Beyond the Hood
We’ve been wanting to bring you this story for a while, often we sit on gems we want to share until the timing feels right. Now with all the amplified emotions younger children have been experiencing over this last year it seems appropriate to tell you about The Little Paws Hotel book series written by SW London Mum Clare Luther. These rhyming books aimed at 3-8 year olds tell the story, through the eyes of different breeds of dogs, about a specific worry or fear: Olive - separation anxiety, Gus - fear of new experiences, Fig - worries about making mistakes, Dudley - thoughts and feelings about being bullied and Peggy - thoughts and feelings about being the bully.
Clare gets her inspiration from being a mum of two teenagers, running a dachshund hotel and having had two previous careers as an Occupational Therapist with the military, in Neuro and Musculo-skeletal rehabilitation and working as a self-employed Life Coach. She is passionate about writing books for young children that focus on well being and emotional health. "I long for conversations to get going early on in a child's life that enable them to express and explore their big emotions in an accessible way. My hope is to encourage young children, at home with their parents or in the classroom with their teachers, to recognise their own thoughts and feelings. If I can support them to draw on their own experiences through my stories, I believe tricky conversations can gently, and safely, be opened up positively impacting on their emotional health, resilience, communication and empathy towards others."
Clare's books address sensitive topics that have been worked on with clinical psychologists, teachers, Special Educational Needs teachers (SEN), parents, care-givers and children before going to print. Both Dudley and Peggy are being used in the 'Hands of Courage' kits supplied by the anti-bullying charity Bullies Out. The books feature key words throughout the story to help the young reader express themselves with the associated emotional, psychological, physiological and social aspects of the experience. They help young readers empathise with how others may, or may not, feel in certain situations and there are questions at the back of each book to help reflect on the story.
Clare met illustrator Maria Floyd in the summer holidays of 2009 on the north Cornish coast. After various conversational twists and turns they ended up talking about their interests; Maria’s being in illustration and Clare’s in writing poetry. As the years passed Clare and Maria worked most nights writing or illustrating, whilst juggling young families and careers, to create characters for their first books and in 2018 a small independent publishing company was born called Head 2 Heart Books Ltd. All the paperbacks are environmentally friendly and Head 2 Heart Books Ltd uses a carbon balanced publication printer. Over the years The Little Paws Hotel series has grown and evolved in the education sector with primary schools using Clare's stories as a resource for Personal Social and Health Education (PSHE) prompting good follow-on discussions that cover many curriculum topics. Clare also runs interactive workshops using her books and provides activities for the children to engage in.
A parent got in touch with Clare to say “It was quite an emotional turning point when we read 'Olive' one night together. My four year old son got a bit upset during the story and asked me to stop and said that he had feelings just like Olive. We talked through how to try and manage our feelings and when he was feeling shy or anxious to think about the story of Olive. Your books have really helped my son to open up to me about his feelings, he really relates to them, and I have seen a real improvement in how he manages situations. Thank you."
If you’d like to find out more follow Head 2 Heart Books on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/head2heartbooks/?hl=en or head to their website where you can also purchase the Little Paws Hotel series.
