Yay, you found me.

That tells me something about you already. You care about little people and the grown-ups they become. You believe kids deserve kindness, choice, and respect from the very beginning.
I’m Oleta, a children’s picture book author, mum of three and the founder of Mindful Kin.
I write thoughtful stories that help children understand their feelings, trust their bodies, express their boundaries and find their place in the world. My books are made for the grown-ups beside them too, because big conversations rarely arrive when we have a perfectly prepared answer.

Stories born from real family life

My stories grow from everyday family life: bedtime conversations, first friendships, new pets, big changes, enormous feelings in very small bodies and the questions children tend to ask when you are carrying six things and trying to get everyone out the door.

Those moments have taught me that children are often ready to talk. Sometimes they just need a story, a character and a few useful words to help them begin.

  • I am also a survivor of childhood abuse.

    These are the stories I wish I had when I was young. Stories that might have helped me understand that my body belonged to me, that I was allowed to have boundaries and that my voice deserved to be heard.

    I wish I had known that difficult and confusing feelings did not make me strange. They made me human. I wish I had felt less alone, more understood and more confident in my own choices.

    I also wish someone had told me that belonging does not always happen straight away. Finding where you feel safe, accepted and fully yourself can take time.

    That experience shapes the stories I write today. May I Hug You? gives children language for choice, consent and bodily autonomy. Brindie’s Gift reminds them that finding home and belonging can be gradual, and that being vulnerable can help us find the people who make space for us.

  • The name Mindful Kin brings together two ideas that guide everything I create.

    Mindful is about noticing what we feel, need and experience.
    Kin is about the people around us, including family, friends, carers, educators and community.

    Mindful Kin exists to help children grow with awareness of themselves and care for others. Through picture books, I want to make conversations about consent, feelings, kindness, friendship and belonging easier to begin and more natural to revisit.

  • The story behind May I Hug You?

    May I Hug You? began with a simple question: how do we help children understand that affection should include choice?

    Hugs are often one of the first forms of touch children learn to manage for themselves. The way we teach children to ask, answer and listen during these early moments can shape how they understand consent and bodily autonomy as they grow.

    As sexuality educator Karen Rayne, PhD, explains:

    “Hugs are often the very first kinds of interpersonal touch that children learn to navigate on their own.”

    That idea sits behind May I Hug You? and every Mindful Kin story I write.

    As a survivor of childhood abuse, I know how much it matters for children to understand that their bodies belong to them, their answers deserve to be heard and their feelings are normal. These are the stories I wish I had when I was young.

    Through Isla and Basil, May I Hug You? gives children simple language for asking before touching, hearing “yes” or “no” and remaining kind either way.

    I want my books to feel safe to open, easy to share and useful in the moments that matter. If you are here, it tells me these conversations matter to you too, and I’m genuinely glad you found me.

  • My next picture book, Brindie’s Gift, is a gentle rhyming story about moving to a new home, finding your place and having the courage to open up to others.

    Through small acts of care, Brindie discovers that belonging can take time. She learns that kindness can lead to friendship and that finding your people sometimes begins with letting yourself be seen.

    Brindie’s Gift is coming soon to Mindful Kin.

  • I want Mindful Kin books to feel safe to open, easy to share and useful in the moments that matter.

    I hope they are read at bedtime, pulled from classroom shelves, shared after hard days and returned to whenever a child needs help finding the words.

    Most of all, I hope they remind children that their bodies belong to them, their feelings are valid, their voices matter and they deserve relationships where they feel safe, heard and understood.

Mindful Kin is still growing, with new books, behind-the-scenes moments and plenty of real-life learning along the way.

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