{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Small Acts, Big Ripples: Lin Oliver on Kindness, Kid Power, and SCBWI","description":"In this episode of Reading With Your Kids, Jed welcomes legendary author, producer, and SCBWI co\u2011founder Lin Oliver to celebrate her new middle grade novel, The After School Kindness Crew: Pooch on the Loose, co\u2011written with Goldie Hawn. Lin shares how Goldie\u2019s MindUP foundation and its focus on mindfulness, brain science, and helping kids self\u2011regulate inspired the series, which follows three \u201coutlier\u201d kids\u2014Mia, River, and Tony\u2014who secretly perform acts of kindness at school and in their community. Lin explains why she chose neurodiverse and artsy, non\u2011\u201ctypical\u201d kids as heroes, and how the books empower young readers to see that small, everyday kindnesses can create big ripples right where they live. Humor, she says, is her bridge to deeper themes: once kids are laughing at runaway snakes, disastrous \u201csurprise us\u201d day presentations, and a rescue dog on the loose, they\u2019re ready to engage with empathy, inclusion, and courage. She also reflects on co\u2011writing with celebrities who genuinely respect children\u2019s literature, the brain break exercises embedded in the books, and the importance of co\u2011reading\u2014parents and kids sharing chapter books together well into the middle grade years. Lin then looks back on founding SCBWI at age 22, growing it from a 35\u2011person gathering (catered by her mom\u2019s potato salad) to a 26,000\u2011member global force during what she calls the \u201cgolden age\u201d of children\u2019s books. In the Storykeepers segment, Jen Perry of Illume Books in Newburyport, MA, highlights her highly curated children\u2019s shelves and the power of playful, welcoming bookstore spaces to nurture young readers. Finally, in the debut Real Magic Sound Lab, Jed tests two versions of the song \u201cThe Best Me I Can Be,\u201d inviting listeners to vote on which style kids will truly embrace and to download both tracks and activities for home or classroom use. ","author_name":"Reading With Your Kids Podcast","author_url":"http:\/\/readingwithyourkids.libsyn.com\/site","html":"