1 rich Libsyn https://www.libsyn.com 90 600 This episode of Reading With Your Kids brings together two conversations about books that spark imagination, laughter, and meaningful conversations with young readers. First, host Jed Doherty welcomes&amp;nbsp;Dork Diaries creator Rachel Renee Russell and illustrator Nikki Russell to celebrate the full-color edition of Dork Diaries 2. Rachel reflects on the series’ remarkable success—more than 55 million books sold worldwide—and recalls that, at the beginning, she simply hoped the first book might earn enough for new furniture. Nikki describes the painstaking digital coloring process, with hundreds of Photoshop layers and several days of work on a complex illustration. She and Rachel explain why they’re bringing color to the books for today’s young readers, while keeping the original ink editions available. They also discuss a short animation in development, hopes to colorize the backlist, possible film and musical ideas, and plans for merchandise. Nikki shares how she learned from Disney artists and demonstrates that her art is created by hand, not AI. In the second conversation, intern Madison Lucchesi interviews author Kara LaReau about Licorice, a middle-grade novel about a cat named Kitty, a new home, and a possible haunting. Kara connects the story’s gothic atmosphere to Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier and to losing her beloved cat. Beneath the spooky premise are themes of grief, belonging, insecurity, and fear. She encourages adults and children to talk about big feelings and find comfort in shared stories. Laro also reflects on editing, revision, writing a standalone novel, and her community-centered Witchy Cakes series. Reading With Your Kids Podcast http://readingwithyourkids.libsyn.com/site <iframe title="Libsyn Player" style="border: none" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/43684049/height/90/theme/custom/thumbnail/yes/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/88AA3C/" height="90" width="600" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen></iframe> https://assets.libsyn.com/secure/content/208673244