Dungiven author hoping to inspire kids to read more

A children’s author from Dungiven says she hopes her books will inspire more kids to read and use their imagination more.

Geraldine Granleese has been writing for a number of years and since 2022 has published numerous children's

books.

The author said each book she has written has its own special meaning, and admits that they are often referred to as empathy books.

“They can teach children a lesson on feelings and values,” she explained.

“The book ‘Under the Snowman’s Hat’ is about poverty, ‘The Chaos Cafe’ teaches the lesson of its okay to make mistakes, ‘The girl who lost her shadow’ is relating to Irish folklore and the circle of friendship, ‘The invisible girl’ raises awareness of homelessness, especially during the Christmas season.”

Geraldine says her first book entitled 'Experiment 1' relates to the environment and teaches children how important

it is to look after the earth.

She continued: “The book centres around Monkey Mo and his trip to the Moon. After being to the Moon, Mo and

his owners the scientists learn the real beauty of the earth.”

Geraldine says children really took to the character Mo - so much so that she has Mo in a teddy form and they take it in turns to look after him.

“This is particularly good for children with special needs as they get to express their love and feel a sense of

connection.”

Geraldine was also delighted to be commissioned to write a book for the Foyle Trust.

“It’s called Mrs Peep’s Christmas. It is to draw awareness to the possibility of falls in older people especially in the

winter time. This was a lovely one to work on,” she stated.

Geraldine has been a teaching assistant in many schools over the course of 25 years. During this time she has seen the decline in the development of children. She puts this down to the rise of technology.

“In the schools we were noticing a huge downturn in social skills. It's important to get the children communicating again and expressing their feelings, and using their imagination. This can be done through reading my books,” she said.

“If you can get children reading when they are young they can flourish from a seed to a flower. That's what I’m hoping my books achieve. My books cover a range of topics and emotions. They can laugh and cry and they can be taught respect for others and if you do want space and peace and quiet then that is okay too. Books are so important for helping children process words in their little brains. It's brilliant to see them reading them.”

When it comes to the popularity of the books she said: “Each of them have been popular in their own ways. The feelings book however has been good at getting children interacting, having conversations and expressing themselves. If they are all reading the same book then that gives them a sense of community. The book has been particularly helpful for neurodiverse children.”

To compliment the books Geraldine has introduced colouring books which further allow children to express themselves creatively.

“When they are colouring in they have different colours that represent different feelings which is really good in helping the children understand,” she said.

The books have been popular with children in schools throughout the North, including Derry and Belfast. Geraldine hopes the success continues with the release of her upcoming book ‘The Old Leather Football’.

The author hopes that this encourages children to get back to playing outside and being involved in sports.

Geraldine is excited to see how the children react to this and is hopeful for the future of her books.

Geraldine’s books can be purchased from Costcutters Shop in Claudy, The Regeneration Shop in Dungiven, and through Geraldine’s personal Facebook Page.

Online purchases can be made via amzn.to/4cX2Pev