About The Book
But first…
Why has Sammy Rocket exploded?
It had been a really long difficult day. One of Sammy’s superpowers had refused to switch off. He had tried everything – twitching his nose and blinking, concentrating so hard his brain hurt, even jumping in the air, spinning around & twitching his nose all while repeating “visible” ” visible” ” visible” – but nothing worked.
This superpower was the trickiest of them all! Usually though it switched off before he wanted it to. Once he had been happily waltzing back from the kitchen with a huge two-hands-full pile of jammy dodgers and *poof* it switched off on its own. King Dog, who had been cautiously but excitedly following these curiously magical floating biscuits, had jumped in the air and howled before spending the rest of the day in his bed having strange dreams about flying food. This time though, it was Sammy who was feeling scared, and alone, no one could see him at all.
At first he entertained himself by tickling people without them knowing who it was, but they were just too busy to think about why they kept bursting into fits of laughter. So, Sammy waited for it to turn off (it was only he 111th time that he had waited for something this week after all). After a looong time of waiting Sammy slumped against the wall and sat on the floor, he was feeling fed up and sad. But then he remembered the Super Squad had planned to go out for ice-cream later. He jumped up in a panic “What if they still cant see me, and leave me here, alone, and with no ice-cream!!” – with this thought his emotions took over completely!
The panic drifted into sadness, then fear. He wasn’t scared long as loneliness took over. The next second he felt cross, and then he was giggling at the memory of Shiny Nine laughing out loud in the middle of drinking her coffee. He was quickly back to feeling annoyed again, this time with himself for keeping his super-power a secret from everyone. With a frustrated twitch of his nose he turned bright red, and very very hot. “whatever next?” he thought and regretted it.
BOOM! Sammy Blew Up!
But don’t worry! Sammy WILL be ok! He reads his own book and is learning new ways to manage his thoughts and feelings so he can cope better with difficult situations. He is still determined to master his vanishing power as he has big plans for a really elaborate biscuit heist – Shh!!
“Sammy Rocket, Captain of the Super Squad! Harnessing the Power of Family: Super Siblings triumph through Turmoil”
Written by Jess Walker
Illustration by Ros Webb
Synopsis
“Sammy Rocket” is a warm and fun story for siblings of children with additional needs, ideal for ages (approx) 3-8 years. It reflects the unusual experiences that can occur for siblings of children with additional needs.
The story follows Sammy, eldest of three siblings, one of whom (his sister) has additional needs. This trio (key members of Sammys’ Super Squad) show incredible resilience by creating and utilising a range of roles, games and skills that keep the whole family growing and smiling together, even at the most difficult of times. They offer a voice for the real, raw, and tough thoughts and feelings that commonly occur (these can be easily skipped if it is felt appropriate when reading with your child). And it gently encourages siblings to do the same – to be honest and open, to voice and own them, to let people know just how tough it can be! This, of course, is only a snippet of the journey, as the Super Squad also celebrate all of those wonderful moments in life. Overall it aims to help children to embrace their journey, whatever they are facing.
Author, Jess Walker, hopes to offer relatable characters and life experiences for siblings to help reduce feelings of isolation, and to offer a relaxed opportunity and talking points, from which families can explore their own experiences, thoughts, and emotions, and develop their own coping strategies to help them triumph through the turmoil (hence the age range for this book is wide and can be used in various ways throughout your journeys).
Illustrator, Ros Webb brings the story to life with wonderful imagery conveying the depth of the characters and the complexity and beauty of family dynamics. These wonderful images make the book accessible for a broader range of children and will inspire everyone’s imagination.
The book includes coping strategies drawn from CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) which can serve as useful life skills and can help in empowering children to pro-actively create a happy life for themselves.
An accompanying workbook will be on its way soon, with the aim of providing each sibling with their own
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“Stories are the most important thing in the world. Without them we wouldn’t be human beings at all” – Phillip Pullman
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