Connor was diagnosed with ADHD, but he didn’t understand what that should mean.

Compared to some children he was quite mild.

Compared to others - extremely wild.

It can be precarious to label a child.

A wrong diagnosis is often filed.

Having a disorder made Connor feel low.

He didn’t want school or his friends to know.

He created an imaginary friend.

A true companion to the end.

A fox to personify ADHD.

I know that friend is real… because that friend is me!

This highly anticipated and unique children’s book launched during the ADHD awareness month 2020, bringing entertainment and relief to children, families and teachers.

Award-winning Welsh filmmaker and content producer Nathan Erasmus collaborated with talented Polish illustrator Monika Dzikowicz, to release a new type of children’s book that embraces neurodiversity, written from the perspective of the children who are wired differently.

DID YOU KNOW? - In the UK it’s thought that between 2% to 5% of school-aged children have ADHD.

This is a topic close to my heart. My godson has ADHD.The school his parents wanted him to attend would only accept diagnosed children if they were medicated. Can children really handle the physical and emotional effects of these drugs? In the developmental years, any form of strong, daily medication like Ritalin or Adderall should be a last resort.

This children’s illustrative book, created alongside medical professionals, offers a fresh and supportive alternative to parents and children that live with ADHD. It acknowledges some of the difficulties but also highlights some of the positive traits children with ADHD display, such as resourcefulness, creativity, boundless enthusiasm, sensitivity and the ability to hyper-focus.

If a child has the right support and coping strategies, then ADHD can be a truly amazing thing and not just another disorder needing medication.

Is Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity really a Disorder? This book starts that conversation in a fun, affirming and rhyming way!

(Nathan Erasmus: Author)

I believe teaching emotional intelligence to kids and adults is extremely important. Knowing yourself, your needs and schemas help with solving problems so we can live a happier life. Good communication is also key, and the book features a good heart-to-heart between Connor and his mum, as well as him explaining to his class his struggles so they can understand him better.

(Monika Dzikowicz: Illustrator)

Nathan made the first pass on the book. The cape on the Fox came from the idea that the book would fit into a series called, "Super Animals". Animals would help kids with various problems like ADHD, depression, anxiety, etc.

Monika first tried out gouache and sketching with pencils to try out more natural textures that brushes give. She likes to start traditionally to stay loose and experimental. Drawing digitally can be dangerous as you can zoom in down to a pixel, and that kills spontaneity. She then moved the sketches into Photoshop and made clear silhouettes of each character and scene. All of the book was illustrated on a Wacom Bamboo cth-460.

After that, Monika colour-scripted the book to make sure things stayed consistent. "Stuck" by Oliver Jeffers, was used as a reference guide - especially his use of colour and monochromatic. Oliver's work helped tone down some of the pages to highlight specific scenes and moods. For example angry pages are all in red, while sad are grey.

The cleanup process was in two stages. Monika took the pencil sketches and coloured them (her brush set was by Kyle T. Webster). The colour script was very general, so working with pencil sketches allowed her to make sure even small details on characters work well within the page. The second cleanup redraw some of the pages to make sure the design was accurate and consistent. At this point a lot of pages were with a circular, simple block of colour. It was later that squares and text bubbles arrived on the page.

Finalising illustrations, fine tuning, applying shadows and defining character forms brought a new challenge around text and consistency. For a while, we experimented with digital paper texture - crumbled paper for angry scenes, wet paper for sad scenes. It didn't really work with the cleaner illustrations, but it led to applying other texture and color variations to the background.

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