Local author releases mental health children’s book series

        Local writer and mental health professional Kevin Moran has released his first children’s book series titled “Randy and Friends,” aimed at promoting successful emotional and behavioral management within preschool-age youth.   
        In this story, Moran, of Pemberville, introduces readers to the main character, Randy, a 4-year old foster child who is experiencing anxiety at the prospect of attending school for the first time.
        As Randy meets his teacher, Ms. Veronica and has to say goodbye to his foster mother, Tina, he experiences an escalation in behaviors. Throughout the story, children learn how Randy is able to manage his emotions successfully with Ms. Veronica’s help.
        The “Randy and Friends” series is written to allow children to identify with Randy’s emotional experiences, from feeling anxious about going to school to meeting friends of different backgrounds, to aid children in understanding themselves further, Moran said.
        Each story offers discussion questions throughout the book, in addition to an end-of-book activity to increasingly develop the child’s emotional awareness. Available in physical and/or digital versions, “Randy and Friends” was created with children and their parents and guardians, teachers, counselors, babysitters, caretakers, foster parents and loved ones in mind, Moran said.
        “I’ve had the remarkable opportunity of working in a behavioral health setting with preschool-age youth, all of whom had been diagnosed with mental disorders,” he said. “Each day, we would collectively provide group therapy to the youth, which involved a range of therapeutic activities. Often, we would read the children social stories, or stories that had been written to assist children in increasing their social skills, but I rarely found the stories engaging. The stories were unable to meet the child where they were and did not successfully address their difficulties in processing their emotions.
        “In writing the ‘Randy and Friends’ series, it is my hope that these stories, told through the emotional experiences of the main character Randy, are able to help children to engage with Randy’s feelings and behaviors to then apply new coping skills into their own life with the help of their caretakers,” he said.
        The first book in the series, “Randy and Friends: Introducing Randy,” is available now while second book in the series, “Randy and Friends: Randy Walks to Class,” is coming soon.
        To purchase and learn more, visit kevincmoran.com.