{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Bedtime In The Black Forest","description":"In this episode of Reading With Your Kids, Jed welcomes Kiersta Halseth, joining from Germany\u2019s enchanting Black Forest, to celebrate her debut picture book, \u201cLowly Stromboli and the Mysterious Hole.\u201d Kiersta shares her remarkable journey from a marketing and communications career in Florida and California, to a bold leap of faith that took her to Thailand, where she taught English, met her German partner, and eventually settled in the Black Forest with their daughter, Lola. Kiersta explains how Night Type Books was literally born from a dream. Struggling to read tiny, low-contrast text in picture books during dim, cozy bedtime reading with her daughter, she imagined a series of easier-to-read, larger-font, visually calming books designed specifically for nighttime. That dream became Lowly Stromboli and the Adventures of Mouse House, with book one introducing Lowly and Mouse, whose magical mouse-hole portal takes young readers on gentle travel adventures around the world. The series blends soothing bedtime stories, immersive illustrations by Keziah Crossley, and a growing collection of free parent resources about nighttime reading and reducing screen use before bed. Kiersta and Jed dive into the science and magic of reading before sleep, the dangers of too much screen time, and the deep emotional connection that forms when parents read to their kids every night. In the second half of the episode, Jed invites Carolyn Watkins from New Hampshire to talk about her uplifting new picture book, \u201cTrailblazer Shine.\u201d Originally written as a song, the book encourages kids to face life\u2019s ups and downs with kindness, courage, and a positive mindset, reflecting Carolyn\u2019s 35-year career teaching preschool, kindergarten, and first grade. ","author_name":"Reading With Your Kids Podcast","author_url":"http:\/\/readingwithyourkids.libsyn.com\/site","html":"