Guest post by Carol Huckle 

I’m Carol Huckle, co-author of our new children’s book series, “The Adventures of Niko, The Highly Sensitive Dog,” with Julie Bjelland. The other day, I went through the Magical Redwood Tree Portal to Sunflower Farm to chat with Niko and his friends so that you could get to know them better!  

Enjoy my interview below!

Hi everybody! I’m Niko, The Highly Sensitive Dog!  Here’s some neat stuff about me…my favorite color is rainbow, and I even have this super soft rainbow bandana that I love wearing everywhere because it doesn’t itch or have a yucky, scratchy tag.  My family gave it to me for my birthday!  I love doing cool stuff like going to the beach, digging in the sand, burying my toys, and going for walks to find big sticks to play with!  I also love quiet time, snuggling on my favorite cozy blanket. Being quiet and resting is as important to me as playing because I am very sensitive to everything around me - like noises, bright lights, and people’s feelings.  

I am totally wagging my tail with excitement to tell you all about my fun new book series!  You can come along with me and my best friend Juju on our visits to awesome Sunflower Farm to hang out with our pals Buttercup The Book-Lovin’ Calf and Blueberry The Blue-Footed Booby with his happy big blue feet.  He is so silly and always makes us laugh. I love visiting the farm because the soft breezes feel gentle to my sensitive fur, and it’s quiet there when the big dog park near our house feels too busy, full of loud barking and jumping and dust flying all around.  The way we get to Sunflower Farm is really exciting.  I’ll ask Juju to tell you all about it!

Hi - I am Juju, Niko’s human best friend, and I watch out for him wherever we go on our adventures.  I have a very wonderful connection with Uno, the enchanted bird who helped us find Sunflower Farm.  Uno is a wise, gentle bird with only one leg who guides us through the Magical Redwood Tree Portal he took my mother through when she was a little girl seeking peace and quiet, too.  I always bring my backpack full of supplies we might need and love wandering through the sunflower fields and feeling the calm of being near all the trees there.  I can feel overwhelmed when the playground at my school is full of noise, and kids are running around, and I often need some time to rest in my room after busy days to feel like myself again.  I know our calf friend Buttercup really understands and loves quiet time in her room - she told me that her favorite books feel like her best friends!  I will let her share with you…

That’s right - I am Buttercup the calf who loves reading all kinds of books!  Looking things up and making notes in my learning journal is one of my favorite things.  I have a special quiet book nook where I keep baskets full of all my books and my snuggly hay blanket with its super soft cover.  I like spending time by myself surrounded by all my books and sometimes listening to quiet music too.  Sometimes, the barn here can feel very chaotic with hay flying around and lots of different sounds, and that makes me feel what I call “jangly” inside - kinda shaky, and I need to get to my quiet spot with a cup of my warm chamomile flower tea and a good book. When I want to put my book down and get some sunshine and fresh air, my best friend, Blueberry, always has a way of making me laugh and helping me make new friends who like to do gentle, simple things like we do.  I will let Blueberry tell you what makes him such a one-of-a-kind, fabulous friend. 

Oh Boy!  I am Blueberry, The Blue Footed Booby! Golly, it’s super awesome to meet you!  Like all my pals said, I have big, bright blue feet and love using them to do cool stuff like jumping up and down in the air and splashing a bunch of water at the seashore.  I feel happy talking to different kinds of people and animals - it makes me want to jump for joy!  I notice when friends or family are feelin’ kinda sad, and I try to make them laugh.  When everyone is laughing and smiling all around me, my big Blueberry heart feels happy, too! I think it’s especially neato when my friend Niko comes to play with me on our farm and brings his best friend Juju through that magical thingamajigger in the gigantic tree.  I can’t wait for them to come back and you can come along and play with us too!  See you soon!

Thanks for spending special time with me, sharing Niko, Juju, Buttercup, and Blueberry. To learn more about our book series and how kids can write to Niko, visit www.SensitiveNiko.com.

Niko would love to hear from you! 

I also want to invite you to join me and my Co-Host, Carolina Mariposa (a wonderful therapist specializing in supporting Sensitive children), at our Intuitive Parenting events, which are held regularly inside the Sensitive Empowerment Community. These are warm, welcoming gatherings where we share topics designed to support parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, teachers, and all caregivers of sensitive little ones. Everyone is welcome! You can find summaries of previous discussions in the “Intuitive Parenting” section in the Replay Library of Sensitive Empowerment. 

About Me 

Carol Huckle co-hosts “Intuitive Parenting” events inside the Sensitive Empowerment Community to support caregivers of sensitive little ones.  As a volunteer Children’s Librarian leading pre-K through 5th grade reading groups, she often wished for books with characters that reflected the unique traits of bright, sensitive children.  An introverted child, Carol’s favorite books were her best friends, inspiring the character Buttercup.  Buttercup’s passion for research was inspired by Carol’s daughter, whose literary explorations discovered the unique, joyful dance of the blue-footed booby.  This inspired the wonderfully extroverted character Blueberry.  Carol is thrilled to collaborate with Julie in creating characters that celebrate being their authentic, unique selves!