This week, I had the honor of talking with a friend and collaborator, the Editor-In-Chief of Highlights for Children, Christine French Cully. There was much to discuss since she just worked with her team to publish a compendium of letters that have been written and illustrated by children readers over 75 years. And most incredibly, Highlight’s staff including Christine have responded to every single letter. Children wrote about their highest hopes and their greatest worries. And Highlights listened and responded.

I often hope for my own child that he is growing to learn that the world is a friendly, inherently beautiful and good place where people care. During the pandemic, this notion has become strained and I have worried that children and teens are learning the opposite – that others are unsafe and not to be trusted. This only deepens my certainty that the very act of listening and learning from children who we don’t know or engage with everyday is an act of serving the world in a significant way. So when I say it’s an honor to talk to someone who listens to children for a living, it’s truly an honor.

Here’s our conversation. Enjoy! And be sure and check out this gorgeous book of children’s expressions and adults listening and learning.

Learn more about the book here: "Dear Highlights; What Adults Can Learn from 75 Years of Letters and Conversations with Kids". Sold on Amazon or wherever you buy books!