{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Every Child Deserves To Be Seen","description":"In this episode of Reading With Your Kids, host Jed Doherty welcomes author Kristen Mei Chase and illustrator Basia Tran to celebrate their Gracie Wei chapter book series. Kristen explains that Gracie is a mixed-race Asian American fourth grader with \u201ca lot of opinions and a heart of gold,\u201d designed to reflect many real kids and offer representation she didn\u2019t see for herself or her own children growing up. She clarifies the difference between chapter books (often ages 6\u201310, transitional early readers) and middle grade (roughly grades 4\u20138), noting that Gracie Wei bridges those spaces with accessible text and some bigger ideas. Basia shares how she brings humor and heart to the black\u2011and\u2011white illustrations and describes the joy of revisiting the same cast over three books until they felt like \u201cold friends.\u201d She talks about working through an art director rather than directly with Kristen, and the particular challenge of drawing specialized items like a wheelchair\u2011bicycle combination. Kristen discusses crafting a diverse ensemble\u2014including characters with different bodies, abilities, and backgrounds\u2014so that any one of them could be a main character. She highlights the series\u2019 core themes: social\u2011emotional learning, empathy, bravery, and \u201cpivoting\u201d in life, supported by caring adults who model kindness and firm, loving guidance. She also hints at a possible fourth Gracie Wei book and other projects in the works. In the final segment, Jed talks with Pam Ehrenberg about her rhyming board book Planting Parsley, which introduces young children to the Jewish holiday Tu Bishvat and connects families to nature. Pam reflects on writing from a child\u2019s perspective, the precision required for rhyming picture books, and how diverse cultural traditions can deepen kids\u2019 sense of connection to the earth and to one another. ","author_name":"Reading With Your Kids Podcast","author_url":"http:\/\/readingwithyourkids.libsyn.com\/site","html":"