About the story
When Mia meets Arlo on a camping trip, she is intrigued by a unique looking pair of boots he has in his tent.
This true story explains what these magic boots are and how they form part of the treatment process that Arlo undergoes at his local hospital. But the boots have another ability… to whisk him away in his dreams to tropical islands full of fascinating landscapes and animals.
A perfect story for younger children to learn about the diversity of our world and the people and creatures that live within it.
Why I wrote the story
When I first found out, when pregnant, that our little boy had Talipes (bilateral congenital talipes equinovarus, also known as clubfoot) I will be honest in saying that I didn’t know what that was. Once told I was deeply upset and worried about his future. However, my husband and I endeavoured to learn as much as we could about the disability and how to give Arlo the best start in life, which was especially important in the first 5 years due to his bones developing so much within this time.
We decided to always speak about the treatment, in particular his boots and bar in a positive way, naming them his magic boots. He wore them 23 hours a day for the first 3 months, after numerous casts on his leg and an operation, and then 14 hours a day until he was 5. Throughout this time I would talk to him about where they might take him at night time and how strong they were helping his legs to become.
Being an Early Years Teacher I understand the huge importance of children’s personal and emotional wellbeing. This enabled me to speak with Arlo about Talipes in an uplifting way, reassuring and cheering him on at every stage.
I personally have a real passion for outdoor play, travel and learning about the incredible world that we all live within and these aspects are highlighted in the book as well as our family life. From a young age I have given Arlo daily opportunities to strengthen his physical development in a variety of places such as woodlands and the beach which offer an abundance of different surfaces to climb and balance.
It wasn’t until we went camping in France and I heard Arlo show a new friend his magic boots, that I had the idea to create a story. His positivity inspired me to share his journey and I truly hope that the book can help other families to find positivity in theirs too.
The beautiful illustrations, drawn by the very talented Noah Warnes, will immerse you into every page and inspire lots of discussion points.
So whether you are a parent of a little one with Talipes or just looking for a magical book to learn about the diversity of the world and the people within it, then this book will hopefully be perfect for you.
About the author
Hello, I’m Emily and I live in England with my husband and my two beautiful little boys Arlo and Monty. I am an Early Years Teacher and have worked with young children for 15 years. My main passion is supporting children’s personal, social and emotional development as well as being a huge advocate for outdoor play.
I love hiking in the woods, wild swimming, camping and picnics with friends and family. Basically anything where I can either wear wellies or no shoes and be surrounded by nature.
After a devastating, life changing year in 2019 our little family decided to give away the majority of our belongings to have a year travelling the world together, before our eldest started school. This freedom and incredible opportunity, which I am forever grateful for, inspired me to create stories for young children.
After seing first hand how big life issues can effect children’s well being, I felt strongly that addressing these through the use of uplifting stories was important and it really helped us.
Stories have the wonderful ability to open up discussions in a gentle way. By talking through the emotions seen within the characters of books, they can also be spoken about in a less direct way. Reading books anywhere also gives children to opportunity to feel safe in their surroundings and focus on mindfulness, which is increasingly more important in this fast paced world.
I completed 4 books during our year away and plan to release a 2nd in the near future, but for now my focus is on my first book “Do you have magic boots”. It has been a steep learning curve and taken a lot of time to self publish but I have thoroughly enjoyed the process and have poured my heart into it. I really hope to raise awareness about Talipes and make children who are born with it feel empowered and supported.
