A NI mum has written and self-published her own set of books aimed at promoting children's wellbeing.
41-year-old Emma Hanna from Ballyclare wants to normalise discussing mental health issues with kids.
The mum-of-three has been teaching since since she left university and says she loves "working with children and helping them to reach their goals".
Read more: Carl Frampton shares first photo of new baby daughter Mila
During lockdown, Emma was suffering from mental health difficulties herself but says that writing helped her.
She told Be: "The set of books is called Everyone is Different and there are twelve books (at the moment). The books are aimed at 4 to 11-year-olds and each one highlights a different wellbeing topic, for example, shyness, anxiety, friendship, bullying, self esteem and worry.
"As a mum and a teacher, I feel really strongly about the wellbeing of children. The books are conversation starters, allowing parents and teachers to discuss mental health in a straightforward way. Questions arise in a natural way from reading the books, eg imagine how that must feel, have you ever felt like that? etc.
"I decided to write the books during lockdown. I was suffering from mental health difficulties myself and I found that writing poems and stories helped me. The idea about ‘The Shy Monkey’ came to me first.
"There’s a lot of me in there as I was a shy child and I felt able to express how it felt. The other stories followed quite quickly and thinking that they might actually help to normalise mental health for children really motivated me to keep going.
"Connie Duncan, a Ballyclare High School student at that time, illustrated the books and I absolutely love how she brought the little characters to life. She is incredibly talented."
Emma described what the message behind the books is.
"The aim of the books is to normalise mental health issues and to make it easier to start conversations. The books are colourful and easy to read as they are written in four-line rhyming stanzas.
"Therefore, they are lovely little bedtime stories - as well as really useful resources in the classroom," she said.
The mum of three also outlined how she hopes the books will help.
"I have used the books inside and outside the classroom, and I have found that the children are able to empathise with the characters. They also encourage the children to think about the issues themselves and whether they have felt this way or know someone else who does.
"For example, when reading The Wisest Owl of All, which is a book about an owl who is dyslexic, the children were able to chat about family members or friends who had dyslexia. Not only that, they were able to talk about how it might feel to be the owl and how being dyslexic did not hold him back in life.
"I have also made a workbook to go along with the books, which encourages children to delve a little deeper into the stories and the issues that are being discussed," Emma said.
The Ballyclare woman is proud of her collection and said it's been a "major learning curve".
She said: "It took a couple of years to get the stories written, proof-read, illustrated, designed and then printed and self-published. It was a lengthy and expensive process but I am very happy with the finished product.
"I have always loved writing poems and have published them on my Facebook page, Pigeon Steps. I wrote a little story about a tooth fairy during lockdown, just to raise some money for the NHS.
"However, this is the first set of books I have written and published. It’s a very new experience and has been a major learning curve."
To find out more, CLICK HERE.
READ NEXT:
Northern Irish star one of 'most successful' winners to appear on BBC show
- Gloria Hunniford's "anxious" health update after being hospitalised at Christmas
- Rylan tries out Eamonn Holmes' new stair lift as he visits his 'TV mum and dad'
- Christine Lampard gives an insight on parenting with hubby Frank
For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here. To sign up to our FREE newsletters, see here.
