"Choosing to act with compassion and kindness"
Felpham author Kate Thompson launched her new book Superheroes Always Fight Back… Or Do They? in unique style – with thousands of messages of love and kindness all linked together in a massive paperchain. The event was at Downview Primary School in Felpham.
“I’dhadtheideafortheevent early last year,” Kate explains, “but had no idea if it would ever come together as it relied on schoolsandcommunitygroups choosing to take part. However,ineedn’thaveworriedasthe response I received was overwhelming! In the months leading up to publication I received more than 1,700 paperchain links with beautiful, heartfelt messages and drawings of love, hope and kindness from children and grown-ups across the country. I spent many hours during my Christmas holidays connecting the links and was incredibly moved by the sheer volume of loving messages and tributestolostfamilymembers that I read.
“It was a huge honour to be abletocreatetheseveryspecial chains.onthedayoftheevent,i read Superheroes Always Fight Back… Or Do They? and spoke about the power of kindness to all 630 children at the school. Then, after a busy paperchain constructing session to add all 1,200 of Downview’s links of kindnesstothechain,keystage 2 helped me unfurl the paperchain in the hall.
“The final paperchain of kindness contained 2,990 paperchainlinks,over3,000messages of love and kindness and stretched to over 230 metres in length. But not only that, the event joined together messages from children and grownups from over 25 schools and groups across the country to create a virtual chain of kindnessofover1,321km(821miles)! It was a powerful demonstration of how even small kind acts can connect us and trigger a chain reaction of kindness and love that really can change the world.
"Taking part were Downview Primary School, Felpham; Broadwater CE Primary School,worthing;upperbeeding Primary School, Steyning; Uplands Primary School, Fareham; Edgeborough Prep School, Farnham; Lessness Heathprimaryschool,london; Grasmere Academy, Newcastle-upon-tyne;togetherarun’s Felphamtoddlersandcrafternoongroups;felphammethodist Church’s Rocky Road Youth Group, Felpham Methodist Church; 11th Worthing Brownies; 1st Lancing Rainbows; 2nd Northbrook Brownies; 1st Easebournerainbows;1stmidhurst Rainbows; 1st Sullington Brownies; 2nd Storrington Guides&rangers;1ststaunton Brownies; 1st Burley-in Wharfedale Rainbows; 1st Burley in Wharfedale Brownies; 1st Burley in Wharfedale Guides; 2nd Burley in Wharfedale Brownies; 3rd Burley-in-wharfedale Brownies; various children’s authors; and Clare Elsom and her lovely family.”
The book has been published by Welbeck Children’s Books, available from book shops and online at all the usual places including Amazon, Waterstones, Hive.co.uk and
Blackwells.
Kate, aged 38, explained: “Superheroes Always Fight Back… Or Do They? is my second rhyming picture book collaboration with the highly-talented illustrator Clare Elsom. Our first picture book, Superheroes Don’t Get Scared… Or Do They? explored the themes of fear and bravery, but with the help of a brand-newcastofsuperheroes and the super cute Arthur and Grandpa, our new book celebrates the power of kindness and empathy.
“Kindness and empathy are themes that I explore in a lot of my writing simply because I try to live my life with kindness at its core. However, for this particular story, which I wrote in the autumn of 2020, I was definitely inspired by all the acts of kindness during the first lockdown that made such a difference to so many during that difficult time.
"I think it’s important for children to know that no matter how scary or out of control things may seem, they always have the power within them to make a difference by choosing to act with empathy, compassion and kindness.”