How A Children’s Author and Health Organizations Team Up To Promote Health

 

In today’s fast paced, overstimulated world, there are a lot of unique challenges pressing on kids. How do you teach them about health, nutrition, diseases and emotional issues while remaining in their developmental framework?

Enter Thumbs Up Johnnie and his cadre of characters. Since everyone has a thumbprint and each one is unique, this one-of-a-kind thumbprint cowboy is a curious and adventure-driven hero and the star of his own series of books, The Adventures of Thumbs Up Johnnie. Within his hardback adventures, targeted to 4 to 8 year olds, Thumbs Up Johnnie teaches kids about character lessons such as teamwork, owning a pet, being a friend, saving money, handwashing and being a proud American. There’s much more about Johnnie and his world at www.thumbsupjohnnie.com.

In the past several years, Thumbs Up Johnnie’s team has been commissioned by corporations and nonprofit organizations to talk about specific causes and issues. For example, the good-natured cowpoke has starred in 14 adventures for Centene Corporation, covering topics such as healthy eating, exercise, hydration, asthma, diabetes and anti-smoking. In Adventures through Fitropolis, Thumbs Up Johnnie and his friends Constance Eatrite, Skip Drive-Thru, Claire Springs and Spike Armstrong teach young readers about nutrition, exercise and living a healthy lifestyle.

Fitropolis has been adapted for Girl Scouts who work to earn a Thumbs Up Johnnie Fitropolis patch after completing the sticker and activity book and performing exercise activities. Each character is designed to make his or her message relatable to readers with elements of humor and fun. Adventures from Puffletown, starring Thumbs Up Johnnie, Spike Armstrong and Dr. Von Wheezles, teaches children about asthma, triggers, peak flow meters and preventive measures to keep their condition under control.

 

The Adaptable, Health-Promoting Kid Wonder

With the unfortunate advent of a new generation of cigarette smokers, Centene also commissioned Thumbs Up Johnnie to host a book on smoking cessation entitled Thumbs Up Johnnie’s Adventures with Smokey Yuckpak, which discusses the health dangers and economics of smoking, the chemical make-up of cigarettes and more. The colorful book encourages readers to help loved ones of their own find ways to quit smoking.

Part storybook, part sticker book, part activity book, these helpful guides have proven successful with audiences by presenting serious topic matter in a cartoon and story format that they can understand. Supplemented with learning activities and games, the book reinforces what readers have learned, as they apply their knowledge to a brief quiz.

Thumbs Up Johnnie has also tackled issues for the March of Dimes, with the primary focus on supporting siblings of premature babies. In the book Thumbs Up Johnnie, Little Digit & the Special Delivery, the reader learns about the neonatal intensive care unit, and ways to connect to their sibling during this stressful time. In A Heart Full of Hope & A Box Full of Wishes, commissioned by Siteman Cancer Center, BJC Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine, kids learn about cancer and the meaning of chemotherapy, radiation and surgery. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is releasing a Thumbs Up Johnnie book that tackles the difficult subject of leukemia, how it affects friends and family, and the medical terms and emotions inherent with the disease.

Thumbs Up Johnnie has also ventured into environmental topics in his book for the St. Louis Cardinals entitled Rules of Thumb for Going Green! Johnnie, his horse Buddy and Terra Firma meet Fredbird at Busch Stadium and learn about reducing, reusing and recycling at the ballpark, and then encourage readers to do the same at their own ballpark and in their home. Bonuses in the book include fun recycling facts, activities, games and stickers.

As an author, people often ask “Is it difficult to write on tough subjects?” and “How do you get a kid to understand such large, serious concepts?” My answer always is, “Kids are just little people with big questions!” A lot goes into the development of a book. For instance, Thumbs Up Johnnie starred in a second book on asthma for St. Louis Children’s Hospital that was distributed by their community asthma vans. Our team met with their asthma nurses, administrators, clinicians, educators and ER staff to determine the scope of the book and the specific content.

As the author of Thumbs Up Johnnie, I take their critical content and then create characters that are best suited to deliver their message within the boundaries of Thumbs Up Johnnie’s voice. I also observe two very steadfast rules in my writing: First, kids are very curious and intelligent, and I write to satisfy the obvious topic requirements but in ways that they will remember. Second, I subscribe to the theory that kids will remember what is interesting to them. There is a scene in the movie Jerry Maguire where the young boy says to Tom Cruise’s character, “Do you know that the human head weighs eight pounds? Did you know that bees smell fear?” These are the things that children remember. We explore that sense of wonder on a daily basis.

In a book I penned for the Missouri Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness & Health, The Adventures of the Body Walk, Thumbs Up Johnnie learned about everything from teeth and gums, bones, the brain, the uvula and digestion. At a book signing, one particularly excited Thumbs Up Johnnie fan approached me and said, “Do you know what Thumbs Up Johnnie told me in my book? That my intestines are about 26 feet long! That’s like four of my dad! Way cool!” I was thrilled he had learned something, but more so that he had retained the fact and then applied it in a practical, comparative way.

The issues bombarding our children are indeed serious stuff. But the Thumbs Up Johnnie book series attempts to present issues in a way they can understand and hopefully act as communication starters for families, educators and clinicians to continue the conversations.

 

Michelle Bain is the Thumbs Up Johnnie creator, writer and wrangler. Contact: Michelle@thumbsupjohnnie.com