Voices of Fostering

Robert - From Fostering to Storytelling

• National Fostering Group • Season 4 • Episode 19

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Discover the creative journey of Robert and his husband David—foster carers, children’s book authors, and illustrators. In this episode of Voices of Fostering, Helen chats with Robert about how their experiences inspired them to write and illustrate children’s books that celebrate diversity, kindness, and the meaning of family. Learn about their creative process, the stories they tell, and why making their books accessible to all children is so important.

Whether you’re interested in fostering, children’s literature, or creative family projects, this episode is full of inspiration and heart.

If you would like to find out more about fostering please visit our website here.

If you have any questions that you would like to be answered on our next episode email podcast@nfa.co.uk

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Helen:

Hello and welcome to this episode of Voices of Fostering, uh, where today I'm delighted to be joined by a foster carer who's actually been on the podcast before, and he's coming back to tell us about something a little bit different, uh, that him and and his husband, uh, have been up to. So welcome back, Robert. Hello Robert. Hello,

Robert:

Helen. Lovely to be here. Thanks for having me.

Helen:

So Robert, you've been on the podcast before. Uh, we've spoken to you all about your, um, your fostering journey, uh, you and your husband, David, uh, but you and your husband David have, have got some hidden talents, haven't you, uh, as you both, um, are, are children's authors. So can you tell us a little bit about that and, and how you got into it?

Robert:

Well, I think probably, uh, well, we feel that everybody's got some stories inside them. Um, I, I think my husband more than, more than most, maybe I've always, always been interested in writing myself. Um, but I'm, I'm kind of a starter and I, I find it really hard to finish off. Um, but David is, um, very, very skilled in that and he, he is able to, to finish the story, thankfully. So our first, uh, book, was it Switch and a Chicken called Chad. Um, and this, this came about from, from kind of a bit of a, a reevaluation of our, our life during COVID, as a lot of people did. Um, yeah. And we kind of thought, you know, I think there's more that we can, that we can be doing and perhaps bringing a little bit of our, our own interests in. So, so David. Writes the stories. I illustrate them and, and he scans my illustrations in and he creates these amazing pictures from them, which I could never draw all in one go. Um, and we wanted to be able to give something happy and created to the world after a time that was really, really. Obviously a, a really hard time for everybody.

Helen:

So what sort of stories are they, Robert, and, you know, what sort of themes did they touch on?

Robert:

Well, we love a story with a theme and, uh, itch. The Witch and a chicken called Chad is all about, um, a witch, not, not surprisingly, but she doesn't use her power so good. She, um, she uses it to get her own way and to be honest, at the beginning of the story, she's a bit of a bully. Um, so this story is all about. Um, the kind of misuse of power kind of bullying and the power of friendship. And the power of forgiveness. So the, the characters in the story rally around Paul Farmer James, who's been cursed by itch and, and they set off to teach, itch the era of her ways. And in the end, they actually all become friends. By the second story, it's to which has become the, uh, the teacher at the, uh, academy for Broomstick Craft. Um, she's now good and, um, and helps people with her magic rather than trying to get her own way. And this story is all about focusing on her daughter Switch now. Itch wants her to grow up to be the greatest witch the world has ever known. However, switch harbor's a bit of a secret because she doesn't want to be a witch. Um, she wants to be a farmer, so she's a little bit worried that her mum would be disappointed. So this is a story all about kind of your identity and being it's okay to be who you want to be and all of those kinds of things.

Helen:

And do you find Robert that. After you've read a book like this with a child, it does spark some conversations and it sparks their imagination.

Robert:

Yeah, absolutely. I, I, it's been really nice to, to, um, you know, start the series of books that the children can kind of see the continuing adventures of each of which, but it, it's really nice to have stories that, that are very important issues, moral kind of dilemmas and all those sorts of things, but they're not. That's not the most prominent feature in them. You know, at the heart of these stories, there's lovely characters that are having an adventure. Um, and hopefully the children enjoy the, uh, the kind of illustrations of them. We've made these illustrations relatively kind of simple and naive because we're hoping the children will enjoy having a go draw in them themselves. Um, so it's, it's all, um, there for the children to, to really engage in, in the whole world and, and understand. The difference between right and wrong, but in a very subtle way, rather than having it kind of hammered home to them.

Helen:

And you have a story as well, Robert, uh, Weeba and the Wallbanger, which has fostering at the heart of it, doesn't it? So tell us about that.

Robert:

Weeba and the Wallbanger is available on our, on our website actually is the free audio story. Um, so our website is uh, www hum press co uk. That's hum. Um, just like Mummy, but with an h. Weeba and the war banger is about a pair of aliens who are based loosely upon our, our two pet cats, and they befriend, uh, a young girl called Meg. So Meg is fostered and she becomes very, very good friends with Weeba and the wall banger and then sadly make us move to. Away from her home and she, she moves to somewhere else. Obviously, Weeba and the Wallbanger were very, very upset about this because they can't find their friend. They don't know where she's gone. Um, but they used the standard scope to track her own and they find her, and I suppose the, it's the first and a series of stories, and this first one is kind of setting that scene about family being. Whoever you choose it to be. It doesn't have to be people that you are related to. It can be those really, really important people in your life who do special things for you and who look after you and who are there for you no matter what. Uh, and that's what the heart of that story.

Helen:

And when you've read this story to or, or a looked after child has read it themselves, what sort of impact has it had on them, Robert?

Robert:

Well, I think with them. The kind of impact that we've seen is that it's, um, is that recognition has been being seen with them. You know, something, you know, we've had, we've read it with children and, and they've, and we've listened to it rather because it's after it's on the website, we've listened to it. And they kind of resonated with the fact that, oh yeah, you know, I have, I don't live with my mommy and my daddy I live with, with such and such. And actually that's been really magical to see happen. The fact that they, that they see themselves in that story. Um, and they, you know, they feel recognized and seeing. 'cause I think that's, um, you know, you don't have that many stories. Where the, where the children are fostered and that's okay. Often it's a big problem maybe that the children need to be fostered 'cause this has happened or that's happened. And actually this was just in a very positive light. The fact that, um, you can be fostered. And it means that you've got a bigger family, you've got other people that care about you as well as your own biological family as well.

Helen:

And Robert, you say these stories, um, are on, uh, your website. Hum press.credit uk and they're, they're, they're free audio books for, for people to listen to. In, in particular the, uh, Weeba and the War. Bangor is, how important was it for you, for you and your husband to, to make sure that stories like that are accessible to everybody? That there's no barriers?

Robert:

So important. Not everybody can afford a book. You know, books are expensive. Not everybody can, you know, find a way to get to the library necessarily to borrow a book or, you know, that can be quite a pressured thing to go to the library and to take a book out and to have to take it back and all that kind of thing. So we wanted something there, you know, knowing that lots of children like going online and that's quite easy and accessible for families. We wanted to have. These, um, stories there available, uh, free so that people could enjoy. They've got sound effects and things in them, so they kind of bring the world to life. We've got lots of spooky Dooke stories on there as well for slightly older children. Um, so they're kind of stories with kind of modern fairy tales with a bit of a, maybe a bit of a moral or a message through them. Um, one that comes to mind is that. Story, uh, called Theresa Green. Um, all about the environment and the fact that you need to be kind, some other nature, otherwise she's not gonna be kind back. Um, and. We've also got another story written, not by ourselves actually, um, but written by an also called Zoe Patel, which is sort about, um, a monster who's allergic to people. So it's called Flow Can't Eat People, and that's another one where those children see themselves recognized in those children with, uh, any number of allergies. But it's a fun story. It's not just a, you know, so you've got allergies kind of book, you know, it's actually, you know, about a monster who's allergic to eating people. So she ends up being vegetarian in the end, um, and having a, you know, a very happy time in the end. But it's just touching on those things where, where the children can then kind of say, oh yeah, you know, I can't, I can't have dairy produce, or I, or I don't eat, um, the same meat as you. I, I halal meat, which is not an allergy. It's, um, a cultural, um. Tradition, but you know, those sorts of moments where the children can see that, that we, there might be differences between us, but actually there are, you know, there's lots that's similar too.

Helen:

Absolutely. Oh, well thank you so much for sharing this with us, Robert. And of course, as you've said, uh, everything can be accessed on your website, which is hum press.co.uk. Uh, so yeah, thanks so much for chatting to us and, and best of luck with the future with your item.

Robert:

Oh, thank you very much for having me, Helen. It's been a pleasure.

Helen:

Thank you so much for joining us for another episode of Voices of Fostering. If you'd like to find out more, head online and search National Fostering group and make this the year you foster.