Bedtime In The Black Forest

In this episode of Reading With Your Kids, Jed welcomes Kiersta Halseth , joining from Germany's enchanting Black Forest , to celebrate her debut picture book, "Lolli Stromboli and the Mysterious Hole." 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 Nighttype 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 Lolli Stromboli and the Adventures of Mouse House , with book one introducing Lolli 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, "Trailblazer Shine." Originally written as a song, the book encourages kids to face life's ups and downs with kindness, courage, and a positive mindset , reflecting Carolyn's 35-year career teaching preschool, kindergarten, and first grade.

You can listen to Bedtime In The Black Forest online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Bedtime In The Black Forest is an episode from Reading With Your Kids Podcast by Jedlie Circus Produtions, Inc.

This episode is 56:30 long.

This episode was published on Apr 9, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Reading With Your Kids Podcast when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.