The Royal Canadian Legion, the Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research (CIMVHR) and Canadian Forces Morale and Welfare Services (CFMWS) have unveiled a new series of free online storybooks aimed at building strengths and coping skills in young children from military, Veteran and public safety personnel (PSP) families.
The four unique books, adapted from award-winning Australian storybooks, are the first in Canada to pair children’s stories with research evidence and the lived experiences of Canadian military and public service personnel families.
The idea behind the books
The original Australian books are the brainchild of Dr. Marg Rogers, a doctor of Early Childhood Education at the University of New England (UNE), and a Research Fellow with the Manna Institute, Australia.
She recognized that although young children from military, Veteran and PSP families grapple with distinct challenges that can hinder their development, few age-appropriate Australian resources existed to support them.
Children from these families contend with frequent and prolonged separations from parents working far from home or working long shifts and frequent relocations (for military families). As a result, families often miss out on time together, including special events. In some families, children have a parent with a service-related physical and/or mental health condition.
These experiences can hinder child development, particularly in the early years, with children displaying responses such as sleep disturbances, regressions in feeding and toileting, clingy behaviour, emotional outbursts, emotionally withdrawing and difficulties concentrating, which can interfere with their ability to learn.
Books include a suite of resources
Dr. Rogers and her interdisciplinary team in Child and Family Resources and Programs at UNE have created 12 free to read research-based children’s e-storybooks specifically for children from military, Veteran and PSP families in Australia, as well as a suite of resources for parents, educators and support workers. They are all available online and are published under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-NC-SA), which means that no profit will be made from the sale of these books. When they do become available for sale as printed books, they will be sold at cost to produce.
This allows other organizations to adapt them for use in their own country or community. With no royalties paid to the authors and no profit made on the sale of the books — including the Canadian adaptations — all children can benefit from the online resources at no cost to their family.
The books weave together the lived experience narratives of children and parents in these families.
In 2022 in Australia, the print and interactive storybooks won a Council for the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences award for Distinctive Work. Since then, two more storybooks have been written, but with Canadian and UK researchers, so the stories are suitable for families in all three countries.
Developing the Canadian storybooks
CIMVHR received $100,000 in funding from the Royal Canadian Legion, and with additional supports from CFMWS, created the Canadian adaptations. CIMVHR and CFMWS also contributed financially to ensure that all of the remaining books in the series can be adapted.
Work on the project began soon after Dr. Rogers presented her work at the CIMVHR Forum research conference in 2021. Despite research showing how important it is for young children to see themselves in literature, Canadian children from military, Veteran and PSP families rarely see themselves reflected in the pages of storybooks.
An environmental scan of age-appropriate storybooks, picture books, children’s novels and graphic novels found 102 related to the theme of military life or Remembrance in Canada. However, only five of them were available online as free e-books and none of them presented academic references or stated that they were based on the lived experiences of Canadian military families. As a result, the four adapted storybooks are the first evidence-based military children’s books available online and for free in Canada.
CIMVHR worked with an advisory committee and parent volunteers and their children to adapt the books. Their time, input and expertise were instrumental in creating the Canadian versions.
Stories reflect Canada
All of the adaptations use Canadian spelling, terminology, family experiences, characters, settings, animals, flora and fauna, clothing, weather conditions and flags. Each book also includes a link to accompanying resources from the original Australian books, including interactives and downloadable educational activities.
CIMVHR and CFMWS are also working to create read-aloud versions, with readers reflecting the diversity of languages in Canada. The first narrated book features Canadian Armed Forces Veteran and retired astronaut, Chris Hadfield reading Our Alphabet Roller Coaster – The ABC’s of Training and Deployment.
The Canadian adaptations are available online at no cost on the CFMWS website. Softcover print versions can also be found in MFRC libraries across Canada and around the world, courtesy of The Legion funding.
The printed books can also be purchased, with no profits earned, through The Royal Canadian Legion’s web store (https://www.poppystore.ca/).
Stories suitable for all children
Three of the adaptations are suitable for all children, whether or not they are from military, Veteran or PSP families and are appropriate for individual and general group or class reading:
Our Alphabet Roller Coaster – The ABC’s of Training and Deployment | Nos montagnes russes de l’alphabet – L’abc de l’entraînement et des déploiements
English E-book version here French E-book version here
Using four lovable Canadian animals illustrated by Jan Dolby, the storybook explores their experiences of service family life, including postings and parental absences from home. This title is also featured on the CFMWS website as a read aloud video in English and French and narrated by Canadian Armed Forces Veteran and retired astronaut, Chris Hadfield.
D is for Deployment: Emma Raps it Up | D est pour déploiement: Emma la rappeuse
English E-book version here French E-book version here
The story explores Emma’s experiences as her parent deploys. Emma shares her feelings as her parent moves in and out of the household. The book is illustrated by Laura Hanek, herself a military spouse.
My Colourful Kite | Mon cerf-volant haut en couleur
English E-book version here French E-book version here
The book explores social responses to parental absence and extended family care. It is illustrated by Tanya Cooper and Laura Hanek.
A story focused on parents with a service-related injury
The following book is specifically for children who have experienced a parent with a service-related injury. It is not suitable for other children or for general group or class reading:
And so, things have been a bit different: Oliver’s Story | Pour tout dire, les choses sont un peu différentes: l’histoire d’Olivier
English E-book version here French E-book version here
Co-written by Marg Rogers and CIMVHR’s Amy Doyle, the book tells the story of Oliver, whose parent has a service-related injury. Oliver learns what that means for his parent and the whole family. It is illustrated by Raph Roberts. The original adorable kangaroo family illustrations were used in Canada, partly to save money and partly because they were so adorable. All children love kangaroos, regardless of where they are from.
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See the Press Release: https://quoimedia.com/reading-the-stories-of-their-life/
Photo courtesy of CIMVHR
