My eldest daughter is 12 and more than capable of brushing her own teeth. But when your kids are younger, like our seven-year-old, the importance of brushing can be forgotten about when the clock is ticking, and you need to leave the house to get to school on time.

Being asked to brush their teeth can be another thing for young kids to try to avoid doing, particularly when they don’t understand why it needs to be done. Learning about why it’s so important can help to tackle that, especially if the learning is attached to a fun character or involves slightly gross things and toilet humour!

The characters in Open Wide…What’s Inside fits the bill for both of these things perfectly. The book is written by Alex Rushworth and illustrated brilliantly by Helen Rushworth. Alex is a dentist with almost 30 years of experience in practice, and then as a clinical trainer in paediatric dentistry.

Open Wide….What’s Inside

The rhyming story starts with looking at why we have teeth, and how bits of food can end up like the leftovers on our plates that get old and smelly if they’re not washed off. The Sugarbugs eat the leftovers, making them fat and stinky.

The Sugarbugs and their poo piqued our seven-year-old’s interest. She thought the bugs were hilarious, but didn’t like the thought of them doing stinky poos on teeth! She gets nervous about going to the dentist, but isn’t a big fan of brushing her teeth long enough to make sure they’re clean.

Reading the book with her has helped her understand a bit better why cleaning teeth is so important, and the impact not doing it properly can have on her teeth. She asks me to check whether I can see any Sugarbugs or their poo when she’s cleaned her teeth, and it definitely seems to have helped her make sure she cleans her teeth better and for longer.

The story has also prompted her to ask questions about food, leading to conversations that some foods have a lot of sugar in them and so aren’t good for teeth, particularly if they aren’t cleaned properly afterwards. She also loved learning how many teeth dogs and snails have (I learned something reading the book, as I had no idea they had any at all!)

Helping understand the importance of cleaning teeth

Open Wide….What’s Inside is a great book for young children to learn the importance of good teeth cleaning habits and why certain foods can be harmful to teeth. Many children are nervous about going to the dentist, and this funny story helps them understand what dentists do, what they’re looking for in their mouths, and how they help us all look after our teeth better.

Head to Alex’s website to find out more about her and why she wrote the book, including a great video explaining a bit more about why teeth cleaning is so important for kids.

The book is available to buy from Amazon. This is an affiliate link, which means if you click it and buy the book, I get paid a fee from Amazon.

Head to the parenting section to read more articles about a range of topics, including dental care, and Alex’s article about how to make teeth cleaning fun for kids.

Our eldest has always struggled with separation anxiety so I was hoping that this book would help to ease things a bit for her.

The book is a beautiful story of how a brother and sister are woken one night by a storm. They want their mum to come and stay with them in their room because they feel alone. To help ease their fears, she tells them about the invisible string that she learned about when she was a child.

The Invisible String

The children ask their mum how it works when they can’t see it. She tells them that the invisible string is a bond that can’t be seen but is always there, connecting people with love. It connects friends and family, no matter how far apart they are. It’s stronger than anger so won’t disappear if someone makes you cross. It even connects to people in heaven.

Knowing they’re connected to their mum, even when she’s in a different room, the children go back to bed. They’re no longer bothered by the storm and dream of all the people they’re connected to by invisible string.

My daughter loves this book. It’s beautifully illustrated by Joanne Lew-Vriethoff. It’s helped her to understand a bit more that we’re connected to her, even when she’s not with us. As she grows up, hopefully, it will help her to understand the bond with her birth family. They love her even though they aren’t with her.

It’s also helped her to deal with the death of her granddad. Since we’ve been reading the book, she’s said several times that he still loves her even though he isn’t here.

Over the years it’s become a book that both my children love. It’s helped them both manage separation anxiety and understand that love withstands a lot of things like anger and distance.

Our eldest daughter is 10 and although she doesn’t read the book that much anymore (she likes reading it to her younger sister though), she often recites its message when she’s upset or angry, or if she’s struggling with being apart from me or someone else she loves.

Recommended for all children

I would recommend this book to all parents. It’s a beautiful way for them to learn about being loved and connected to people, even when they can’t see them or they’re no longer around for whatever reason.

You can buy The Invisible String from a range of shops including Amazon. Head over to the book review section to read all about other great books about adoption and parenting.

This post contains an affiliate link to Amazon which means if you click on the link to the book and buy it, I get paid a fee from them.

“My Nanee” starts with a trip to the Gurdwara and the conversation that took place between Asha and her grandmother about her life. Asha’s Nanee shared how she’d moved from a village in India to Kenya and then to the UK where she lived for the rest of her life. She shared some of the things she’d done, giving a wonderful insight into her childhood and beyond as she grew up living in different countries and experiencing new cultures.

Her grandmother’s tales

Through her grandmother’s tales, Asha learned about the dreams, love and resilience that shaped her family and the aspirations, education and traditions that connect her to her heritage and roots. The beautiful illustrations convey the rich heritage experienced by Nanee that was passed on through conversations with her children and grandchildren. This is such an important message as that’s how children learn about their history and understand about their heritage, where traditions came from and their significance.

I know a lot about my heritage and my side of the family’s history, but I’ve not got as much information about my husband’s side. He talks about snippets from his childhood, but there’s a lot of information that he doesn’t know about. I’ve been able to fill in a lot of gaps about this from recent conversations I’ve had with my mother-in-law. I help her with a few things every week and we have a cuppa and a catchup afterwards which has been lovely as I’ve learned so much about her early life and that of my husband during our chats.

“My Nanee” is a great book to prompt conversations with children about heritage, their history and some of the adventures their older relatives have had. I moved a few times when I was a child and that’s something that my eldest daughter thinks is exciting because she’s always lived in the same town. The thought of moving terrifies her, so it’s prompted a lot of conversations about how I felt and how I started to make new friends and school when I started a new one.

Using My Nanee as a tool to start conversations

I read the book to my youngest daughter and showed her the illustrations which started a lovely conversation about my mum and mother-in-law and the different places they have lived. She asked lots of questions about her grandmothers and it’s something we’ll come back to again.

The book is a lovely tool to use to start conversations with children about their grandparents, and it’s also a beautiful tribute from Asha to her grandmother. I love that. In a modern world that’s influenced so much by technology, it’s refreshing to see such a touching tribute to Asha’s grandmother using her own words in a book. The vibrant illustrations convey her life in a colourful and loving way and are something that future generations will be able to use to learn about her life and all of the places she lived.

“My Nanee” is available to buy from Austin Macauley, and retail outlets such as Amazon and Waterstones. Please note that if you click on the link to Amazon and buy the book, I get paid a fee.

Head to the book review section to find out about other wonderful children’s books.

When we started thinking about adopting, I struggled to find books and articles about the process and what it was really like. Ultimately it led me to write my own book An Adopter’s Guide to Adoption, and then launch this magazine.

It’s been lovely this week to see how much things have improved in the last 10 years or so with adopters taking to their notebooks and laptops writing books and resources to help anyone thinking about adopting, understand what the process is really like. With over 80,000 children currently in the care system, and around 2000 waiting to be adopted, it’s so important that we have open conversations about all aspects of the process.

Not a Fictional Mum

If you’re part of the #ukadoptioncommunity on Instagram, you’ll probably have come across the wonderful Not a Fictional Mum. She’s a proud advocate for adoption and has campaigned for change, taking a petition to Parliament to ask that self-employed adopters get the same rights as birth parents when it comes to financial support from the government for the early days of placement.

She’s created an inclusive clothing brand selling beautiful clothing and accessories that celebrate families and the many different ways they’re created. Her Christmas Elf on a Shelf antics keep many of us entertained and has no doubt given some of us ideas as to what to do with those pesky elves when we wake up in a cold sweat at 2 am and remember we’ve forgotten to move them.

And she’s written a book.

What Makes a Mum?

“What Makes a Mum?” is a personal account of NFM’s long and bumpy road to motherhood. She shares snippets of her relationship with her mum, being a teenager in foster care and the shattering experience of infertility before jumping onto the adoption rollercoaster.

Many parts of this book felt like NFM had put into words the exact feelings and emotions I felt firstly when we were deep in the trenches of infertility with no hope of finding a way out, and then when we chose adoption as the way we created our family.

One of the things that struck a chord with me was the way she described the advice given by her GP in terms of options when you haven’t got pregnant naturally. For many of the 1 in 7 heterosexual couples who experience infertility, there’s a medical reason why pregnancy doesn’t happen naturally. But just because it’s a medical “problem” doesn’t mean the only next step is a medical one.

Reading how NFM felt swept up in the medical system is exactly how I, and no doubt many other women feel when they’re told there’s a chance they could have a birth child. At no stage did my GP talk me through all of the routes to parenthood, or the statistics around the success or otherwise of fertility treatment. My GP only focused on treatment once it became clear it wasn’t going to happen naturally for us.

Swept into the system

I felt like we were put on a conveyor belt once we were identified as being 1 of the 7. The system is set up to attract people who are at their most vulnerable, desperate to become parents, and put them on the treatment conveyor belt because if there’s a chance you could have a birth child, surely you have to take it. NFM shares how she and her husband were swept into that system and once they were on it, felt like they couldn’t get off.

That’s definitely an area that needs to change and books like this are the first step in raising awareness and showing people that there are other routes to parenthood.

Her account of the adoption assessment is also absolutely bang on. It’s the kind of thing that unless you’ve been through it, you just can’t imagine what it’s like. At the start of the process, you basically have to bundle up your hopes and dreams about becoming a parent, give them to your social worker, and trust that they will keep them safe. You have to bare your soul and talk about every minutiae of your life from how many relationships you’ve had to whether you’re using contraception (yes, even if you’re infertile) and how much you spend on getting your hair cut.

But that’s the way it needs to be because the children who are waiting to be adopted have already been through so much. They’ve experienced trauma, have often been let down by the people who should be protecting them and keeping them safe, and deserve the opportunity to have a safe and happy childhood.

What Makes a Mum? A book every adult should read

“What Makes a Mum?” is a book that every adult will benefit from reading. It raises awareness around so many issues that many of us will come into contact with over our lives, whether that’s fractured relationships with our parents, being swept into a system that needs to improve the care and support it gives those using it, and finding a route to parenthood.

Parts of the book resonated with me a lot and will no doubt echo how a lot of other women felt and are feeling as they struggle with infertility. It helps to know that you’re not alone in how you feel and this book feels like a gentle arm around your shoulder in parts and a knowing nod to acknowledge just how isolating and soul-destroying infertility is for those going through it.

The book is more than just an incredibly honest account of NFM’s story from fostered to adopter. It is definitely a manifesto for change and one that politicians and other decision-makers would do well to read to give them an insight into why services need to be improved and support given on an equal footing.

Some of the key questions she asks are “When will the childcare system become a government priority? When will society show the system matters enough for the government to make it a priority.” And they need answering because it’s been underfunded and running on fresh air and the dedication of those who work in it, for far too long.

A rollercoaster of emotions

I don’t think I’ve ever read a book that’s moved me to tears, had me laughing out loud, nodding in agreement and made me angry at “the system” for not doing what it should to support the most vulnerable children in our society. It’s brilliant.

You can buy “What Makes a Mum” from Amazon*.

I was kindly gifted a copy of the book so that I could review it. Head to the book review section to find out about other books about adoption and well-being.

*This is an affiliate link, which means I am paid a fee from Amazon if you click on it and buy the book.

Matt is dad to two adopted sons who came home forever in early 2017. During his adoption leave, he was diagnosed with incurable Myeloma Cancer. He’s having ongoing treatment which has included a stem cell transplant.

He drafted the first version of this book back in 2017 as both a legacy for his sons, but also to help all families going through change. He’s hoping to create a series of books exploring different issues with Olly & Lilly.

Olly and Lilly. The Search for a New Race Team

Matt explains his motivation for writing the book :

“Whilst preparing to adopt, my husband and I read many books to help inform and educate us on the challenges ahead, both emotional and practical. The subject of adoption lacked books and stories that resonated with our sons. Most were pitched at too young an age and over-simplified.

“I wanted to encapsulate the fear, loss and concerns that adopted children face but also harness their sheer positivity and hope for the future for all children. The book is aimed at children aged 4-7, to help them understand their situation.

“It is valid for all children not just adopted children, as it discusses families, love, goals, challenges, hopes and wishes that all children have, whilst also acting as a key PHSE resource for schools. The parent bikes are non-gender specific, making the story applicable to all types of families.”

Matt blogs about their journey “From Software to Softplay” and you can follow him on Instagram. If you’d like to find out about donating stem cells to help people like Matt, visit the Myeloma website. We were kindly gifted a copy of the book so that we could do the review.

Olly and Lilly: Our review

Our eldest daughter was six when we reviewed the book and was really excited when we opened the parcel. She loved the front cover straight away. She asked what the book was about so I said it was a book about what happens if parents aren’t able to look after their children. That then started a conversation about her tummy mummy and why she came to live with us.

Olly & Lilly is a beautiful picture storybook. It follows the journey two young bikes take to find a new forever race team when their mummy stops working properly and can’t look after them.

The story looks at some big issues such as neglect, in a gentle, sensitive way. When we got to that part of the book, our eldest asked quite a few questions about why parents sometimes can’t look after their children.

Finding a new family

The book explores why it isn’t always the case that the first new race team will be the right one. Olly & Lilly didn’t feel that they fitted into the first garage they were moved to. Everyone was lovely, but it didn’t feel quite right. I think this is a brilliant way of explaining why sometimes children have to move to different placements until they find the right care to suit their needs.

The story then explores how two grown-up bikes wanted to create their own race-team family. The yellow helper bike checks out where they live and what they’re like, to make sure they’re the perfect fit for Olly & Lilly.

We really enjoyed reading the book. It’s engaging and fun but deals with big issues sensitively to gently explain why sometimes parents can’t look after their children. It deals with some of the emotions children experience when they’re moved into foster care and then adopted such as separation and loss. Children love bikes so using them as the characters is a great way of engaging them. The illustrations are beautiful.

If you’re looking for a book to explain the issues around adoption to young children, we would definitely recommend it. It captured our eldest’s attention straight away and she said to tell everyone that she loved it!

“Olly & Lilly. The search for a new race team” is available to buy from Amazon or directly from the author. Please note that the link to Amazon is affiliated which means if you click on it and buy the book, I get paid a fee.

If you’d like to find out about more children’s books that deal with adoption, have a look at my roundup of some of the best ones.

If the last few years have taught me anything, it’s that the simple things are definitely the best. Our house has been upside down for the last few months as we’ve been building an extension. My husband and I were able to see that the end result would create a wonderful space for us as a family. But for the kids, it’s just been months of upheaval and change. Neither of which they (or I) handle very well.

We’ve been squashed into our front room with a settee that’s far too big and lots of toys. So there’s not really been much space to play. And our kids have definitely been unsettled because of that. TV and iPads have become our go-to to keep them entertained while we try and make progress with the build. A means to an end, but not a good long-term habit.

We’re almost at the end of the build now and I’ve been looking for things we can do with the kids to help us all re-connect. Playing games together and colouring at the table have always been calming and happy times for us. So, I was delighted when Claire Carney, author of “50 Fun Balloon Activities” asked if I’d like to review her book. I was kindly gifted a copy of the book and some balloons and pump so that my family and I could review them.

50 Fun Balloon Activities

Both our kids love balloons at parties and as part of birthday celebrations. But we’ve never used them as part of a game before. Our youngest gets very upset if they pop, so I was wary about how she’d feel playing games with them. We talked to her about it before we started (she’s five) and she was really keen to give them games a go. To start off with, we picked games that were less likely to involve the balloons popping.

We started doing some of the games for two players so that our daughters could do them together. The first game we tried was number 15. I put some chairs in a line and showed the girls what they needed to do which was try and get round the chairs with a balloon between their knees without it falling out. I failed miserably which they thought was hilarious! Both girls enjoyed this game and managed to get round the chairs after a couple of attempts.

We then moved on to game 44. I tore up a tissue into small pieces and explained how the girls needed to use their balloons to pick up the bits. They loved creating static from their hair and laughed at each other’s funny hair.

The girls wanted to try some games we could all do so we tried several others before we found their favourite. We did a variation of number 12 which was basically balloon tennis. They absolutely loved this and we ended up playing it for about half an hour. There was a lot of laughter from all of us as we dived about the room to keep the balloon off the floor.

Keep it simple

We ended up spending about an hour playing games the first time we tried them. I was amazed at how long the girls were happy to play and how much they enjoyed the games. Every day since, our youngest has asked to do some balloon games when she comes in from school. That’s a clear sign that she enjoyed playing.

There is a wide range of types of games to play and are all based on the “Think, Feel, Move” approach. Some are designed to get kids (and adults) thinking. Others are to encourage movement which are the ones our kids enjoyed the most. We didn’t try any of the games that involved water but will definitely be trying them outside when the weather games a bit warmer.

We’re going to try variations of some of the thinking games to help the girls with their maths as that’s something they both struggle with. Using props like balloons helps to make the learning fun which is definitely what they thrive on.

We’ve loved trying out the games and will definitely be using them a lot in the future. It’s been a lovely way for us to reconnect and spend time together playing.

You can find out about Claire and her work on her website or follow her on Instagram.

If you enjoyed reading this article, why not buy me a coffee to show your support for the magazine? If you’d like to read more articles about adoption, health and well-being, and parenting, head over to the home page and have a look at what’s new.

Both of our girls preferred sleeping in pitch dark when they were babies. But as they get older, they both need to sleep with some kind of night light as they’ve become scared of the dark and what might be hiding there.

Our youngest daughter is six and has experienced bad dreams and nightmares since she was about two. What she dreams about is influenced by what she’s read, watched, or played with during the day and tends to go in phases. She’ll be obsessed with a toy, cartoon, or character from a book and they will fill her dreams too.

Whatever it is takes over her imagination, making her worried about going to sleep.

Katie Pickle and the Monsters Under the Bed

Reading “Katie Pickle and the Monsters Under the Bed” by Sarah L Jones reminded me of our daughter.

She’s got a midi sleeper bed with a space for her to play underneath. She loves playing in it during the day and spends time chilling there when she needs to. It’s got curtains across the front so she closes them when she needs time to herself.

I dread cleaning and tidying her den space because she keeps anything and everything there from half-eaten snacks and odd socks to toys from when she was a baby and things she’s “borrowed” from her big sister. But the space under her bed is also a source of worry for her when she’s in bed.

Our daughter sometimes gets worried that what’s under her bed includes monsters, or that her toys will come to life during the night, just like Katie Pickle.

Katie Pickle has a big imagination that can sometimes make her think that hungry monsters are hiding under her bed at night. The story helps young children combine their vivid imaginations with the power of mindfulness to change worries into happy thoughts full of colour and fun that helps them have a peaceful sleep rather than one full of nightmares.

I read the book with our daughter and she was able to see herself and how she feels sometimes in the story. She loved the colourful pictures and adventures Katie goes on with the white unicorn.

She wasn’t in the mood to try the mindfulness counting techniques when we read the story, so we’re going to try them next time she feels worried about going to sleep. Hopefully, they will help her manage her worries and have better dreams.

About the Author Sarah L Jones

Sarah L Jones is a qualified NLP and Mindfulness practitioner based in Dorset. She has helped children of all ages develop emotional intelligence skills to cope with anxiety. When children learn how to reframe negative thought patterns, they develop confidence, resilience, and happiness.

You can purchase “Word Worries” from a range of retail outlets including Amazon and directly from Austin Macauley Publishers. Please note the link to Amazon is an affiliate one which means if you click on it and buy the book I get paid a fee.

If you’d like to find out about other great books, head over to the review section. If you’ve read Katie Pickle and the Monsters Under the Bed, leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Every child deals with it in different ways. Some express their anxiety openly by crying and perhaps clinging to their parent or carer. This is what we experienced with our eldest daughter. Drop-offs at nursery were awful for the first year or so. She got really upset and often clung to me for dear life.

It was distressing for her and for me as I felt like the worst mum in the world as I drove to work. I knew she was fine by the time I got back to the car, but that didn’t make me feel any better! Because she was so open about how she was feeling, we were able to find some strategies to help like having a spray of my perfume on her wrist.

Our youngest daughter appeared to take everything in her stride so it came completely out of the blue when she started to display separation anxiety when she started school. She’d always been fine going to nursery so it took me by surprise when she was distraught at me leaving her at school.

Always There For You

One of the tools that work well with both girls is storybooks that explain about being connected to each other, even when we’re apart. So, I’m always looking for new books that deal with this subject.

“Always There For You” is written by Lalitha Yenna and is a beautiful book that helps children understand and manage their separation anxiety. This story delicately explains what it is through a beautiful conversation between a mother and her son.

Together they follow a butterfly’s journey from an egg right through to emerging as a beautiful insect, creating an engaging tale that helps the little boy understand that no matter where he goes, his mother will always be there for him.

It’s a lovely way of helping children to understand that their parents and those they love are always with them, even when they aren’t physically there. My daughter loved reading the story and learning how the butterfly happily flew away to explore the garden and then came back home to its mum.

The story helps young children understand why they feel upset or sad when their parent isn’t there and shows them how to feel ok about it.

About the author

Lalitha Yenna is a budding writer from Australia who writes short stories in her native language Telugu and English. She is a software professional and a mother of a busy toddler. Her stories reflect her experiences. Born in India and raised in a joint family, she holds family values very close to her heart and loves to write stories about them.

You can buy “Always There For You” from Austin Macauley publishers and Amazon. Please note, this is an affiliate link. That means if you click on the link to Amazon and buy it, I get paid a fee.

I was gifted an electronic copy of the book so that I could review it.

Head to the book reviews section if you’d like to find out about other children’s storybooks.

Thankfully, the number of children with a child protection plan due to sexual abuse is at a 14-year low. To continue to reduce this figure, children need to understand what is safe and what isn’t from an early age.

Raising awareness around sexual abuse and empowering and educating children to recognise and report it is therefore key to tackling it. “Use Your W.I.T.S” was written by Norgenta Lata to do just that. It aims to encourage children of all ages to take ownership of their bodies, understand the difference between safe and unsafe touching, and be able to identify when they feel uncomfortable and do not want to be touched.

Use Your W.I.T.S.

The characters of the book are children Norah and Joni. They talk about what it means to use your W.I.T.S. (Walk Away, Instincts, Tell, and Secrets) by sharing how they learn to take ownership of their bodies and understand when they feel safe, and when they don’t.

Norah learns how she can set boundaries and react and respond when she feels unsafe or just doesn’t want to be touched. These are really important tools for young children to have so that they understand what to do if they feel uncomfortable or unsafe when someone touches them.

As well as telling Norah and Joni’s story, the book also contains resources and highlights discussion points to encourage parents and carers to ask children questions and explore the key issues about body safety, boundaries, and consent.

The book is a great resource for all parents. My girls are 10 and six and both got a lot from reading the book with me. It sparked discussions about what is safe touching, what to do if they feel uncomfortable when someone touches them, and the parts of their body that are private.

About the Author

Norgenta Lata is an NHS Mental Health Professional with a background working in Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services. She currently works in adult mental health and has a master’s degree in Psychological Sciences. Norgenta is a passionate advocate for trauma-informed responses to sexual and domestic abuse and is a member of the Awareness and Response to Domestic and Sexual Abuse (ARDSA) network that aims to influence policy and practice across the NHS.

You can buy “Use Your W.I.T.S.” from Amazon, a range of bookshops, and the publisher Austin Macauley. Please note that this is an affiliate link. That means if you click on the link to Amazon and buy the book, I get paid a fee.

If you’d like to find out about other amazing books, head to the book reviews section.

The book explores how it feels for a young child to have a stutter. Muzn, the book’s main character, has one that makes her want to stay silent and not speak, preferring to bury herself in books. She lives with her family near the Strait of Hormuz and is terrified when she’s chosen to represent her class at a local competition by reading out a poem.

The story explores what it’s like for children around the world whom their peers mock because they’re different. Muzn was extremely self-conscious about her stutter and knew that her classmates felt she was the wrong choice for the competition because of it.

Muzn finds strength and support from her grandmother and a butterfly she’s watched grow from an egg. With their help, she realises if she’s going to overcome her fear of public speaking, the courage she needs will come from within her.

Finding courage from within

The book is a beautiful way to show young children that they’re often braver than they think and that they can overcome challenges with help and support from those around them. This is such an important message for young children to understand. Many have challenges that make them unique, but that doesn’t mean they can’t achieve their dreams.

The authors have set the book near where they’re from in Oman which helps to show children that whatever part of the world they live in, children struggle with feeling different. The book is about overcoming the fear of public speaking but its message will help to support children with a whole range of issues, such as feeling different because they’re adopted.

I’d recommend the book for all children and it’s one we’ll be reading time and time again. My youngest daughter, in particular, enjoyed the colourful images and loved how Muzn nailed the poetry reading!

How Muzn Found Her Voice: About the authors

Fatma Al Manji is an environmental researcher, water scientist, anti-racism activist, and travel enthusiast. Her co-author Rumaitha Al-Busaidi is also a scientist, activist, and athlete. She empowers Arab women to step into spaces previously denied to them such as the football field, on the front line of battle against climate change, or a volcano summit. She was the youngest Omani woman to step foot on the South Pole.

They are both passionate about helping young children from diverse backgrounds find their voice. Having lived in a range of multicultural settings growing up, Fatma realised that women empowerment and representation wasn’t something that was communicated to her during her youth which was the driving force for them to write the book.

You can buy “How Muzn Found Her Voice” from Austin Macauley Publishers and a range of bookshops.

If you’d like to find out about more amazing books, head over to the book reviews section.