Idea for a children's book - would love your thoughts

[doctorsandy]

Hi everyone!

Hope you don’t mind me starting a new thread here. I’m a junior doctor in London. My family have recently welcomed a couple of incredible additions (I now have two nieces aged 2 and 3)!

Watching them grow up has made me think about how I am so not ready for kids just yet - but it’s also got me wondering how I can start teaching them important things about health and wellbeing. (or at least help their parents start the conversations).

Is it me, or are there no books on the market that properly address these topics? I’ve seen books that discuss going to the hospital or having an operation, but they all seem to be ‘one-offs’ that are not part of a wider series with recurring characters etc.

I think there might be a real opportunity here, particularly with my background and expertise. I’d love to create a series of books that talk about all aspects of physical and mental health and wellbeing. Something that parents can pull off the shelf when they need help discussing a particular topic. Everything from trips to the doctors to grandparents passing away.

I suppose I have two main questions i’d love to hear your thoughts on:

• Do you think parents would be interested in something like this?
• Which subject areas would be most appealing? I’ve mentioned some above but i know there’s a whole load more

Thanks again!

Dr S x

The Topsy and Tim series cover a few health subjects like going to the doctor, going to hospital, the dentist, emergency services, staying safe etc.

I think this is a great idea. Eating healthily, washing our hands, taking exercise would be obvious ones.

I think it is a lively idea Dr S. I agree with the above ideas also maybe: having a vaccination, eye test, dentist, breaking a bone, healing after a fall/cut knee etc, bereavement, common childhood operations, common disabilities, the birth of a sibling.
I think it is really important to reduce language as much as possible so it is easily accessible to a lot of children. Look at usborn books early readers series for inspiration. They have a more simple scentance with less and more simple words, alongside a slightly more in-depth passage. I love books like this when I’m Working with mixed ability children as they can all contribute.
Good luck

It’s not a unique idea, I’m afraid, it’s just that books like that don’t tend to be wildly popular with kids. Book trust often include picture books fitting this description in their bags, as well as usbourne. A big name signed something last year- maybe Adam Kay or Ranj Singh. Think Nosy Crow have got something too.

You proposal is a little vague on details, as is your age group. Matt Haig is pretty big? As is Michael Rosen?

Unless you had an interesting and unusual twist, books like you’re describing would typically be written in-house, or by authors already known to the publishing house. That’s not to say you won’t be able to do that......And that’s not to say you’re not fabulous, because you may well be!

But I’m a children’s author, and since I’ve been published I’ve been rather surprised by the amount of people who think it’s easy to write kids’ books. And also by the embarrassing awfulness of everything I’ve been sent so far by these people. I’m not a picture book writer, but people seem to think they can just be written in an afternoon. It’s made me appreciate the genius of the great picture book writers, to be honest. Julia Donaldson for the Booker Prize! Come on!

(And don’t give up based on what I’ve said. I don’t know you, or the details of your plan. It might be glorious!)

Is it me, or are there no books on the market that properly address these topics?
It's you. There's so many out there that you'll have to do something special to stand out.

There are bucket loads out there. Topsy and Tim seem to have had just about every childhood experience. You can't go into a bookshop without falling over piles of wellbeing/ mental health books aimed at children. Teen books go through phases of what is popular - at the moment it's all LGBT+ but a few years back it was all about illnesses (that John Green book etc). Usbourne etc do loads of books on healthy living, food, how our bodies work etc.
Loads of children's novels about 'being different' (disability, mental health) are out there.
Katy by Jacqueline Wilson deals with a young girl becoming paralyzed.
A don't think this is a genre that is being left out. Infact it's quite the trend at the moment in children's book publishing.

Overwhelmed by the amazing responses from you guys! Sorry it's taken me a while to post back on this thread. There's plenty to investigate and dive deeper on here, but rest assured i'm incredibly grateful for the insights. Watch this space! Hopefully it won't be too long before i'm back with some updates...

I love the way My Little Pony is shown to kids. They tackle different values that are important in life such as patience, honesty, and kindness within an ordinary life setting. I suggest something like this using animal characters like cats. They are cute and kids will surely love them.