Gerard Featherstone to read My Brother John at Waterstone's in Manchester
Joanne Zellweger and Gerard Featherstone will be reading and signing copies of their fantastic book ‘My Brother John’ on Sunday May 10th, from 2-3pm at Waterstone’s, The Trafford Centre, Manchester.
'My Brother John' tells the story of a little girl and her brother who has a hearing aid and cochlear implant. The event, which is held at the end of Deaf Awareness Week, will include a colouring-in competition for children, which will be judged by book illustrator Andy Elliott. Prizes have been donated by Cochlear Europe.
Editor Gerard Featherstone said: “It's a delight to see a children's book that deals with deaf issues featured in a major store like Waterstone’s. We hope it educates hearing children and parents in a very simple and subtle way about the issues faced by deaf children and their siblings.
“It's so important to have peers for children so that they can identify with the characters. That was one of the reasons for introducing a deaf character who uses a cochlear implant and hearing aid – few children's books deal with the topic and fewer still appear to make it to the high street.
“We’ve had tremendous support for the book – from charities such as the RNID, NDCS, CICS and The Ear Foundation, as well as encouragement from companies such as Cochlear Europe and Waterstone’s.”
For more information about the event, please call the Waterstone's store on 0161 749 8623.
Find out more about My Brother John and read reviews at Amazon.
Read Gerard's recent article in our Guest Column.
Comments
I have a profoundly deaf three year old with a coclear implant and a two year old hearing child. I bought them this book last weekend and already it has become their most treasured possession!
This book is pure genius! Not only is the story structure and the language used ideal for younger children, the actual story is perfect. The characters do very simple every day things, but the way the author has threaded information about the coclear implant in to the story is so clever.
My girls totally relate to the whole story, and at the end of each page, Georgia (my three year old) says "that's just like me". The only thing she disagrees with is when Caroline explains that the coil stays on because it is a magnet, not magic...but being a lover of all things magical and fairy-like, Georgia insists that hers is magic not a magnet!
I can not praise this book enough and my family and I can not wait for the next story in the series!
Posted by: Christina Cullen | May 1, 2009 07:15 PM
Thank you for your very kind words about My Brother John - it's a delight to hear that it has received such a positive review by your children. We are already working on the next story and illustrations!
Posted by: Gerard Featherstone | May 5, 2009 07:31 PM
hey this is a very interesting article!
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Biggest Loser of All Time
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