Little Kids, Big Hearts

Welcome friends! We're so glad you're joining us for a brand new Kidventure episode of the Little Kids, Big Hearts podcast.
In this episode, Todd travels to the Land of Qook-a-lackas by moonlight with Jack, Harper, and Nile, three kids who each have a parent serving in the military. There they meet Quodger, a Qook-a-lacka whose grown-up is far away helping care for the moon mirrors past the misty mountains. A big cloud storm has interrupted the moon phone calls, and Quodger is feeling the quiet in a big way.
Together, the kids become Moon Helpers and come up with two ideas that Quodger, and any kid missing someone they love, can actually use: Moon Messages, drawings or notes you can send to someone far away to let them know you are thinking of them, and a Cozy Kit, a collection of soft and comforting things to help get through the hard moments at home.
Along the way, Jack shares the sloth stuffy that plays his dad's voice when you squeeze its belly, Harper talks about the feeling that a parent might be gone for 100 years, and Nile reminds everyone that calling an auntie counts too.
Featuring the voice of Quodger, played by actor Roger Clark.
Perfect for kids ages 3-11, military families, and for listening together as a family.
In This Episode, Kids Will:
Travel to the Land of Qook-a-lackas on ribbons of moonlight
Meet Quodger, a Qook-a-lacka who is missing their grown-up and needs some help
Learn two real strategies for coping when someone you love is far away
Discover that missing someone and being proud of them can both be true at once
Be reminded that they are not alone, even when things feel quiet and hard
Grown-Ups, You Can Extend the Kidventure By:
Asking your child: "What would you put in a Moon Message for someone you love?"
Making a Cozy Kit together with a stuffy, a blanket, and a favorite treat
Starting a countdown calendar until your loved one comes home
Talking about all the feelings it is okay to have when someone is away
Encouraging your child to draw a picture or write a note to send to someone far away
About Roger Clark: Roger Clark is an actor with over 25 years of experience across stage, screen, voiceover, and performance capture, having performed in nearly 50 countries. He is best known for his role as Arthur Morgan in Red Dead Redemption 2, which earned him the 2018 Game Award for Best Performance and a BAFTA nomination.
About Little Kids, Big Hearts:
Little Kids, Big Hearts is a social and emotional learning podcast where kids lead the conversation. Through real discussions, imaginative stories, songs, and Kidventures, children explore feelings, relationships, kindness, and what it means to care for others.
Subscribe, Rate, and Share:
 If this episode resonated with your family, please subscribe, rate, and share the show. It helps other families discover Little Kids, Big Hearts.
🎧 YouTube: https://youtube.com/@littlekidsbighearts
🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@littlekidsbighearts
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/little_kids_big_hearts_podcast
📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LittleKidsBigHeartsPodcast
Credits:
Little Kids, Big Hearts is hosted by Todd Loyd. It's produced by Julia Levy at Sparkler Learning, with support from Meaghan Penrod and Adrianna Arocho. Sound design and mixing by Ryan Marth with ukulele music by Bill English. Special thanks to Noggin for their support and the song “Like Nobody Else” from The Big Heart Beats Album.
🌈 Visit The Little Kids, Big Hearts Podcast website:
 https://playsparkler.org/podcast

Welcome friends! In this Interview episode, Todd is joined by writer, songwriter, and co-creator of Lulu is a Rhinoceros, Allison Flom, and seven-year-old kid interviewer Briar, who came prepared with thoughtful questions that kept everyone on their toes.
Together, they dig into what it really means to be yourself, even when others do not understand. Allison shares how she and her father co-created Lulu, a bulldog who knows she is a rhinoceros on the inside, and what it meant to watch that book become an animated musical special on TV. They talk about why kindness starts with listening, why curiosity is so much better than judgment, and why the song at the heart of the special, The Perfect Me, includes the lyric "I'm easy to love" as a personal Easter egg from a moment that changed Allison's life.
Briar brings everything: Great questions, a story about being the only girl in her preschool class, and a final thought about Lulu that stopped everyone in their tracks. They also listen to The Perfect Me together live, and the room has feelings.
A second Lulu book, "Lulu Makes the Band," is on the way.
Perfect for kids ages 3-11 and for listening together as a family.
In This Episode, Kids Will:
Hear how "Lulu is a Rhinoceros" went from a picture book to an animated musical special on television
Learn why the story's message, the perfect me is me, matters for every kid
Discover why curiosity is a superpower and judgment is a dead end
Be reminded that bravery means doing something even when you feel scared
Hear "The Perfect Me" performed live during the episode
Grown-Ups, You Can Extend the Listening By:
Asking your child: "What is one thing about yourself that makes you the perfect you?"
Reading or watching "Lulu is a Rhinoceros" together after listening
Talking about a time your child tried something new
Practicing saying "I'm easy to love" together out loud
About Allison Flom: Allison Flom is a writer, songwriter, and advocate based in New York City. Her work explores themes of identity, justice, and human rights. She co-authored Lulu is a Rhinoceros with her father Jason Flom, then wrote the teleplay and original lyrics for the animated musical special of the same name, featuring the voices of Auli'i Cravalho, Alex Newell, and Dulé Hill, among others. A second book in the series, "Lulu Makes the Band," is coming soon.
About Little Kids, Big Hearts:
Little Kids, Big Hearts is a social and emotional learning podcast where kids lead the conversation. Through real discussions, imaginative stories, songs, and Kidventures, children explore feelings, relationships, kindness, and what it means to care for others.
Subscribe, Rate, and Share:
If this episode resonated with your family, please subscribe, rate, and share the show. It helps other families discover Little Kids, Big Hearts.
🎧 YouTube: https://youtube.com/@littlekidsbighearts
🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@littlekidsbighearts
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/little_kids_big_hearts_podcast
📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LittleKidsBigHeartsPodcast
Credits:
Little Kids, Big Hearts is hosted by Todd Loyd. It's produced by Julia Levy at Sparkler Learning, with support from Meaghan Penrod and Adrianna Arocho. Sound design and mixing by Ryan Marth. Special thanks to Noggin for their support and the song “Like Nobody Else” from the Big Heart Beats album.
🌈 Visit The Little Kids, Big Hearts Podcast website:
 https://playsparkler.org/podcast

Welcome friends! We're so glad you're joining us for a brand new Storytime episode of the Little Kids, Big Hearts podcast.
In this episode, Todd, Vivien, and Kit bring an original story to life, set in the Land of Qook-a-lackas, where the hills roll like soft green blankets and the streams hum sleepy songs.
The story follows Quivian, a young Qook-a-leekie who loves nothing more than climbing to a hilltop called Twinkle Top every evening to study the stars. Quivian does not just look at them. They sketch them, map them, and give them wonderfully silly names: the Dancing Pickle, the Sleepy Sandwich, the Flying Pancake, and the Extremely Dramatic Turnip. While everyone else prepares for the beloved Quiddleberry Gathering, baking pies, painting banners, and building glowing lanterns, Quivian wonders whether something as small as naming stars could ever really matter.
Then the Moon Muffin Mist rolls in, and everything changes.
This is a story about curiosity, about the things that make us different, and about how the interests that feel most like ours can sometimes become the gifts we never knew we had to offer.
Featuring Vivien, age seven, and Kit, age thirteen.
Perfect for kids ages 3-11 and for listening together as a family.
In This Episode, Kids Will:
Be swept away to the Land of Qook-a-lackas for an original storytime adventure
Meet Quivian, a Qook-a-leekie whose love of stargazing sets them apart from the crowd
Discover what happens when the Moon Muffin Mist rolls in during the Quiddleberry Gathering
Learn that the things that make you curious and different can become gifts you share
Hear a story that celebrates being exactly who you are
Grown-Ups, You Can Extend the Storytime By:
Asking your child: "What would you name a constellation if you could?"
Talking about something your child loves that might seem small but feels important to them
Encouraging your child to keep paying attention to the things that spark their curiosity
Sharing a time when something you loved turned out to be more useful than you expected
About Little Kids, Big Hearts:
Little Kids, Big Hearts is a social and emotional learning podcast where kids lead the conversation. Through real discussions, imaginative stories, songs, and Kidventures, children explore feelings, relationships, kindness, and what it means to care for others.
Subscribe, Rate, and Share:
If this episode resonated with your family, please subscribe, rate, and share the show. It helps other families discover Little Kids, Big Hearts.
🎧 YouTube: https://youtube.com/@littlekidsbighearts
🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@littlekidsbighearts
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/little_kids_big_hearts_podcast
📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LittleKidsBigHeartsPodcast
Credits:
Little Kids, Big Hearts is hosted by Todd Loyd. It's produced by Julia Levy at Sparkler Learning, with support from Meaghan Penrod and Adrianna Arocho. Sound design and mixing by Ryan Marth. Special thanks to Noggin for their support and the song “Like Nobody Else” from the Big Heart Beats album.
🌈 Visit The Little Kids, Big Hearts Podcast website:
 https://playsparkler.org/podcast

Welcome friends! We're so glad you're joining us for a brand new Mission episode of the Little Kids, Big Hearts podcast.
In this episode, Todd is joined by co-host Georgia for a warm and curious conversation about identity, the things that make each of us uniquely ourselves. Georgia's class has been studying identity through self-portraits and the origins of their names. She comes in full of ideas, including her talent for giving compliments, her love of creating things in her own special craft space, and a very impressive fake cry she performs live.
Together, Todd and Georgia listen to three kids share what lights them up: Vivian talks about gymnastics and the things that challenge her in the best way, Charles shares his love of Roblox and his deep curiosity about the Titanic, and Summer describes the joy of playing hide and seek at the park and noticing the world around her. Each story reveals something true: being yourself does not look one way. It shows up through games, art, curiosity, movement, and connection.
At the end of the episode, kids listening at home get their own mission: pay attention to something you really enjoy this month, notice when you feel most like yourself, tell someone about it, and ask them what makes them feel like themselves, too.
Perfect for kids ages 3-11 and for listening together as a family.
In This Episode, Kids Will:
Hear real kids describe the interests and passions that make them feel most like themselves
Explore how identity shows up in all kinds of different ways
Discover that you cannot tell what someone loves just by looking at them
Reflect on what makes them feel most like themselves
Get a mission to notice, share, and ask
Grown-Ups, You Can Extend the Mission By:
Asking your child: "When do you feel most like yourself?"
Sharing what lights you up and letting your child ask you questions about it
Noticing and naming something specific your child does that feels uniquely them
Encouraging your child to try the mission with a friend, sibling, or grandparent
About Little Kids, Big Hearts:
Little Kids, Big Hearts is a social and emotional learning podcast where kids lead the conversation. Through real discussions, imaginative stories, songs, and Kidventures, children explore feelings, relationships, kindness, and what it means to care for others.
Subscribe, Rate, and Share:
 If this episode resonated with your family, please subscribe, rate, and share the show. It helps other families discover Little Kids, Big Hearts.
🎧 YouTube: https://youtube.com/@littlekidsbighearts
🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@littlekidsbighearts
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/little_kids_big_hearts_podcast
📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LittleKidsBigHeartsPodcast
Credits:
Little Kids, Big Hearts is hosted by Todd Loyd. It's produced by Julia Levy at Sparkler Learning, with support from Meaghan Penrod and Adrianna Arocho. Sound design and mixing by Ryan Marth. Special thanks to Noggin for their support and the song “Like Nobody Else” from the Big Heart Beats album.
🌈 Visit The Little Kids, Big Hearts Podcast website:
 https://playsparkler.org/podcast

Welcome friends! We're so glad you're joining us for a brand new Kidventure episode of the Little Kids, Big Hearts podcast.
In this episode, Todd travels to the Land of Qook-a-lackas with Charles, age nine, Vivien, age seven and a half, and Summer, age five, where they meet Quivvy, a Qook-a-leekie who loves performing more than anything in the world. Quivvy sings, dances, turns every game into a show, and fills a journal with ideas for new performances. Quvvy’s sparkles used to burst everywhere. But lately, some friends have been pulling away, and Quivvy has started dimming those sparkles just to fit in.
Together, the kids help Quivvy figure out something really important: you do not have to choose between being yourself and keeping your friends. Along the way, they share what lights them up, from Charles and his deep knowledge of the Titanic, to Vivien's gymnastics and piano, to Summer's pageants and ballet, and discover that the things that make us different are the very things worth celebrating.
Perfect for kids ages 3-11 and for listening together as a family.
In This Episode, Kids Will:
Travel to the Land of Qook-a-lackas through a glowing doorway and their own imaginations
Help Quivvy figure out how to stay true to herself while leaving room for her friends
Share the things that make them uniquely themselves and feel lit up inside
Learn that friendships can stretch and grow without anyone having to shrink
Discover that being yourself sometimes means letting other sparkles shine too
Grown-Ups, You Can Extend the Kidventure By:
Asking your child: "What is one thing that makes your sparkle shine brightest?"
Noticing and naming what lights your child up, even if it surprises you
Talking about a time you felt like you had to hide something you loved to fit in
Encouraging your child to try the week's mission: do one thing this week that feels like you
🎭 Special Guest Qook-a-lacka: Crystal Clarke is an American actor and developing writer working across film, television, and voiceover in the UK and US. She is known for portraying Georgiana Lambe in ITV/PBS’s Sanditon. Her narration of One Big Open Sky received a 2025 Audie Award nomination. Her creative focus is quality storytelling that bridges gaps and broadens representation within historical narratives. Crystal also advocates for visibility and inclusion for neurodivergent creators. Follow her on Instagram at @thatcrystalclarke.
About Little Kids, Big Hearts:
Little Kids, Big Hearts is a social and emotional learning podcast where kids lead the conversation. Through real discussions, imaginative stories, songs, and Kidventures, children explore feelings, relationships, kindness, and what it means to care for others.
Subscribe, Rate, and Share:
If this episode resonated with your family, please subscribe, rate, and share the show. It helps other families discover Little Kids, Big Hearts.
🎧 YouTube: https://youtube.com/@littlekidsbighearts
🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@littlekidsbighearts
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/little_kids_big_hearts_podcast
📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LittleKidsBigHeartsPodcast
Credits:
Little Kids, Big Hearts is hosted by Todd Loyd. It's produced by Julia Levy at Sparkler Learning, with support from Meaghan Penrod and Adrianna Arocho. Sound design and mixing by Ryan Marth with ukulele music by Bill English. Special thanks to Noggin for their support and the song “Like Nobody Else” from the Big Heart Beats album.
🌈 Visit The Little Kids, Big Hearts Podcast website:
 https://playsparkler.org/podcast