Take the Elevator
This podcast is purely about elevating people through individual life stories and experiences in the Elevator. In the Elevator, what's key is maybe changing your perspective; having self-actualization; embracing your purpose; and acting on it as we grow from one another. There is a whole different point of view when you look up to elevate.
Take the Elevator
372nd Floor: Rainbow Nutrition - Teaching Kids Healthy Eating Habits with Dr. Jessica Miller
What if teaching children about nutrition could be as vibrant and engaging as a rainbow? Dr. Jessica Miller transforms healthy eating education through her colorful children's book "Rico Eats a Rainbow," bringing her unique background as both educator and public health specialist to tackle childhood nutrition challenges.
Dr. Miller shares the heartwarming story behind her book's creation—initially designed as a personal gift for her nephew Rico before evolving into a powerful educational tool now used in schools nationwide. The genius of her approach lies in its positive framing: rather than demonizing certain foods, the book celebrates the colorful variety of nutritious options available to children. This strategy has earned enthusiastic endorsements from physicians who recognize its potential to address the alarming rise in childhood chronic conditions they witness daily.
As we discover during our conversation, "Rico Eats a Rainbow" does more than just teach nutrition facts—it empowers children by positioning them as knowledgeable guides who can teach their parents something new. The book cleverly models family conversations about food choices and introduces concepts like farmer's markets as accessible adventures rather than intimidating health mandates. Dr. Miller's careful attention to language—avoiding phrases like "bad foods" in favor of more balanced messaging—creates a judgment-free zone where families can learn together.
The impact of Dr. Miller's work extends beyond individual families, with teachers developing entire curriculum units around the book and pediatricians keeping copies in their offices to loan to patients. Now expanding into a series with forthcoming titles on physical activity and hand hygiene, Dr. Miller has found her calling in creating children's literature with strong public health messaging that resonates with readers of all ages. Whether you're a parent struggling with picky eaters, an educator seeking engaging health materials, or simply someone interested in creative approaches to public health challenges, this conversation offers valuable insights into how colorful storytelling can transform healthy habits.
hey, it's jen the builder, and cory and a special guest and a special guest yeah, I definitely want to recognize that there are three people in this studio and we're so excited to bring this episode today. But, corey, I know you've got some things you want to share that I'm going to add too. So what do you got, tell us.
Speaker 2:So we had a really exciting Friday and I just want to share with everyone the enjoyment that we had. We went to LA Care this Friday and we were able to connect and meet with families and they had a back-to-school backpack giveaway, and so anytime you have a chance to give back to the community and you get to meet people, meet children and talk children language because that's what I love to do the most it just fills my heart with joy. So, jen, how did you feel like the day went?
Speaker 1:I thought it was absolutely lovely. We did meet a lot of people. I got to practice my Spanish and here's my takeaway. There's a lot more Spanish I need to learn, so I've got a date with I think it's do a do a linga, is that what it's called? Yeah, um, and just start learning that. But it was so great to meet grandparents.
Speaker 1:Um, there were some aunts that represented their nieces and nephews yeah and it was just good conversation and we found so much in common with people. We actually met someone who just got out of school to be a community health worker, so that was really fun, and then another one who also wanted to write books.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So it was. It was amazing. Now ask me about the drive. So we got to LA in an hour. That was cool. It took us three hours to get back home from la, and that's because friday traffic insane yeah, but ask me if it was worth it. I'm gonna say yes and that we do it again in a heartbeat.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so today we have a special guest, and I'm gonna stop just right there because I remember something. I heard her talking to someone else and she speaks fluent Spanish. I mean, like I didn't know that A pro and I was like, oh my God, this woman is talking Spanish and so, introducing her, I just want to say that she's a friend, she's an author, a writer, she's a doctor. She's a friend, she's an author, a writer, she's a doctor, she's a professional, she's in health care. I think she really knows what she's doing. She has a very engaging and colorful book that's out right now. It's called Rico Eats a Rainbow.
Speaker 1:So cute.
Speaker 2:Amazing right.
Speaker 1:Rico Eats a Whole Rainbow.
Speaker 2:And yeah, it's a whole rainbow. But coming to the mic right now, we're going to welcome in Dr Jessica Miller.
Speaker 3:Right on Thank you Thank you, thank you. It's such great energy in this studio and being here with you two is such a treat, so thank you for including me today energy in this studio and being here with you two is such a treat, so thank you for including me today, absolutely Well, I'd love to read, because you know we like to do the formal intro, if you will, because we are a podcast after all.
Speaker 1:So I just want to talk a little bit about Jessica. As you mentioned, corey, she is a doctor doctor of public health degree in health education from Loma Linda University. She also works as a public health specialist, conducting research and evaluation of health services and community programs, and is an adjunct professor of public health sciences. Man, jessica, wow. And then with more than 20 years of education experience and a love for children. So we definitely have that in common with Jessica.
Speaker 1:She has a Master of Arts degree in education and is credentialed through the state of California as a teacher and administrator. Jessica, I love that you live in SoCal. Yes, have you always lived here?
Speaker 3:I have not. My family is originally from Michigan, so we moved to Southern California many years ago. When I go home to Michigan, I think they ask things like where are you from? So maybe I'm a California girl now. Maybe Michigan's always in my heart, from Detroit.
Speaker 1:Detroit, okay, motor City.
Speaker 3:Motor City Born and raised. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Love it, and then you enjoy traveling, reading and a variety of outdoor leisure activities I do, I do well-rounded, well-rounded, and we're so happy that you're here let me start like this because, uh, she does love to travel and she has said some places she's went that I couldn't even pronounce. And can you just tell us a few places that you've traveled to that you found very interesting?
Speaker 3:Yeah, you know, I started living in Michigan, we would go to Canada often and it's literally just across the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit, and so from a very young age it was just we always went to Canada. And then living in California, I've been to Mexico quite a bit and when I got about college age I went to Mexico and spent some time there as an exchange student and you mentioned earlier about speaking Spanish and that's really where I began to just really develop fluency in Spanish was just living there, living with a beautiful family and then studying, taking all the formal courses as a college student as well, and just have always had a love for travel and for languages, and so I've been to just I've been to a number of countries in Europe that have been a lot of fun.
Speaker 3:Maybe most recently I went to Tahiti and I had a great time there and just had a nice kind of a writer's retreat. So now that I've started writing, I like to do these getaways and these kind of retreats where I can recharge and let some creative juices flow and come away with some ideas for my new book projects.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. I love that, and we're starting to travel, so I'm getting some tips. You know, I had a big issue with large bodies of water so it took me a minute to get over that, but I'm working through that. Jessica, tell us something else, that really, what's something that you love to do outside of traveling and the writing piece.
Speaker 3:I like to be outdoors, ok, of traveling and the riding piece. I like to be outdoors, okay. And so, you know, there's so many neat places in Southern California to kind of find some trails from the mountains to the ocean. There's so much in between, and so I've lived, you know, in really neat places, kind of the Inland Empire, but also in Orange County. I have some favorite places there where I like to, you know, go hiking and go to the beach. There are some kind of secret beaches, I'm not going to tell you where they are.
Speaker 2:Those are my quiet places. We'll wait till the podcast.
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 1:I'll tell you later. Right, yeah, so how did your passion grow or where did that come from?
Speaker 3:as far as public health and teaching, yeah, so thank you for asking that, because my career really started as a teacher and my first teaching job was with a county program and it was a teen mom program. So my first students were teenagers who were either pregnant or had recently delivered their babies and they were still matriculating through the education system, and that's when I knew for sure that I really enjoyed the girls just being really a teacher, but also a mentor and someone who really was counseling and able to just help the young ladies do the next thing they could do in their lives and just keep going and from there.
Speaker 3:My next job was as a Spanish teacher At a high school. Just enjoyed that for many years and then went on later to be an assistant principal at a middle school. A junior high school later started my own charter schools. I was a school principal for elementary and so all of those different experiences working on those different levels of education each one of those experiences just got me to where I am today and taught me what I needed to know. So as a teacher I was teaching others, but I was also learning all of the life lessons that I needed to learn along the way to be able to be really who I am and where I am today, and so it's a very great career in education.
Speaker 3:It was during my time as an assistant principal that I developed an interest in healthy eating and healthy meals and I just made some observations. I observed seventh and eighth grade kids could go to the school cafeteria and they could get a frozen, reheated food like product right, not a breakfast like when I was growing up in detroit and you could smell the right food product am.
Speaker 3:I am the only one in this studio who remembers being in grade school and there actually were cooks in the kitchen and you could smell the cooking smells coming down the hall.
Speaker 3:Yes, and you hear the clanking of utensils, yeah, and they had the big pots and they had the hairnets on and the aprons and you knew it was. You know, whatever it was that day, it had been made that day. Yeah, children packaged food-like products right when the quality is not. It's not our best that we could be offering children in schools. And so I just made those kinds of observations. I would get into these tufts with the cafeteria manager. You know, can you get some healthier choices? Let's get rid of some of these donuts. And you know, and and you know, the reality was that the cafeterias where children would buy flaming hot chips and you know all the different kinds of snacks throughout the day. Honestly, jen and Corey made a lot of money, made a lot of money was really a bit of a cash cow for the school district.
Speaker 3:And that was upsetting to me and I just felt like it shouldn't be that way and I also felt like people didn't listen to me. I wasn't a registered dietitian, I wasn't a nutritionist, I didn't have those kinds of credentials. And so later, when I was thinking about what do I want to get a doctorate in, I thought about some of the everyday work that I was doing. What do I want to get a doctorate in? I thought about some of the everyday work that I was doing. Right In education, a lot of people get doctorates and it's an EDD, an educational organization, or you. You know I was working with children with special needs. Do I want to get a PhD in language acquisition? None of that was really exciting to me. Acquisition None of that was really exciting to me.
Speaker 3:And then I found a doctor of public health program and I felt like I knew what I was going to do. And what I wanted to do was be the person in the school district who could coordinate and develop and implement health and wellness programs for children, for their families, for the community. And that's what I developed a passion about. If you're going to get a doctorate, you have to find something you're passionate about, something that really makes you say, wow, this is, I'm excited about this.
Speaker 2:Good advice, great advice. So that just brings us right to the front door of this book that you created and wrote, and I know for a fact that it opened my eyes to your passion, and it also gave me an insight to what kids should be actually looking to do and looking to grow into. Tell us about Rico Eats a Rainbow.
Speaker 3:Rico Eats a Rainbow is my children's book with a very clear public health message around making strong, healthy eating choices, and the book and the main character is created in the likeness of my nephew, Rico. He was my inspiration and when he was about three years old, you know he was that preschool age and he loved books and loved reading.
Speaker 3:He would sit in my lap, he would sit next to me and we would read books. And that's that age where you get to the end of the book and they read it again, and they don't care if you just read the same book over and over again.
Speaker 3:And he loved to hear the stories. He couldn't read the words, but he could to hear the stories. He couldn't read the words, but he could look at the pictures and he could repeat what I said and he would use the same voices that I used in the characters. And it just made me feel like I wanted to create a story for Rico. I wanted him to see himself in a book. I wanted him to see a character that looked like him. I wanted there to be a character named after him. And that was the plan. I was just going to write a little story for Rico. I was going to go down to the copy place and I was going to print it out and put the little bindy thing on it and I was going to give it to him. That was going to be his book. And as I got further along in developing it, something hit me and I said you know what this book could be for all children? This book could really touch a lot of children. And as the healthy eating message, thank you. As the healthy eating message was developing onto paper, I just said this is going to be something that I want to share beyond just my family, and then that was just kind of it.
Speaker 3:I put it on the shelf and didn't really think about it for a while and had to figure out okay, I've got the storyline, how am I going to illustrate it? And just kind of worked on some other things and stepped away from it for a while and one day I would say maybe a year or so later, I came back to that notepad on the bookshelf and pulled it out and thought about it again and the creative juices started flowing and I did a little bit more work on it and I put it back on the shelf. And you know, life gets busy and so just doing all of the things. And then there was that one day I don't remember quite when when I pulled it off the shelf and I said, okay, I'm going to finish this, and just sat there with it and just played with it and had something that I was really happy with and just thought it was fun. I was excited.
Speaker 3:And then, jen and Corey, I didn't know what to do next, because who just knows, like, how you wrote this neat little thing? Who knows how to do a book? Nobody just knows how to do a book. And so that was the. You know, do a book. Nobody just knows how to do a book, and so that was the you know from. From there you know it's.
Speaker 2:It's a whole different world trying to figure out how to do something you've never done before. Right, Let me. Let me jump in there real quick. What I noticed about this book and yes, I'm selling it right now but I noticed the colors just pop off the pages and everything is so vibrant and, like I said, colorful and and it's not. It's not like a book that you've seen, like the other books, it's a lot of really different images and it has to do with what you're writing about. Tell us about how you came up with the concept to make the pages pop like that. And then, too, what made you say he eats a rainbow?
Speaker 3:Yeah. So those are all great questions and thank you for acknowledging just the vibrancy of the book and the colors. It is very colorful really. To match the title, rico Eats a Rainbow and so of course we've got to showcase all of the different colors of the rainbow. And it is very colorful and very bright, vibrant in the story. You know Rico and his parents. They're communicating with each other. Rico goes to visit his aunt. Rico comes home and his mom and dad say oh, what did you do at your auntie's house? And Rico says oh, we did a lot of things. We went swimming, we read books, we, you know, we had a lot of fun. And you know what else? I ate a rainbow.
Speaker 3:And his parents are hearing that term. I ate a rainbow for the first time, and so now this is an opportunity for parents to engage with their child around this message what does it mean to eat a rainbow? And it was a bit of a strategic move on my part because I wanted the main character in the story to be a smart little boy who has some knowledge, and he gets to teach his parents something. How fun is that for kids to know something their parents don't know?
Speaker 2:And then the parents right.
Speaker 3:And then the parents, of course, play along and engage with him, and that's part of what I wanted to communicate and really have a tool for parents, for adults to model for them how to have conversations with their children about different topics, and this topic just happens to be about making healthy eating choices. So does Rico really eat a real rainbow? He goes on and shares with his parents that this is really about eating all of the colors of the rainbow.
Speaker 3:And then what happens in the book? His parents immediately engage with him and say oh, we can find foods in all of the colors of the rainbow at the farmer's market. Let's go for a walk, let's go to the farmer's market, and it's sort of that. There are things near our house that we can do. There are places that we can just take a walk to. It doesn't have to be a big deal. Just a regular part of our lives can be going to a farmer's market. Guess what? If there's no farmer's market near your house, we can go to the grocery store and we can do this same little activity. We can find foods in all of the colors of the rainbow amazing I totally picked up on that when I was reading this book.
Speaker 1:I said, jessica, you are a smart woman and the public health came out. I loved, um the representation of family. I love seeing mom and dad lean in in curiosity and gave rico a chance to be excited and teach back what he learned. That really spoke. And I love the promotion of a farmer's market.
Speaker 2:Um so because we love a farmer's market.
Speaker 3:Yeah, farmer's market is the best place yeah, there's one scene in the book where uh rico and his parents they're talking about mom or dad says something like you know, these fruits and vegetables have a lot of nutrients what excellent vocabulary right so of course. What are nutrients?
Speaker 3:And mom, mom and dad go on to explain and define what are nutrients, and it's great vocabulary to use with children. So we want to introduce healthy messages, but we also want to explain to kids and help them understand, because the goal is really to develop a lifetime of healthy habits and so to have little kids who are just learning to read and who are excited about books, find a character they can identify with and then come up with a at the end of the book. Now can we go home and eat our rainbow, home and eat our rainbow. And you know this book has been adopted as curriculum in health education programs. Schools are using the book as part of their healthy living curriculum and I've seen teachers of preschoolers engage their children, and so we have seen activities where the adults will bring different foods of the different colors of the rainbow and do taste tests for children and children are I like cucumbers?
Speaker 3:You know and it's just amazing to see when you try. You know, don't just assume, oh, my child doesn't like vegetables. Let your child participate in the selection of vegetables, the preparation of vegetables, the cooking of vegetables and see what happens. And I think for many parents who may need a little help, because sometimes the dinner table can get a little crazy or they might just feel like you know their children have their favorites or are picky eaters. Well, how can we address that? Let's engage, let's have activities that can be fun to do and can create conversations that can help cement the thinking about how we eat and the choices we make.
Speaker 2:I'm so glad you said that. Well, all of that, but you mentioned that the book is already being used as curriculum. It's being used in school districts and I was just about to say, right before you got to that piece who do we call? How do we get this book all over the world, in every school district? Right, because, again, you nailed it on the head earlier when you said that we have food like products in our, in our school system, and now it's infiltrating all over the world, in every place where you get food like products. So amazing product that you got right here and I just hope and wish nothing but the best.
Speaker 3:Thank you for saying that, and I think that I'm getting traction a little bit at a time. I think, you know, the process has been a little bit slow, but every connection that I've made has been a very meaningful connection. And so when I've met school principals and they've said, oh, we love the book, we'd love for you to come and meet our students, those are the things that I love, because I feel like one student at a time one child at a time gets to hear the eat a rainbow, healthy eating message and that's one child that will always have been explained what it means to make healthy choices and given an opportunity to do that.
Speaker 3:And you know, as an author, we do think about things like book sales, right, but I'm in the position where I'm an educator and I was an educator before I was a children's book author and so I'm really interested in how many children and their families can I reach and can I teach. And we give away a lot of books. We support schools, we support community organizations with book donations and, you know, with showing up to events and being present and talking with the families and talking with the children and engaging with them, showing up and doing story time right to have an opportunity to be a real person behind a book. And you know, what I learned is that kids and parents are so excited to meet an author. Whenever I'm out and I'm handing out my book and someone said you wrote this book.
Speaker 3:And I turned to the back and it has my photo in it. Somehow that means something that I didn't know it meant that much.
Speaker 2:It means you're the real people.
Speaker 3:I'm the real people and so it's so nice to connect with, to connect with individuals. So I see people, I see children, I see their families and when I'm handing a parent a copy of my book, I always say I hope you'll have a really nice story time with your kiddos and read it together. So not so much go send them to go read a book, but read it together and talk about the message that's in the book.
Speaker 2:I love that. Jen has that messaging, too, when she offers a book to someone.
Speaker 1:The fuzzy furry first. Yeah, we're on the same page. We really wanted our books for story time with families and leaning in with the questions. What are some things that we learned here? So it's the book that keeps giving. And I wanted to mention something about your book Rico Eats a Rainbow. I love that you didn't say don't eat candy, don't eat chips. What you did instead was, I believe you said it's not as healthy, and so you're giving free will and choice and I would never tell you. But this is the kind of person I am. I almost see the rainbow as a tool, if you will. So if I was a little kid, even as adult in my health journey, this is going to help me. What choices did I eat make today to eat in the green section, and was it a healthier choice than you know? And just kind of go through the rainbow of representing my fruits and vegetables for the day? But I just think the nuances are brilliant. It's not just about eating your vegetables. There's so much more in this book. So, jen, what?
Speaker 3:you just described is another tool and activity for parents, right? So you can take the word rainbow, blow it up in a big font, print it out and put it in your eating space with a box of crayons and ask your child okay, color the letters that represent the colors that you have eaten today. And if our goal is to eat a rainbow, then let's put it where we can see it and do it every day or do a tally mark or whatever. But I think this is an opportunity. If children are saying, oh, can I have chips, Mom gets to say, well, let me think about it. Did you eat your rainbow today?
Speaker 3:What colors did you eat? Well, let's make a little bit more progress on eating our rainbow and let's see where we are later. And it's not no, you can never have chips or cookies or fill in the blank, but it's creating that understanding of these are foods that are nutrient rich and are good for your body. And I'm happy you said that, Jen, because in my first draft of the book I had drafted out something like oh, cookies and candies are bad for you, right? That's not the messaging that we want to send, and so that was sort of a placeholder.
Speaker 3:For how do I go back and find the right language to use to communicate this very important message? Because we don't want to shame parents. We don't want parents to feel like, if you give your kiddo you know a cookie or some favorite snacks, that you've not made good choices as parents. We want people to feel like they have the information that they need to overall, on a day-to-day basis, make healthy choices for themselves, for their children, for their families. And it's the education piece, not the shaming and making people feel bad about their choices, but creating a space where we feel safe, like we can learn what are the right choices to me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah I'm just I would just say it's why I love meeting the authors or the creator behind the work, because there's so much passion there and, um, I really want to promote this book and just put it out there that, if you need, not, if you need, it's so important. I'm just going to speak the truth and make it a very personal thing. Growing up in a certain type of household, in a certain culture, we didn't have this kind of education, and so, years later, there's the repercussions and the consequences of that, and you know, we know that it is a pandemic obesity in our country and in the foods that we eat. And if this is going to keep someone from experiencing the long-term effects of obesity and making the wrong choices, this is something worth promoting, because our kids deserve to know the truth and deserve to make healthier choices, and then we support families to do that.
Speaker 1:I think there's a lot more access to healthier food now than there was before. At least there's a lot more education, right, and so I remember what food banks looked like back in the day and what they look like now. They definitely make sure to put produce in there. Granted, you want to eat it quick because it might go bad in a few days. But the fact is is that just bringing up community awareness and supporting your work and your passions in this is so important to Corey and I. And support I want to talk about support later as an author, but Corey, go ahead.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, yeah, support, support, support. What I'm really getting from this now is I see all the legs and bridges to other books, other projects, other partnerships, other things. It's just going to multiply. I don't know how much you want to talk about that, but feel free to share whatever it is and, before I forget, make sure you tell us where we can find you, the book and your information.
Speaker 3:I will. Yeah, I want to talk about all of those things. And, jen, when you were speaking about the health component, it just reminded me early on in my publishing of the book, like right after I published and I was sharing with people in my professional circles and personal circles, I shared the book with a group of physicians and their medical society read the book and said wow and wrote a letter of endorsement for me and said, as physicians, we applaud you on this book and this message and we would like to see more books with this content in the community. And that's directly related to what the physicians see in their practice. Right, the data is real where we have high numbers of children with chronic conditions. Right, numbers that we just haven't seen historically.
Speaker 3:We're at our highest for type two diabetes, for obesity, for other chronic conditions that are directly tied to our diet, what we put in our bodies. And so I've seen the excitement on other physicians. I have some pediatricians in my circle, who one has a library in her practice and she has many copies of the book that she loans out to families and ask them to read the book and talk about it, and so that's the kind of reception that I didn't even know to anticipate. I was just writing a book because this was a message that I was passionate about, but to meet others along the way who share that passion and say we support this work, and so it led to the next book in the series, which is my Rico Builds a Healthy Heart book. That's the second book. It's about physical activity and I'm currently in the illustration phase of that book. There's a third book in the series, and that's one that came to me when I was off on one of my writer's retreats, and it's about hand washing. What parent doesn't need help?
Speaker 3:getting their little ones to get their hands washed right, and so it's just been a fun book, and so what I thought was one book has turned into a children's book series with a very strong public health messaging across it.
Speaker 3:Right, and so it's just, I found this joy in this writing space and I never knew I wanted to be a writer or be an author. Sometimes, when people ask me, you know what do you do? I forget to say I'm a children's book author, because that's not the thing that I do the most or have done the longest. But I'm shifting that mindset and when I introduce myself, how do I want people to see me? Who do I want to tell people that I am? And I really like to say you know, I'm Jessica, I'm a children's book author, and then later on they can figure out oh, she's a doctor of public health or oh, she was an educator. But you know what? I have these amazing books and book ideas and I'm going to put together this beautiful series that I want parents to be able to have and children to love.
Speaker 3:I don't know, y'all, if you're old enough to remember back when it was the Sweet Pickles books, and I remember that because it was my first book series and it was a book subscription. And so I want to say, about once a month I got another book in the mail, and that was when I was an early reader and those were. It was awesome. Like people think, subscriptions are new, but I remember being a little girl growing up and I had a book subscription service. I got a new book in the mail every month and I had this beautiful collection of books and I still collect books and I just want children to feel about my books the way I have felt about books my whole life. I want them to see themselves in the characters. I want them to, I want it to make sense and I want them to want to read and want to learn.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I want to say this to you, jessica, and I'm just expanding your vision because even as an adult reading this and this is part of our message to take the elevator, there's no limit to time, and if you've been someone who maybe hasn't incorporated eating a rainbow, you can do it at any age. You know, it doesn't mean like, oh, this isn't for me, it's for kids. I think the beauty in this is it's for everybody. Even the parents go eat a rainbow at the farmer's market too, you know, and make it a family thing, and I think that really speaks to children too, when they say, hey, mom, dad or grandma, grandpa, auntie, uncle's doing this with me, and I think that's the strength and community strength and family as well and they go to school and tell their friends my family is doing this, and then their, their friends, want to do it as well, so it's endless right I think teachers, kinder, first grade teachers, second grade teachers also get a lot of you know response from the book and they've created entire lessons around my book and
Speaker 3:so they, they do. And then you know, of course, kinder teachers, first grade primary teachers are so creative and so amazing. They will take the book and develop an entire unit that they teach over a whole semester, and so for the message to be able to find a place and then practice it right and reinforce it um over time. I think it's great and I love what you said, and I do get responses from adults when I'm sharing the book oh, I need this too. Yeah, my whole family needs this, and that I never thought that that's why I was writing the book, and the book has served such a such a unique purpose in that way, and so for me to be able to touch a life or change a mindset or change a habit, I can do that year after year after year with this book. The book is now out there in the universe and it's touching people and I just love that. Somewhere right now, someone Out where?
Speaker 2:Where can we get it? Where can we find this greatness?
Speaker 3:Yeah, it. You know the book is available at any book seller, so bookseller of your choice. So if you want to get the book from Amazon, you absolutely can. If you want to get it from Barnes and Noble, any small independent bookstores, the book is available and booksellers can get it. So if you want to get it and you want to you're used to having things delivered to your house tomorrow. You know you can use um, your, your amazon to purchase the book and it'll be at your house. Yeah beautiful.
Speaker 1:Well, we definitely want to do rico eats a rainbow giveaway to our subscribers and followers. So there there'll be more information on that.
Speaker 2:Right, cory, we'll make that happen and we'll set that up in a couple of weeks yeah, kids are back in school, so I think this is a good time, nice and so we'll just purchase what five, ten books and go from there yes, that's amazing.
Speaker 3:that's five, ten kiddos and their families who are going to have a chance to read a really nice story with a strong healthy eating message, and I love that you're willing to do that and support the community that way.
Speaker 2:Absolutely Support the community and support you, because that's important. We got to support one another. We got to support writers and authors, especially people you know and you say you care about them, you say they're your friends. But you know a lot of times what we find and and I've experienced this even with family members where they'll say, you know, uh, I heard you writing books and I'm like, yeah, when did, when are you going to get one? And they're more looking for me to give them one. But what? What people don't understand is that giving a book away is great if you're furthering a cause, but just someone that wants a book that really takes money out of our pocket as authors, yeah, you know what's so powerful is in for for anyone to say you know, this is something that I'm doing.
Speaker 3:And then everyone's next question is how can I support you? What can I do to support you? And what I've noticed, you know, over the years working on my book project. There are some people who immediately understand, and they just have it within themselves, that whatever it is you're doing, whatever it is you're selling, I want to support it. I want to buy it. Give me one, give me five, give me 10, but I'm going to support you. So I don't. I want to buy whatever it is you're selling as a way to support what you're doing. And then I've experienced something quite different than that. I've experienced people who say oh, you're writing a book, well, send me a copy, yeah send me a signed copy and it's like, oh okay, yeah, you just wait, and it's not quite the enthusiasm.
Speaker 3:That is helpful as a creator, that is helpful as a creator. And then there's also, you know, I think, what I find with some of the elders in my family, where I just want to show them what I've been working on. I just get that copy, I sign it, I put it in the mail and they get to open the mail and see this thing that they're, you know, the young person in their family has spent their time developing and they're so proud and maybe they would not have been able to kind of just quickly figure out how to get it themselves. So I just want to get it to you because this is for our family, this is for our community and I just want as many people as possible to see it and experience it. And I think we've got. You know, I've got. I've had so much support along the way. I've had friends who have introduced me to people who.
Speaker 3:It was so great that I met them, because that created a space for me to get to another level in my book project. Right, there have been people who have bought copies. I have one friend who buys a copy of my book and every time there's a baby shower that's part of the baby shower gift to build the newborn's library, and so my book is in newborns libraries all around, you know, all around the country. I've shared the book, you know, in other countries as well, and so it's just finding. I think we all could ask ourselves just to think a little bit more carefully about how we can show our love and support to others at whatever phase they're in, whatever projects they're working on, and then us as authors. It's just great if you just buy a copy of our book, there's a child somewhere in your circle who's somewhere right.
Speaker 3:Just buy one copy and that just means the world to us as authors.
Speaker 2:Jen, I know we got to wrap up, but I got to ask this one question because, from one from two authors to one author, how does it feel, how does it make you feel, to know that your work is living on and it will be here long after you're gone?
Speaker 3:I don't sit and think about it that way, but now that you mention it, that is so incredible and what a gift to me to be able to create something, put it out in the world, put it out in the universe, and it just keep going and going and going and I love that. And giving, and giving and giving. And how wonderful for this generation, the next generation, the one after that. Somewhere someone's going to pull a Rico eats a rainbow, or Rico builds a healthy heart, or Rico book series, and the same with the fuzzy, furry forest right. It'll live on forever on people's bookshelves and people's hearts, and children will have interacted with all of the characters that we have created and I never really thought about it like that kind of impact. So thank you for saying it that way.
Speaker 2:Absolutely.
Speaker 1:I love the human work, the human connection and just the heart for all. That's good. Jessica, it's been amazing having you here. Thank you, great job on Rico Eats a Rainbow and we wish you continued success throughout the series. I can't wait for Builds a Healthy Heart.
Speaker 3:I'd love for your listeners to find me somewhere out there. So Rico Eats a Rainbow on instagram, yes, on facebook that is the title of the book at gmail and for some people like to reach out directly. So I look forward to hearing and connecting further with your community and circle of listeners beautiful indeed yes yes, well, you know us to take the elevator.
Speaker 1:We say, look up and let's elevate.
