Reading With Your Kids Podcast

In this heartfelt episode, Jed sits down with author and teacher Margaret Gurevich to talk about her middle grade novel, Yasha's Amazing Bar Mitzvah. Set in 1986, with the New York Mets' World Series win as a lively backdrop, the story follows Yasha, a Russian Jewish immigrant who moves from Brighton Beach to the New Jersey suburbs. Suddenly, he's one of only two Russian kids in his grade, navigating Cold War stereotypes, rocky mania, wealth gaps, and classmates who think his Bar Mitzvah—and even his family—aren't "American enough."
Margaret shares the real family history woven into the book: parents who left the former Soviet Union in 1979, a grandfather sent to the Gulag for owning prayer shawls, university quotas that nearly blocked her mother's education, and letters home that arrived with whole sections blacked out. She and Jed talk about what it means when a country's politics are used to judge its people, and how Yasha's friendship with an elderly man named Bernie helps him find the courage to be himself. Margaret also reflects on her own journey—from hiding her Russian-Jewish identity as a teen to proudly writing it into her stories—and why she loves writing for middle graders who are still forming their views of the world.
In the final part of the episode, Jed chats with cartoonist and author Jeffrey Brown about his graphic novel Once Upon a Space Time, where kids join an intergalactic mission with mostly robot supervision. They explore how today's kids' comics blend humor, heart, and big ideas to keep young readers hooked on stories.

In this episode of Reading With Your Kids, we celebrate creativity, courage, and the power of stories to help families connect.
First, Jed welcomes 12-year-old author and YouTuber Bella Olson, creator of the Avocado Awesomeness channel and debut middle grade novel "Trapped" (Simon & Schuster). Bella shares how she began writing the book at just seven years old, and how the story follows a girl imprisoned by the evil Dr. Heinous in a mysterious facility. Along the way, the heroine meets unforgettable characters like Luna, Maya, and Rocco the magic chicken—many inspired by Bella's real-life friends. Bella talks about juggling school, dance, YouTube, and writing, her excitement at landing a major publisher, and how families can CO-read Trapped and talk about favorite scenes, inventions, and characters.
Next, in our Story Keepers segment, Schuyler Minckler from Elm Street Books in New Canaan, Connecticut, gives listeners a tour of her cozy indie bookstore. She describes creaky floors, well-loved shelves, and a children's section designed for browsing and discovery. Schuyler offers down-to-earth advice for nurturing a love of reading, from reading aloud well into the teen years to embracing graphic novels, series, and kid-led choices.
Finally, returning guest Suzanne Jacobs Lipshaw introduces her deeply moving middle grade novel "Decoding The Moon." Drawing on her son's real-life rock climbing fall and her own experience with loss, Suzanne weaves a story of two brothers navigating grief, autism, fear, and new beginnings in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. With secret codes, rock climbing, and super moons, Decoding The Moon becomes both an adventure and a compassionate guide for families facing big emotions and big changes.

In this episode of Reading With Your Kids, host Jed Doherty welcomes Naja Lund Aparicio, author of the picture book Seasons by the Lake: Adventures in Greenland, for a rich conversation about childhood, culture, and the nation of Greenland, followed by a listen back to a chat with pastry chef and author Christina Tosi.
Naja, a Greenlandic Inuit writer, shares how her book follows siblings Mimik and Nuka as they explore the changing seasons around a Greenlandic lake. She explains that many people think Greenland has only one season—winter—but her goal is to show the subtle but powerful shifts throughout the year and how kids play, gather, and live closely with nature in each one. Naja describes the Inuit worldview that everything—rivers, rocks, mountains—has a spirit and personhood, placing humans on the same level as nature rather than above it. This deep respect for land grew from the need to survive harsh climates, where reading the weather and seasonal signs was a matter of life and death.
She also talks about Inuit migration from northern Alaska to Greenland, the ongoing importance of hunting and gathering, and shares a favorite myth about how the raven became black. Naja reflects on Greenlanders as peaceful, welcoming people and on the long-standing allyship between Greenland, Denmark, and the United States. She discusses her other Greenlandic-language books, current MFA work at the Institute of American Indian Arts, and upcoming picture books with Candlewick and Dial Books.
In the final segment, Christina Tosi joins to celebrate her picture book Every Cake Has a Story and to talk about creativity, baking with kids, and embracing "failed" recipes as fuel for imagination and learning.

In this uplifting episode, Jed welcomes Jaylene Clark Owens, author of the new picture book A Black Girl and Her Braids, inspired by her viral 2021 poem of the same name. Jaylene shares how the poem—born while she was joyfully walking down Rodeo Drive in Los Angeles with fresh braids—grew into a children's book published by Penguin Random House. The book celebrates Black girlhood, natural hair, and cultural pride, encouraging young readers to love their hair in all its styles: braids, afros, locs, twists, long, or short.
Jaylene explains how the story also weaves in the CROWN Act, legislation designed to protect people from discrimination based on natural and protective hairstyles. She describes braids as more than a style: they're deeply rooted in Black culture, historically used to signify status, store seeds, and even map routes. Jaylene also opens up about her own journey—being teased for her dark skin, feeling pressure to straighten her hair with damaging relaxers, and ultimately reclaiming and celebrating her natural beauty.
She talks about the joy of seeing her poem go viral, celebrities like Tia Mowry using her sound, and the powerful experience of visiting schools, singing her "A Black Girl and Her Braids" song with children, and watching them light up as they celebrate their hair.
In the final segment, we take a listen back to a conversation we had a few years back with Liz Leonard about her debut picture book Frizzy Lizzy, an autobiographical story about curly hair, self-acceptance, and navigating life in a nontraditional family.

In this episode of Reading With Your Kids, Jed welcomes two wonderful guests who are using story to help kids feel seen, curious, and joyful—author Jamie Sumner and dance educator/author Teacher Terrel.
First, Jed chats with Jamie Sumner about her new middle grade novel in verse, Glory Be. Jamie shares why she loves writing in verse for middle graders—it feels fast, accessible, and empowering for reluctant readers. Set in New Orleans, the book follows 11-year-old Glory as she searches for her lost dog over five days, only to uncover deeper questions about her dad, family dynamics, and what it means to grow up and realize no one is all good or all bad. Jamie also talks about representation and how her earlier novel Roll With It was inspired by her son, who has cerebral palsy, and the importance of kids seeing themselves—and others—on the page. She gives a sneak peek at her upcoming picture book A Fish Like Me and her next verse novel The Space Race.
Then Teacher Terrel returns to the show to celebrate A Tale of Learning, part of her Once Upon a Dance series. She and Jed discuss how her books invite families to dance through stories, turning read-aloud time into movement, imagination, and play. Terrel talks about her advocacy for a kinder, more inclusive dance world, where all body types and abilities are welcome, and where competition is kept in perspective so kids can keep the joy of dance. She also shares how the pandemic nudged her from studio teaching into creating story-based dance books that will last for years to come.