Miss Lynn

On the day 9-year old Lynn Hickernell was selected as captain of a gym class kickball team, she knew just what she would do: the first members chosen for her team would be the classmates who, like her, were usually picked last. As the teams assembled, she ignored the quizzical facial expressions and continued to select smaller, less-coordinated 4th graders, instead of the stronger, faster students who quickly made up the opposing team. She knew that her team might not be obvious victors, but if they worked together, they could show the other team what they could do.

Which turned out to be lose. Badly. By a score of approximately 25 to 0. And while it wasn't much fun to lose that spring morning, many years later it made a good story.

Miss Lynn still loves a good story. Her favorite thing is to share them with kids through her songs, and to hear their stories in return when they talk and sing together. The songs on her CD, "Something New," include stories of a homemade "garbage" band ("Make Something New"), a sandy return from beach vacation ("Itty Bitty Nitty Gritty"), the perils of cooking without proper time and care ("The Tale of the Hasty Baker"), and the international journey to build one family ("Once Upon a Time").

Songs from "Something New," as well as Miss Lynn's first CD, "Outside the Lines" (2008), have been featured on the radio in Boston, St. Louis, central Ohio, and all over the Internet.