Reading With Your Kids Podcast

On this episode of the Reading With Your Kids podcast, host Jed Doherty welcomes two creators whose books spark big, meaningful conversations for families.
First, Jed chats with Huda Al Marashi, author of the middle grade novel Hail Mariam. The story follows Mariam, the only Muslim girl at her local Catholic school, as she navigates the burden of representation, questions about faith, identity, and belonging, and the gray areas that arise when family, culture, and religion intersect. Huda shares how her own experience as a Muslim student in Catholic and Jesuit schools inspired the book, and why she believes kids are ready for nuanced conversations about religion, stereotypes, and kindness. Together, Jed and Huda talk about hijab, prayer, questioning religious institutions, and how stories can help young readers see the similarities across different faith traditions.
Then, Jed is joined by Craig Holland, author-illustrator of the YA graphic novel Our Adventure With Corp Masscot. Craig describes his nostalgic, heartfelt story told from the perspective of a video game character watching its player grow up, move on, and change. They discuss graphic novels for young adults, creating original characters, the business side of being an author, and how conventions and kid-focused comic events help connect books with families. Craig also talks about using art, monsters, and humor to explore themes of growing up, letting go, and shared parent–child memories around games and stories.
This episode is perfect for families, educators, and librarians looking for conversation-starting books about faith, identity, and nostalgia.

In this episode of Reading With Your Kids, we welcome author-illustrator Claire Keane to talk about her deeply personal new picture book, "Who Are You?" Claire shares how the idea began not with a character, but with a question—quite literally. After making a video reel to "explain" who she was as an artist and as the daughter and granddaughter of famous cartoonists, she woke up one morning hearing a loud inner voice ask, "Who are you?" That moment sent her on a creative and emotional journey.
Claire describes spending a year and a half stuck on an idea involving a girl in a boat—an image that just wasn't true to her own experience. She couldn't draw it, couldn't feel it, and knew something was off. Her breakthrough came on a trip to Malibu, when she let go of the "perfect" concept and simply started sketching a little tree, a girl in its branches, and memories from her Southern California childhood—oak trees, dry canyons, Debbie Gibson, her basset hound. Suddenly, the book flowed.
"Who Are You?" became a kind of love letter to the small moments that shape us. Claire and Jed talk about memory, identity, gratitude, and why lived experiences—our senses, our stories—can never be replaced by AI, even if that urgency helped push the book into the world.
Later in the episode, Jed chats with Allison Butler, author-illustrator of "In the Kelp Forest." Allison talks about the beauty and fragility of kelp forests, her unique collage-style art using real kelp, and how her book helps kids fall in love with ocean life while gently learning about courage and the environment.

In this episode of Reading With Your Kids, host Jed Doherty welcomes three very different—but equally exciting—guests who are passionate about helping kids grow smarter and braver.
First, Jed chats with Adam Adler and his 10‑year‑old daughter Isla, the father–daughter team behind Wyzly, a groundbreaking screen time app for kids. Tired of daily battles over iPads and YouTube, Isla came up with the idea for an app that doesn't just shut devices off—it asks kids educational questions to unlock their favorite apps. Adam explains how Wyzly uses a "learn to earn" model and customizes questions by age, grade, and school district, turning screen time into a reward for real learning. Parents get powerful parental controls, data on what their children are mastering, and even the option for Wyzly's AI to manage screen time breaks based on research and child well‑being.
In the second half, Jed is joined by award‑winning author Mahatab Nasim to discuss her spooky middle grade horror novel, Haunted. Inspired by a chilling Chinese lake myth about restless water spirits, Haunted follows Jonah at a remote Canadian camp as he confronts eerie happenings, a tragic drowning, and a terrifying storm to save his mom. Mahatab shares how spooky middle grade books give kids a safe way to explore fear, build resilience, and practice critical thinking while enjoying diverse myths and folktales from across Asia.
This episode is perfect for parents, educators, and young readers interested in healthy screen time, AI‑powered learning, and kid‑friendly scary stories that spark big conversations.

Join host Jed Doherty on the Reading With Your Kids podcast for a heartwarming, history‑meets‑home episode featuring two wonderful picture book creators: Patricia Newman and Pooja Makhijani.
First, Patricia introduces Beatrice and the Nightingale, a nonfiction picture book about Beatrice Harrison, a renowned English cellist whose garden duet with a wild nightingale became one of the earliest global nature broadcasts on BBC radio. Patricia and Jed explore how this magical moment of music, nature, and early technology captivated millions of listeners and why Beatrice is such a powerful civic and environmental role model for kids today. They also talk about teaching hope, gratitude, and connection to nature in a world filled with gloomy headlines.
Then, Jed welcomes Pooja Makhijani, author of Bread Is Love, a cozy picture book about a family that bakes bread together every week. Pooja explains how a simple sourdough starter and weekly loaf became a beloved family ritual, and how bread connects culture, memory, and love. She and Jed share stories about cooking with kids, intergenerational families, and why the kitchen is one of the best places to bond with children.
If you're looking for children's books that spark meaningful family conversations, inspire kids to care about the environment, or invite your family into the kitchen, this episode is for you. Discover new picture books for kids, learn the true story behind a famous nightingale broadcast, and get inspired to start your own reading and baking traditions at home.

It's been said that you spend the first forty years of your life looking forward, and the last forty looking back—from death toward your life. But what if you never get the chance to look forward? Imagine being young and told you may only have a year to live. All around you, you see people living the life you've been cheated out of. How would that feel? How could you find hope in that?

These are the feelings and questions that children with cancer—and those who love and support them—face every day.

Jed Doherty sat down with two powerful experts to discuss exactly that on a new episode of his long-running podcast, Reading With Your Kids. One was a doctor. The other was an equally powerful expert: a child in remission from brain cancer.

Dr. Katerina Levi is a pediatric mental health clinician who recently completed a residency at Broward Hospital in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. While there, she helped treat children battling cancer and often spoke with them in a garden on the hospital grounds. This experience, along with her dissertation research on bibliotherapy—therapy conducted through books—prompted her to write The Healing Garden.

The book follows Alex, a boy diagnosed with cancer. Over the course of the story, Alex meets a new friend: a talking bear. The bear provides actionable, evidence-based psychological advice in language children can understand. At the back of the book is a guide for parents and caregivers to help support children through this trying time.

But why books? Why not just therapy sessions, or one person talking to another, or direct instruction? Katrina offers an answer: "Children's storybooks provide a non-confrontational way to discuss difficult topics." She adds that "children can often identify with characters in books," giving young readers a safe pathway to explore emotions such as frustration, anger, fear, and sadness—feelings that children with cancer experience far too often.

The other guest on this episode is no stranger to the power of art.

Cassidy Stocker, daughter of previous Reading With Your Kids guest and author Shannon Stocker, is a child in remission from brain cancer. Her cancer is currently gone, though recurrence is always a frightening possibility. Cassidy is a painter who sells her landscapes, and the proceeds go toward buying gifts for other children with cancer undergoing chemotherapy.

When Jed asks how and why she came up with this idea, Cassidy says she "felt less alone, more happy."

Though Cassidy was only in eighth grade at the time of the interview, she speaks with clarity and wisdom far beyond her years. She shares how undergoing chemotherapy felt "completely unfair," and how it "feels like you're alone in your sickness," even as nurses, doctors, and family members—who are healthy—care for you.

Yet Cassidy has not allowed her experience to harden her heart. Instead, she encourages other children to be grateful for the life they have and reminds them that "sadness and anger are not a way to live." She understands that death can come suddenly, and she chooses to live with purpose, gratitude, and generosity.

Cassidy has formalized her gift-giving into the nonprofit charity Gifts For Gold. You can learn more and lend your support at giftsforgold.org.

The episode is a moving reminder that stories can heal, and that children—when given space to speak—often become our greatest teachers.

These stories remind us that children, though younger, are as capable as adults of enormous feats of kindness, learning, and mental endurance. Treat a child with respect, and you'll find them growing like a sprout—at once slowly and too quickly to be believed—into something remarkable.
Written by Jackson Sotallaro