NAJ tutor publishes children's book following lockdown to support local charity

20 Jul 2020

 

Anne Kings created a special story with her granddaughter during ‘lockdown’ which will now be shared with other children and support a local children’s charity.

Our JET Certificate and JET Diploma tutor, Anne Kings, has written a children’s storybook inspired by her granddaughter who was struggling to cope emotionally with the COVID-19 pandemic. The resulting book, created with the help of friends, will now be shared with other local children and all profits from donations will go to support Julia’s House Children’s Hospice in Dorset and Wiltshire.

When lockdown started Anne came up with the idea of getting her granddaughter, Bella, to call each night before going to bed for a chat and they worked through the alphabet from A-Z with a different ‘happy’ word each night. “26 Happy Words”. After 26 days, and to keep the momentum, Bella continued to call each night with ideas to be included in a story and, with a little imagination, ‘Button Cottage Lockdown’ came to life, using all “26 happy words” too.

The book features the ‘Sticky’ family, their pets and regular wildlife visitors to the garden. The family is learning to cope with the new routines dictated by lockdown. However, it is the animals and birds who are the real characters in the story. Their friendship is strong. Each animal and bird, individually named, has its own infectious personality. The animals then plan their own party one evening, celebrating the NHS and ‘Captain’ Tom.

This is not a professionally published book, just a simple creation to share during these challenging times.

Reflecting on the process, Anne said,

“When I shared the story with friends, I had the really positive feedback that it engaged with everyone from 4 to 94. I was encouraged to print it into a simple book format to share with others. The response has been amazing, and I am now looking to have extra copies printed. 

“What started as a simple idea to help Bella has blossomed into a memory of lockdown that I will cherish forever”.

Any profits from donations for the book are going to support ‘Julia’s House’, a local children’s hospice charity in Dorset and Wiltshire.

Email Anne Kings for a copy of the book

Source: Anne Kings