“We Love Our Glasses: Learn all about why some children need glasses”
We sat down (virtually) with the locum optometrist Stephanie to ask her a few questions about her ventures into writing “We Love Our Glasses: Learn all about why some children need glasses”
Hard copies available through Amazon or [email protected] as well as digital copies available!
The book introduces the main reasons why children might need glasses, including myopia (and myopia control), hypermetropia, anisometropia, astigmatism, bifocals for children with accommodation problems and more.
It’s aimed at children but will their adults learn a lot too?
Definitely. Although the illustrations are aimed at children, it’s mainly the parents and older children who will learn the most from this book.
What inspired you to write “We Love Our Glasses: Learn all about why some children need glasses”?
I was inspired to write the book because in practice I find most parents haven’t got a clue about why their child needs glasses, whether they are short or long-sighted, if the child should be wearing their glasses all the time etc. So I thought it would be really handy to have a fun, engaging book for them to read with their parents as well as having a whole book with all the characters wearing glasses!
How did you come up with the idea?
I’ve written two other non-fiction books that aren’t optometry related. I was actually on the way home from a book festival with these books with my good friend Ann Hamilton (who is also an optician and author and inspired me to write in the first place!) and it was one of the ideas that popped up.
Was it easy to find a balance between writing and working as an Optician?
So I wrote most of the book in one afternoon and then refined it over the next few weeks in the evenings so it didn’t interfere with work at all.
What has the feedback been like from your peers?
From my non-optom friends, most have said how much they have learned since reading it! One mentioned it should be given to any new starters to give them a good base line for optics which was lovely to hear.
What is the best advice you can give your readers?
Read the first of each double page spread with young children then read the second page yourself/with older children as the second half of each double page is more technical and will probably go over the heads of younger children! Also make sure to read the FAQs at the end for more information about children’s eyes and their sight.
Are there any plans for more books in the future?
Definitely! Despite loathing English lessons at school, I actually love to write. I don’t have the best imagination but writing non-fiction in a fun, kid-friendly way is great fun! My other two books are actually about collective nouns and fun animal facts. One is “A Fluffle of Bunnies” and the other is “A Waddle of Penguins”. I’ve finished writing a Christmas one, “A Mischief of Elves” and I’m just waiting on my illustrator to finish the illustrations. With regards to optometry books, let’s see how well this one does first!
Thanks so much for talking to me! One day I really hope to see my book in opticians all over the country! The book is available at a discounted rate to practice owners who wish to sell it and can be ordered through [email protected].
We will be updating the story of the locum optometrist Stephanie soon!
