Pupils think teacher has the write stuff Author reads book to youngsters in class
AWishaw schoolteacher was inspired to write a children’s book on welcoming a new addition to the family following the birth of her youngest child.
Linzi Bowden, principal teacher at Orchard Primary, wrote the story Mummy’s Tummy almost a decade ago and the book has now been published.
The fully illustrated tale follows pregnancy through the passing seasons and is told from the perspective of the new baby’s elder sister.
It helps answer some of the questions that children ask and explains what can be a tricky subject.
Linzi called on her own experiences to write the story when her daughter Olivia was four years old, a year after the birth of her son Rafe.
The mum-of-two, who lives in Stonehouse, explained: “It’s a book I wish I could have had and read to Olivia while I was pregnant.
“I’m a teacher and like children to understand things and after my pregnancy I was thinking – I wish there was something we could have shared about Rafe being born.
“It rolled around my head for a few days and I didn’t actually put pencil to paper for a while.
“I kept thinking about it and when I did write it, it sat untouched for about eight years. I thought no one would be interested.”
On a whim during lockdown, Linzi decided to send it to a few publishers and 18 months ago Austin Macauley said they’d like to publish the book.
“It’s been a long time in the making,” Linzi admits.
“My daughter is now in her second year at high school.”
Linzi didn’t just write the book, she also designed the illustrations.
She continued: “It’s a children’s picture book so the pictures are really important. I knew exactly what I wanted and was able to make them look like members of my family.
“My husband thinks it’s hilarious because it’s got his bald head in it.
“Every few weeks the publisher sent another illustration to check so that made me realise it was starting to come together.”
Linzi taught at Castlehill Primary from 2006 until it merged with Overtown Primary to form Orchard Primary. On receiving her first printed copy of the book, Mrs Bowden as she’s known to pupils, read it to the P3 class.
“They loved it,” said Linzi. “There’s a wee boy in the class whose mum is pregnant and he was blown away with it.
“My son Rafe took the book into his P6 class and his teacher let him read it to his friends.
“They were all saying to me in the lunch hall, ‘ Your book’s brilliant Mrs Bowden’ and ‘we love it’, so that was a nice.”
And younger children at the school’s nursery got a chance to hear her read the heart-warming story this week. It may be the first book Linzi has written, but she admits she has a few more ideas.
She said: “I’ve been a teacher for 20 years and I like the idea of explaining something big to children. I’d love to do it again but I’ll wait and see how this one goes.
“There’s now a book out there with my name on it that’s dedicated to my children.
“They were my inspiration which may sound cheesy but that was all I ever wanted out of it. But it’s exciting to think that somewhere someone will be reading that book to a child – something that came out of my head.”
Mummy’s Tummy costs £7.99 and is available directly from the publisher: austinmacauley.com
It can also be purchased from Waterstones and Amazon.