FOR PARENTS, FAMILY, AND EDUCATORS
WHAT DOES SHOWING UP MEAN TO THE CHILD(REN) YOU LOVE AND CARE FOR?
I wrote this book I became unexpectedly ill and my family did not show up for me, despite our closeness. My four children all of whom were 10 and under, had a very hard time when I was too ill to do everything I had done before.
I took showing up for granted before I got sick. I was at every school event, doctors’ visit, school event; I slayed the dragons in their dreams and made them feel better when they were sick. I showed up every time.
In addition, my children saw that my family who loved me did not show up for me when I was sick. So did that mean I would not show up if they got sick? Would I show up if they were sad or had a bad dream?
We talked about why I couldn’t show up to some of their school events because I was sick, but that their father would show up, their grandparents and cousins would show up. And I reassured them that if they were sick or even in BIG..
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swilson Joined: Nov-16-2015 |
Though the face of our nation is rapidly changing, there is still an incredible lack of books that depict different races, cultures, ethnicities, and familial structures. My own children are bi-racial and it is difficult to find inclusive reading material for them.
I purposefully chose to depict people of color, human silhouettes in different colors, non-humans, or graphics such as a cell phone or numbers and both female and male adults and male and female children in this book.
It is my sincere hope that this book reflects the principles of inclusion and celebrations of all people and families, principles that are so important to me and my own family.
