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Summersdale snaps up two Sedgwick titles tackling mental health for children
Summersdale has signed two non-fiction titles by Marcus Sedgwick as part of a new series called Be the Change, illustrated by Thomas Taylor, which tackles mental health topics for nine to 12-year-olds.
Commissioning editor Anna Martin acquired world rights from Claire Wilson at RCW and Kirsty McLachlan at Morgan Green Creatives for Be the Change: Be Calm - Rise up and Don’t Let Anxiety Hold You Back and Be the Change: Be Kind - Rise Up and Make a Difference to the World, for joint publication on 11th August 2022.
The publisher explained: “Be the Change: Be Calm will show you how to shut down anxiety with fun and simple ways to calm your mind by listening to what your body is telling you while Be the Change: Be Kind is your handbook on how to use your own voice to empower yourself and others to spread kindness. Marcus Sedgwick tells the story of kindness – where it comes from, what it feels like and perhaps most importantly why it matters.”
Taylor, illustrator of the cover art for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J K Rowling (Bloomsbury Children’s Books) and author of bestselling middle grade novel Malamander (Walker Books), will illustrate the two titles.
Martin said of the acquisition: “I was thrilled to acquire these books and to have the opportunity to work with Marcus and Thomas. Be the Change: Be Kind and Be the Change: Be Calm are brilliant interactive and accessible resources for kids to learn about the importance of empathy and mental health – so they can be the change they want to see. Thomas’s illustrations add a lightness and humour, and the combination of these two great minds makes these books essential reading!”
Sedgwick added: “As someone who had mental health challenges from a young age, I am passionate about helping young people make their lives easier, and freer. These two books are, very simply, books I wish I had had as a child, to help me understand and articulate my feelings and the way we all interact with the world around us.”
