversations.
Throughout the episode, Jed and his guests celebrate reading together as one of the most loving ways to build resilience, connection, and empathy in our kids—especially when everything changes.

In this episode of Reading With Your Kids, Jed welcomes two fantastic creators who show how books can tackle big feelings and big facts—all while keeping kids engaged.
First, Joy McCullough joins us to celebrate her middle grade novel in verse, Kestrel Takes Flight. Joy introduces Kestrel, a girl raised in an emotionally abusive, tightly controlled church community in San Diego. Her mom suddenly whisks her away to Montana, where Kestrel has to adjust to a new world, new dangers (including dogs and bears!), and a new way of understanding her family and faith. Joy talks about being a pastor's daughter herself and how her own experiences—and even a failed penguin picture book idea—eventually led to Kestrel's story and the conservation-dog setting in Montana. She also explains why she loves writing novels in verse, especially for tough topics: the white space, poetic rhythm, and emotional "room" let kids engage at the level that feels safe for them, while still holding onto that crucial middle grade ingredient: hope.
Then we switch gears and tones with author-illustrator Brandon Todd, creator of the hilarious picture book Do You Really Know Flamingos? Starring Frank the armadillo, an overly confident "expert" who gets just about everything wrong about flamingos, the book gently pokes fun at misinformation while slipping in real animal facts. Brandon shares how his kids' love of weird animal facts, a wild flamingo story he once heard on a podcast, and his evolving character sketches all shaped the book—and how seeing the world through kids' wonder keeps his own creativity alive.

In this episode of Reading With Your Kids, Jed welcomes Dan Saks from New York City to celebrate his joyful new picture book, On Our Bikes. Dan shares how the story began as an echo song, "I Got a Bicycle," on his kids' music podcast Noodle Loaf, and how his love of life on two wheels—and riding with his kids—pedaled its way onto the page.
Jed and Dan swap stories about city biking in Boston and New York, the tensions between drivers and cyclists, and the pure joy of rolling through town on a perfect spring day. Dan describes memorable family rides across the Brooklyn Bridge for dumplings in Chinatown and how food destinations often become the playful motivation for longer rides with his kids.
The conversation then turns to Dan's rich musical life: his work as a music therapist, his long history in bands, and the way nearly all his books are connected to songs. He explains how music therapy can reach people with memory loss or speech challenges in powerful ways, and Jed adds moving personal stories—from his mother's dementia to witnessing Stevie Wonder calm an angry crowd with a call for love and understanding.
Later in the episode, Jed is joined by returning guests Dr. Sam and JL McCready to talk about their delightful new picture book Escapees, a playful interstellar adventure about runaway peas, creativity, collaboration, and the joy of making stories that truly connect with kids and families.

In this episode of Reading With Your Kids, Jed welcomes back one of preschool media's most influential creators, Angela Santomero, to celebrate her new series, "Princess Penelope's Purse of Preposterous Things."
Angela explains that Princess Penelope is a brave, kind-hearted kitten who doesn't realize how small she is. When Mother Nature grants her a magical purple purse filled with "preposterous things," Penelope must use creative and critical thinking—not just magic—to solve problems and stand up for her friends. Angela shares how this "engine" of the series helps kids learn to think, reason, and be kind, skills she believes are essential in an age of AI and constant media.
Drawing on her background in child development and her groundbreaking work on Blue's Clues and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, Angela talks about "cuddle TV"—those precious moments when parents and kids watch or read together, ask questions like "What do you think will happen next?", and model deeper thinking. She highlights research showing that just 15 minutes of daily reading-for-fun can expose kids to a million new words a year and profoundly shape their futures. Angela also compares the Princess Penelope books and YouTube episodes, explaining how each medium deepens the experience in different ways.
Later in the episode, Jed chats with David Gillespie, retired Air Force veteran and author of "Floo Flocky Doo to the Rescue." David shares the 26-year journey from his daughter's imaginative play to a lively, rhyming picture book that celebrates family stories, risk-taking, and nurturing a lifelong love of reading in young children.

In this inspiring episode of Reading With Your Kids, Jed welcomes two wonderful guests who are using stories and technology to help kids thrive: Carrol Titus and Inbal Alon.
First, Jed chats with Carrol Titus, president of Golden Poppy and creator of the illustrated chapter book Unicorn Blue and the Kara Doodle Quest. Carrol explains how Golden Poppy was founded to nurture a love of STEM in young children, especially at a time when national science scores are declining. She shares how their interactive learning system blends brain science, play, and storytelling to create "triple sigma" gains for students, including those in disadvantaged schools. Kids step into playful roles—scientists, word warriors, unicorn tamers—while secretly diving deep into applied physics, chemistry, genetics, and critical thinking. Carrol also addresses parents' concerns about technology in the classroom, explaining how Golden Poppy uses secure, carefully curated data and personalized assessments to support both students and time-strapped teachers.
Then Jed is joined by Inbal Alon, a first-grade teacher and debut picture book author of Maddie's Towers, written while on sabbatical in Paris. Inbal describes Maddie's story of feeling betrayed by a friend and learning that trust is like a tower—built one block at a time, and rebuildable after it falls. She and Jed talk about helping kids navigate friendship drama, using picture books proactively (not just in a crisis), and supporting reluctant readers by finding books they genuinely love. Inbal also teases her upcoming titles, including The Wise Get in Trouble and My Aunt Swing, and celebrates the warm, generous kid-lit community.