Page 75 - Reader's HouseMagazine - Issue 62

How do you balance explaining complex medical ideas while keeping the language simple and engaging for young readers?
I try to keep a child-like perspective and think how I would have liked the concepts said to me when I was a child.
What message do you hope children take away after reading the Nurse Florence® books?
Science learning can be fun and knowing how the body works should be a human right.
How do the illustrations and collaborations with contributors help bring your educational ideas to life for children?
I would not be able to do this series without my illustrators. They help bring the concepts to life and add richness to the characters. Before I write the book, I look at the images that the illustrator created for my inspiration. The illustrators create the drawings from vague drawing prompts so that they use their maximum creativity to create their own Nurse Florence® universe. We allow any style and medium just as long as AI is not used. Working with a team
of illustrators has been rewarding and the collaboration is important in a project like this one.
Do your own children influence the stories or topics you choose to write about?
No. We have a master list of topics to write about, and we just go down the list for ideas.
How do you hope your books might encourage children to explore careers in sci- ence, technology, engineering, or medicine?
We need more scientists and these books are meant to inspire a new generation of scientists. Science is amazing and I hope to instill my awe of our accumulated knowl- edge into readers.
What future topics or medical concepts would you like to explore in upcoming books in the series?
Since are goal is producing about 700 books, we will be covering all the major diseases as well as many rare diseases. We want to be thorough in our series just as we are thorough with each book.
What writing tips would you give to aspiring authors who want to write educational books for children?
Write something everyday to get into the habit and sharpen your writing skills. Don’t focus on making a perfect book at first, but an engaging book instead. Practice will make perfect.
What general advice would you offer to aspiring authors who are just beginning their writing journey?
Believe in yourself. If you can’t believe that you can write a best-selling novel but feel you could write something useful, start with that. Write a short story, poem, or even a long journal note about an idea. Once
you accomplish writing something you can believe in, go to the next level and write something a little more difficult that you can muster faith in yourself about. A journey of a thousand miles starts with one step.
What other projects do you have planned?
Our third series will publish in April about citizenship. Our fourth series will focus
on leadership and should publish by this summer. What if we could have 18 year old adults that understood their body, could have competent conversations with their doctor, have developed mental well-being, had many healthy coping skills, were good citizens that promoted the good of society, and were knowledgeable in leadership traits to help lead the next generation to higher heights than we have gotten already in our civilization? Onward and upward.
Pandemic Inspiration:
The series was conceived to combat the potential decline in educational quality during
remote learning.
Military Precision:
Dow applies USAF-learned standards, such as consistent
visual layouts and concise language, to his books.
Collaborative Scale:
A project that began with his niece has grown into a
vast international network of 180+ illustrators.
Rapid Publication:
The team now manages an impressive output of one new
book every five days.
Educational Philosophy:
A commitment to intro- ducing complex medical
terminology to young readers without sacrificing simplicity or accuracy.
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