"Nobody is exactly the same"
A book about about how people are different
(which still needs to meet a REAL writer, by the way, and a medical expert review : ))
(which still needs to meet a REAL writer, by the way, and a medical expert review : ))
This is a book I created years ago about the genetics which makes us all different. The book (not published) is an elaborated version intended for older children, of the original book that I created for my son's kinder garden class to help them understand why he wasn't able to run like them and needed to use a wheelchair sometimes.
Page 1 & 2: Introduction to the differences on the outside which are easy to see... short, tall, hair and skin color, etc.
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Page 3 & 4: How our bodies may seem to work the same on the inside, including the tiniest parts, the cells, that make up our body systems (kind of like millions of snowflakes that makes a snowman, or grains of sand build a sandcastle)
Page 5 & 6: How cells are impossible to see except for doctors and scientists through their microscopes, which they may do if you ever had a blood test.
Page 7 & 8: How many different kinds of cells there are, and how they all have special "jobs" to do.
Page 9 & 10: How there are even more parts inside each cell, that makes it work too, and in the center, the nucleus (like a little house) holds our DNA , which has thousands of genes that act like "little notes" to instruct the cell of what it's job is...
- "Everybody has genes, but no two people have the exact same ones"
Page 11 & 12: How we get the genes from each of our parents, when we first begin to grow from a "seed and an egg" and each add their genes to our first cell, which then keep splitting and growing into millions of cells, that let us grow into a person.
Page 13 & 14: How all the genes in our cells "team up" and decide which instructions to use, and if we should be tall (like Dad) have curls (like Mom)and even big ears (like Grandpa) or same color eyes as (Grandma)
Page 15 & 16: With so many cells doing all these different jobs, the genes sometimes make mistakes or don't even have some of the really important instructions, and there can be problems if some of the cells aren't doing their job right...
-"Some problems can make it hard to see or hear, and other can make it harder to learn,talk or walk, and some can even make hard to breath, or eat any kind of food you want"
Page 17 & 18: Some serious problems with cells and genes are called "genetic" or "inherited" diseases and have special names. There are thousand of different diseases and disorders, but you can't always see them on the persons "outside", and you can't "catch" them from somebody else, - you are born that way.
Page 19 & 20: "Of course, most people's cells are doing their jobs just fine, and genes aren't the only reason some people's bodies don't work well."
Doctors and scientists are always working on finding new ways to help our bodies work good, and there are some things that can help, such as medicines, glasses, wheelchairs and more.
Maybe someday, there could even be a way to make new genes that would be able to give the right instructions to the cells if our genes don't know how, or we are missing some important ones...
Page 21 & 22: "But, no matter what the differences are on the outside, or inside, there are some ways we are all the same...Everybody has feelings, and things they like or don't like, and everybody likes to have friends that are kind and care!"
Footnote:
The original version of this book, which was shared with my son's kindergarten class, describing in a much more brief, simple and age appropriate way how his cells do not have the instructions to make "glue" for keeping his muscles "strong" ( He has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy) and that was the reason he was using a wheelchair to get to the playground and also why he would tire quickly and wasn't able to run and play as rough. The children were allowed to try the chair if they wanted to, and most didn't, but after learning why he was "different" they were all eager to be chosen (by the teacher) as the "escort" that walked with him to the playground!
I wanted to create a book about genetic diseases in general, which may be helpful to many children in sharing their condition with peers, but this project has been on the "shelf" for over 15 years now, and a lot of new research would be needed to pursue the idea again, but I'm hoping that maybe by posting this here on my illustration blog I can get some feed back on the subject, and maybe even inspire someone else who can actually write : )
Thanks for viewing,
Jeanette
