The author of Nurse Mommy, Kristyn Boland, talks about how her debut picture book can be applied to other families and her hopes for customizing the book for any profession or family structure.

How might this book appeal to children whose parents work overnight shifts in another profession?

Nurse Mommy could definitely be helpful for children whose parents work other night shift professions! It is definitely more focused on nursing as it explains what Mommy is doing when she goes to work. One thing illustrated throughout the story is a clock to show what time it is while Mommy is awake, to help kids understand that she’s up all night. It goes back and forth between what Mommy is doing and what the baby is doing, to help kids see while they’re taking a bath or going to sleep Mommy is at work.

But the bigger overall message in the book is that Mommy can’t wait to get home and thinks about her baby the whole night that she’s gone. It also emphasizes that even though Mommy isn’t there, the baby is never alone and there will always be someone there to take care of them-in this book that person is the dad.

The characters in the book are based on my own family so the mom, dad, baby, (and dog!), were all illustrated to look like us! I have had the thought that if the book does well I would love to be able to one day even customize the characters in the book to match each individual family! Whether it’s a different parent going to work or staying home, a different profession, or a different family member taking care of them, I love the idea of any family being able to make this book their own! There are so many jobs where parents leave for work at night and I think that all kids would benefit from a story reflecting that!

For more information about Nurse Mommy and to enter the giveaway for a copy of the book, visit my previous post – Book Tour + Giveaway: Nurse Mommy.