{"podcast":{"title":"Reading With Your Kids Podcast","slug":"reading-with-your-kids-podcast-793427","podcast_index_feed_id":793427,"rss_url":"https://readingwithyourkids.libsyn.com/rss","website_url":"http://readingwithyourkids.libsyn.com/site","image_url":"https://static.libsyn.com/p/assets/5/d/a/e/5dae7cd66b261421/GRC_-_two_4.png","author":"Jedlie Circus Produtions, Inc","episode_count":2436,"summary":"Reading With Your Kids is all about encouraging parents to read with their kids, and cook with their kids, and do activities with their kids, and experience tv, movies and music together. In other words, our podcast is all about helping parents build stronger relationships with their kids.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-23T14:18:06.552814+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/reading-with-your-kids-podcast-793427"},"episode":{"title":"Otter Space, Inner Space: Helping Kids Talk About Belonging with Jen De Oliveira","slug":"otter-space-inner-space-helping-kids-talk-about-belonging-with-jen-de-oliveira","published_at":"2026-06-16T04:33:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/reading-with-your-kids-podcast-793427/otter-space-inner-space-helping-kids-talk-about-belonging-with-jen-de-oliveira","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/reading-with-your-kids-podcast-793427","url":"https://readingwithyourkids.libsyn.com/otter-space-inner-space-helping-kids-talk-about-belonging-with-jen-de-oliveira","audio_url":"https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/pscrb.fm/rss/p/traffic.libsyn.com/secure/readingwithyourkids/June_16_Jen_De_Oliviera.mp3?dest-id=477844","summary":"In this episode of Reading With Your Kids, Jed Doherty welcomes back Jen De Oliveira to celebrate her early reader graphic novel, Pip and Pals Otter Space. Jen shares how Pip, a river otter, went through many iterations—from the youngest of three siblings, to a tinkering kid with a \"fix-it\" dad, to the green-furred \"space otter\" readers meet today. Guided (and sometimes challenged) by her editor Esther Hernandez, Jen describes the emotional roller coaster of being told a story \"isn't quite working\" and having to return to the sketchbook to discover something better. Jen explains how she thinks in both words and pictures, making comics the perfect medium for her storytelling. She traces her journey from wanting to work in animation, to teaching elementary school, to rediscovering comics as a classroom teacher building a more diverse library for her students. Jen also dives into craft—outlining like a screenwriter, thumbnailing pages, and learning to let images replace unnecessary dialogue. Beneath the silly \"otter space\" premise, the book explores identity, belonging, and the idea of home. Pip wonders whether she truly belongs where she is or if there's a distant \"home planet,\" opening rich opportunities for family conversations about community, multiple homes, and feeling like you don't quite fit in. Jen also makes a strong case for graphic novels as real reading, emphasizing visual literacy and the power of \"reading as thinking.\" In the final segment, author and longtime educator Melanie Padgett joins the show to discuss Aikens River Rat, a middle-grade novel inspired by her late husband's 1970s South Carolina childhood. Centered on twelve-year-old Adrian and his beloved Paw Paw, the book celebrates intergenerational relationships, outdoor adventures, and the beauty o…","meta_description":"In this episode of Reading With Your Kids, Jed Doherty welcomes back Jen De Oliveira to celebrate her early reader graphic novel, Pip and Pals Otter Space…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3332,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/reading-with-your-kids-podcast-793427/episodes/otter-space-inner-space-helping-kids-talk-about-belonging-with-jen-de-oliveira/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/reading-with-your-kids-podcast-793427/otter-space-inner-space-helping-kids-talk-about-belonging-with-jen-de-oliveira.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}