Local Author Publishes Debut Children's Book

Article written by: Laura Pearson

Over the last two years, local resident Lynne Crawford has taken the seeds of an idea and grown a wonderful adventure book for 7-11 year olds. With the published book in her hands and already selling well, we’re delighted to speak to Lynne to find out more and share her book's message.

Hello Lynne, let's start with an introduction… what’s your book about?

‘The Petriarchy’ introduces us to a Toy Poodle called Teddy, who is the bravest, most courageous leader the dog world has ever met... they just couldn’t see it yet. This story takes us on an adventure with Teddy, as he searches for his purpose in life in a world designed for Labradors.

How did you come up with the idea for the book?

It started from reading about the negative impacts of patriarchy on women, as well as my own personal experiences of these. Then when I started having conversations with my daughters about things they had experienced at school, I started to think about how I could share our conversations with others in an accessible way.

So there’s a bigger message within the story?

Yes, like many children's books I’ve used a story about dogs to introduce a bigger issue - patriarchy. I wanted to highlight the social system of patriarchy in a way that kids can understand and enables adults to talk to them about the issue. Through Teddy’s adventure there also emerges a strong message about encouraging everyone to be their unique wonderful selves.

Are there messages that parents would find helpful about dealing with challenges and processing emotions?

Yes, Teddy meets lots of characters who have had different experiences and challenges and he hears how they have dealt with their challenges. I tried to include a variety of different experiences that would resonate with kids and parents.

What’s your dream for Teddy and The Petriarchy?

My dream for the book is for it to be taught in schools. The research shows patriarchy negatively impacts boys and girls in different ways. By the time kids go to school they recognise males as being brilliant. This disadvantages girls who, when speaking up in class, can be ignored by the boys. Also, I found research that showed boys are socialised to disconnect from their emotions around the age of five, so I added a chapter explaining how to process negative emotions.

Where could we purchase your book?

For individual purchases, it's available on Amazon and Waterstones websites.

For anyone looking for bulk purchases (10 or more) for a school or community group, please contact info@crawfordroberts.co.uk

Thanks for talking to us Lynne and we wish you every success with your book!

Lynne was born and raised in Dunfermline and now lives in the Masterton Park area with her husband, two daughters and their rescue dog Teddy. This is Lynne’s first book. To follow along with Teddy’s real life adventures and to keep up to date with Lynne’s writing, follow @the_petriarchy_ on Instagram.