This week, Kaity and Adriane chat with Melquea Smith, a New York-based children's book illustrator who is obsessed with children's media. Melquea shares her love of designing black characters for children's books and creating characters that children can relate to, from the curls of their hair to the unique patterns of their clothes. Melquea also shares the secrets of her craft, her approach to the process of creating authentic black characters in her illustrations, and how she's changing the game by redefining representation in children's literature.  This episode also covers the significant shift towards inclusivity in children's books, the challenges illustrators face in the industry when it comes to depicting black characters, and just how important it is for children to see themselves reflected in the books they read. Melquea emphasizes the significance of portraying black joy in children's book illustrations, highlighting how crucial this is for fostering a sense of belonging and self-worth among young black readers. Plus, she even gives us some insight into how we can live in the "what if" and embrace our own authentic creativity in our day-to-day lives. This is an episode you don't want to miss! Tune in now. ABOUT THE GUEST: Melquea Smith is a New York based children's book illustrator with an obsession with children’s media. When not illustrating, you can find her watching cartoons and animated movies, learning all about Japan, practicing Spanish with her cat Kilala, and patting her other cat Bumblebee on her super fluffy tummy. About the podcast: The KindlED Podcast explores the science of nurturing children's potential and creating empowering learning environments. Powered by Prenda, each episode offers actionable insights to help you ignite your child's love of learning today. We'll dive into evidence-based tools and techniques that kindle young learners' curiosity, motivation, and well-being. Got a burning question? We're all ears! If you have a question or topic you'd love our hosts to tackle, please send it to [email protected]. Let's dive into the conversation together! Important links: • Want more KindlED content? • Connect with us • Subscribe to The Sunday Spark Interested in starting a microschool? Prenda provides all the tools and support you need to start and run an amazing microschool. Create a free Prenda World account to start designing your future microschool today ➡️ Start My Microschool