Member Spotlight: John Hutton, MD, FAAP John Hutton, MD, FAAP is a pediatrician at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, author, children’s bookstore owner and founder of Blue Manatee Press. What was the inspiration for writing “Sleep Baby Safe and Snug”? How did your collaboration with the Charlie’s Kids Foundation happen? I have known Sam Hanke, MD, President of Charlie’s Kids, since residency at Cincinnati Children’s. During residency, I became very interested in the effects of screen time on child health and development (obesity, sleep issues, behavior issues…). As I immersed myself in the relevant literature, I was amazed -- and a bit disgusted -- by the marketing of screen-based media, most often for “learning,” despite evidence to the contrary. This perspective was reinforced by my role as an independent children’s bookstore owner (since 2001, Blue Manatee) where I see firsthand the many catalogs and “smart baby” trends. As a response to this, I developed and published a children’s book series called Baby Unplugged, celebrating iconic, screen-free activities for young children (now ten titles, e.g. Yard, Pets, Ball, Book, Water) while reinforcing AAP guidelines. In essence, fighting the screen time battle where it is being lost - in the marketplace. Rather than use pamphlets or other prescriptive handouts, I tried to create materials that parents would actually buy and want to read repeatedly with their children, which has been shown to be crucial for health literacy messaging efficacy. Thus, the books do double-duty: encourage fun, shared parent-child reading while conveying a health message. The books were very well-received, winning several awards and featured in various blogs, newspapers, TV, and a 2013 article in Clinical Pediatrics. Sam Hanke was familiar with Baby Unplugged and contacted me for a meeting at Blue Manatee to discuss how Charlie’s Kids might expand and improve their safe sleep efforts. They were interested in developing a book of their own. I was immediately energized by the prospect. Sleep is a classic theme in children’s literature, and I could see clearly how safe sleep messaging might be integrated such that families would want to read this book, and see why safe sleep is important via an infant’s point of view. Given the public health importance of safe sleep, my role as a pediatrician, and deep respect for what Sam and his wife, Maura, had endured with the loss of their son, Charlie, I offered to create this book pro bono, and to donate all royalties
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to Charlie’s Kids, in support of their mission. A common myth in children’s publishing is that these books are easy because they are short. In fact, they are deceptively difficult, as every syllable is critical. For Sleep Baby, over several months I condensed the 11 or so evidence-based AAP Safe Sleep Guidelines into 14 board-format pages, 28 rhymed lines of 6-10 syllables each. Each spread represents one or more of these guidelines, both visually and via simple, subtle gentle text, written at a first-grade reading level with diversity well-represented. I sent the manuscript to Sam, and his response and that of the Charlie’s Kids board was overwhelmingly positive. Meanwhile, I contacted several talented illustrators that I thought would be a good fit. After deliberation between Charlie’s Kids board and myself, we chose Leah Busch, a brilliant artist in multiple media, who used watercolor, an ideal choice to convey the sleepy, dreamy feel. This was key to the book’s success, also, as the text and illustrations “sing” in harmony, reinforcing the message in a reassuring, soft, loving way. Your bookstore, Blue Manatee Children’s Bookstore and Decafé, was named Best Bookstore (non-chain) by Cincinnati City Beat from 2006 – 2014. What are some of the practices that make your store successful, and how can they be applied in pediatric practice or other businesses? As an independent bookstore, we strive to be constantly engaged with our customers – families, grandparents, friends – to offer excellent, individualized service and a wide selection of books that they want and we believe in. We also have many regular events such as story times, art programs, nature programs, and signings, that make us a “destination,” preserving the iconic tradition of families bringing children to the bookstore to have a nurturing experience while picking out great books to take home and share. We are very mission-driven, and our staff truly believes in what we do, whether this means healthy, organic foods in the café or great books. My insights as a pediatrician, especially working with Reach Out and Read, have reinforced the value of such experiences and shared reading in general, underscoring my, and the “Mana Team’s,” commitment to this mission. We also have created a very inspiring physical space like no other, a wonderland of sorts – autographs and drawings from noted author/illustrators cover our walls, bright colors, ample lighting - where families will want to come and spend time. ...continued on page 23
Ohio Pediatrics • Fall 2014
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