Helping kids to cope

Hare& Ruru, aquietmoment Bylaura Shallcrass, Beatnik Books,$30

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L.. .. .. .. AURASHALLCRASS safely addresses anxiety and helps children identify stress with her gorgeous bookhare& Ruru. In a time of uncertainty this book is sure to bring some comfort to kids and parents alike. Weasked Laura some questions:

Tell us a little aboutha ¯re&ruru.

Ha¯re&ruru is the tale of Ha¯rewho struggles to deal with an unnamed mental malady, self described as ‘noise’. Ha¯re goes on a journey to try and find a solution and ultimately findssome relief by using three key strategies; connecting with nature, talking to someone and focusing of breathing. What inspired you to write and illustrate this book?

I felt compelled to write and illustrate a book that was not only beautiful but which had something bigger to say, and to share with kids someanxiety coping strategies which they mayfind helpful.

What research was involved?

Alot of research into various methods of coping with difficult feelings, both compiled data and observations I’ve collected in the course ofmy own anxiety disorder and as a parent. That’s to say nothing of the countless hours I spend

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observing nature and the visual world to create better illustrations. Or the hours reading and observing language in aid of better storytelling. Life is research!

What was your routine or process whenwriting and illustrating this book?

The story itself came fairly easily, I started with thepoemand worked backwards a little bit but it was a fairly straightforward writing process. The illustrations were more complicated, I had threequarters done the entire book before I changed style completely to settle on the way it is now. Even within that I re-did countless pages over if I wasn’t happy and was still tweaking things right up until printing! The designer inmeis very particular about sticking to design rules and I have a tendency to overcomplicate things in order to stick to rules I’ve created which no-one else will ever notice!

What do you hope children will take away from reading the book?

I hope they get a feeling of kinship with the characters and feel like they’re not alone if they have feelings of anxiety. I also hope that they get something out of the coping strategies and teaching notes, that one of the suggestions resonates and can help them.

What’s next on the agenda for you?

I have a painting to finish for a community arts exhibition and a bunch of other projects but I’d love to do another book!