Madeleine Stahel | Switzerland
Hanna has had epilepsy since birth. She experiences in everyday life that something is different with her. For example, she has to swallow medication every day or she is often tired and unsteady.
Then she meets Karl the bird, who needs her help. A cat is threatening his young. Hanna summons up all her courage and, together with her friends, scares the evil cat away. On the way home, Hanna suffers an epileptic seizure. The friends know what to do and accompany her until she recovers.
The planned picture book fills a gap that I, as the mother of a daughter affected by epilepsy, have noticed: the few existing picture books on the subject address older or cognitively underdeveloped children. What is missing is a story that can be used to address epilepsy with young children in a very simple but also encouraging way.
For the targeted age group, it is not a main goal to explain the disease comprehensively. The story is intended to provide affected children with emotional security, to make them feel recognized and encouraged.
In addition to the children directly affected, their siblings, friends, daycare and kindergarten classmates, their parents, caregivers and teachers are also included as well as caregivers and teachers. More detailed information on epilepsy will be integrated in an appendix.
Text: Madeleine Stahel
Drawings: Madeleine Stahel
Format: 16.2 × 23 cm
Length: approx. 42 pages
Education:
Hochschule der Künste Bern, HKB
Visual Communication
Graduation: 2007
Published titles: 1