Neurodivergent author and illustrator team up for the second installment of the award-winning sensory differences picture book series: Wiggles, Stomps, and Squeezes: Calming My Jitters at School.
Created by Lindsey Rowe Parker, a mom with a home full of neurodivergent minds, and Rebecca Burgess, an autistic illustrator and advocate, this book is sure to provide parents, educators, and children alike with an understanding of sensory experiences.
"By leading with kindness and approaching challenges with compassion, we intentionally build a supportive environment where every child can thrive."- Meghan Ashburn, Inclusion Consultant & Author, notanautismmom.com
The book series follows the journey of a child with sensory differences as they learn to navigate their world. Readers gain insight into how different activities can help children better regulate their bodies and sensory needs. This second installment focuses on how these same activities can be used to help children regulate themselves in new environments such as school, and how the adults in their life can take an active supporting role in those strategies.
With an engaging neurodiversity-affirming storyline combined with modeling supportive adult-to-child interactions, Wiggles Stomps and Squeezes: Calming My Jitters at School is sure to be a hit amongst educators and families looking for resources on navigating sensory differences.
“Being able to work with Rebecca again on our second book is a dream come true. When we began this project, I knew that I wanted to partner with an illustrator that understood these sensory experiences, and I found Rebecca Burgess on Twitter. Rebecca is an autistic illustrator who is most known for the comic Understanding The Spectrum. From the first concept sketches, I knew Rebecca was absolutely the perfect person to bring this story to life. Their approach to the characters and their relationship was humbling to me, you can feel the support and understanding in the illustrations.”
"I loved Lindsey's text immediately, the writing is brilliant, fluent, and really fun! But most importantly it gave some great wording to sensations and experiences I had as a child and still have now!” says illustrator Rebecca Burgess. ”At the time I had no way of articulating these experiences, and definitely no way of understanding. As soon as I finished my first read of the text, all I could think was I wish I could have had a book like this as a child! I'm very excited to be able to continue this series to give a name and expression to those 'jitters' I tried to get rid of as a child through my art, and help other autistic kids in understanding and expressing their 'jitters'.
"Every classroom needs this book! Readers are gently nudged to embrace the power of empathy and witness the hard work neurodivergent children put in each day. This heartwarming story takes us on a journey of co-regulation and offers valuable strategies for navigating sensory differences. By leading with kindness and approaching challenges with compassion, we intentionally build a supportive environment where every child can thrive."- Meghan Ashburn, Inclusion Consultant & Author, notanautismmom.com
“Calming My Jitters at School follows our sensory kid through their day in school. My favorite theme of this book is that they are accepted and understood,” says Lindsey. “They are not asked to change, they are supported, allowed to be themself, they are loved.”
“BQB Publishing’s mission is to bring new authors with cutting-edge books into the marketplace,” says Terri Leidich, President/Publisher of BQB and WriteLife Publishing. “The success of the first book in the Wiggles, Stomps, and Squeezes series is a stunning example of a fresh new voice telling a story from a perspective that young readers and adults alike can relate to or learn from. We are thrilled to expand this series to bring more of these stories to the people that need them most.”
What they're saying about Calming My Jitters at School:
"As the parent of an autistic Kindergartener, this book is essential in our home! The words and images are deeply immersive, transporting me into my son’s sensory experiences in a way that no other book has done. The story normalizes and validates sensory needs and models practical, affirming ways to meet them. Most importantly, though, my son truly sees himself in this book, and this representation has impacted him powerfully. Books like this one give me hope for a more inclusive world."
- Ellie Hunja, Parent & Author of Blessings, New Mom
"In all my years teaching, I have never come across a more accurate representation of my students' unique sensory needs while at school. This book will give all students who need to wiggle, stomp, and squeeze a boost in confidence."
- Stephanie Bolin, Parent & Special Education Teacher
"As a licensed therapist specializing in working from a neurodiversity-affirming lens, this book has so much to offer to kids and adults of all neurotypes and provides much needed representation to kids who have sensory and movement needs! I love that this book normalizes using stimming, movement, and sensory experiences to help regulate at school. It’s so special to read a story that highlights what a day can look like when a child is having their needs accommodated and validated by other people in their environment."
- Brittany Ashmore, Parent & M.S., LMFT (Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist)
"Every classroom needs this book! Readers are gently nudged to embrace the power of empathy and witness the hard work neurodivergent children put in each day. This heartwarming story takes us on a journey of co-regulation and offers valuable strategies for navigating sensory differences. By leading with kindness and approaching challenges with compassion, we intentionally build a supportive environment where every child can thrive."
- Meghan Ashburn, Inclusion Consultant & Author, notanautismmom.com