Be a hero by starring in your own book
We all need heroes in our lives - people we look up to, who we admire and who exemplify values and ways of living that we hold dear.
In ‘ye olde days’ heroes were men, invariably warriors who fought great battles for king and country, and paintings of whom adorn the walls of art galleries across the world.
Fortunately, heroes are now a little more gender-varied. So, we have female heroes from throughout the centuries, from Boudica in England, to the Irish goddesses Eriu, Banbha and Fódla who protected the sovereign land, to women like Marie Curie, whose research into radioactivity has done so much in the field of cancer treatment.
But while inclusivity is moving in the right direction, it’s not reaching everywhere, and we want to help change this.
We’re talking here about representation of children with disabilities, whether apparent disabilities or hidden ones. And it’s this that has motivated us to come up with our series of books, through The Elephants Trunk.
With our books, everyone and anyone can be the hero. Children with disabilities can feature in their very own story; children with special needs can be the star of The Name that Blew Away or The Three Naughty Bunnies or any of our tales. It’s what makes our books different.
But our books are still for everyone, not just children with disabilities. Any youngster can be the hero, whoever they are.
So, what do our young readers think of the books, where they are the heroes? Well, we are pleased to say, they love them!
One grandmother wrote: “I got books for my grandson at Christmas they were fantastic.” Another child loves her book so much, she even takes it to bed with her!
Our young readers not only get to star in the book, they can get involved in the selection process of choosing the characters, so they can build the book’s hero to make sure it really looks like them.
They have can ginger hair, brown hair, blue eyes, glasses, be in a wheelchair, be short or tall, and be of any nationality. We’re trying to include everyone and are constantly adding characters and features, so nobody needs to feel left out. One youngster who was choosing his story character on screen said “Look, I’m famous!” and couldn’t wait for it to arrive in the post.
And there is an added bonus: appearing in a story really helps encourage a child’s love of books and of reading.
We love producing books for children in wheelchairs, books for children with special needs, and books for children of any and all abilities. As the late, great David Bowie sang:
“Oh, we can be heroes, just for one day.”
Children are our heroes! If you’d know a youngster who’d love to star in a story, then why not browse all our books here. Happy reading!