Mummy Wears Blue Shoes By Scott Furlong - [Book Review]

 Summary:

Emily is five-years-old. She wears pink ballerina shoes and wants to be a ballerina when she grows up.

Emily’s mummy and daddy are both special police officers called detectives. Lately, Emily has noticed that her mummy hasn’t been spending time with her. She has stopped taking her to dancing lessons and her older brother, Jackson, to his rugby lessons. One night, Emily sees her mummy crying on the sofa being comforted by her daddy. At a family meeting Emily learns that her mummy is poorly with something that the doctor calls Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. 

Mummy Wears Blue Shoes is a heart-warming story about a family who are living with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It is a story written about a family, for families by a family, by author Scott Furlong with illustrated by his cousin Emma Cahill.

Information about the Book

Title: Mummy Wears Blue Shoes

Author: Scott Furlong

Illustrator: Emma Cahill

Genre: Picture Book

Publication Date: 15th September 2020

Page Count: 54

Publisher: Clink Street Publishing

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55103855-mummy-wears-blue-shoes 

Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mummy-Wears-Shoes-Scott-Furlong/dp/1913340708/ 

My Review:

This is a lovely picture book for kids to make them understand PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). Sometimes, when elders in the family undergo some health problems which impact other members, it's tough for kids to understand. It's always good to explain them in simple terms instead of allowing them to assume things and become scared.

Emily loves ballerina and baking with her mom. When mom's behavior changes due to PTSD, she couldn't understand the reason. Emily's dad explains in simple terms and she does something to make her mom happy.

It's cute to know how kids react when their loved ones are suffering from a problem. The illustrations are great. But, I felt the story ends abruptly without mentioning the reaction from Emily's mom. Except for this, I loved the book. 

My Rating: 4/5

Author Information

Scott Furlong resides in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia on a 10-acre equine property. He medically retired from the Queensland Police Service after 20 years’ service with PTSD and Depression in December 2019. He was a detective for 18 years and worked in Homicide, Outlaw Motorcycle Gang Task Force, Organised Crime and Officer in Charge of a Criminal Investigation Branch. He is currently studying a Bachelor of Law and a Masters of Professional Studies (Research). His love of learning didn’t develop until he was in his early 40s. Scott’s wife was also a detective and worked in child protection. In 2011, she also medically retired from QPS with PTSD. They have one son who is 14 years old. Scott has a great love for reading and writing. He also loves cooking and sports.

MUMMY WEARS BLUE SHOES is Scott’s debut novel.

Until next time,