Garstang woman’s first book aims to help children deal with ‘big emotions’

A woman from Garstang is set to become a published author after her children’s book tackling grief in youngsters was picked up by a publisher.

Kate Simkins wrote the book five years ago for her two daughters, Harriet and Alice, when their paternal grandmother died.

Based around a character called Little Cloud, he wakes up alone but, after meeting various characters, he is reunited with his family who reassure him that they are still with him, even though he can’t see them.

As a former teacher, Kate is passionate about children’s mental health and has seen first hand the impact grief can have on children if it is not tackled properly.

She said: “The story began as I was trying to help my daughters navigate their way through grief and I made it up to help them at that time.

“When my partner saw the story he did not realise that I had written it, so he encouraged me to try and get it published and, unbelievably, it has been picked up by publishing firm Pegasus.”

The story of Little Cloud is currently being illustrated and Kate is hopeful it will be published early next year.

A former music teacher who worked for many years in Burnley, Kate said that pupils are often dealing with complex emotions that staff are not trained to deal with.

This was compounded, she said, by a wider lack of government funding to provide mental health services for children.

She added: “These are big emotions for little people to deal with, so the earlier we can help them the better it is in the long run. If we can get in there early it takes the burden off services at a later date.”

Kate is hoping, once the book is published, to do readings at local primary schools and Garstang library.

For more about Kate visit her website.

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