Hey! Don't Forget The Sunscreen! by Kimberling Galeti Kennedy (2013)

Review

According to the Skin Cancer Foundation ''Suffering one or more blistering sunburns in childhood or adolescence more than doubles a person’s chances of developing potentially-deadly melanoma later in life.'' 


What better way to teach children to stay safe in the sun than to read this lovely story by Kimberling Gelati Kennedy and put the safety tips into practice.

Little Stacey is excited to go shopping at the grocery shop as she often sees her friends there too. Her friend, John, is there with his aunt Donna who has a bandage on her nose. Here, Stacey's inquisitiveness leads Donna to explain all about her condition and how Stacey can take precautions and stay safe in the sun. 

The story is told in a lovely rhyming way which will help to reinforce the message with children as they reread it. The pictures are also lovely and charming.
Teachers will find this book very useful in the summer term when teaching about sun safety. The book itself is the perfect size for using with a visualiser and whiteboard.
Depending on the age of the children some teaching or discussion of the more challenging vocabulary will have to be done before the first reading of the book; ultraviolet rays, basal cell, squamous cell carcinoma, melanoma, hereditary, genes, water resistant etc.


I love how much detail and information is packed into this short book. Both adult and child alike will find plenty to interest and inform. It gently tells children how the sun damages our skin and why we need to wear sunscreen lotion with a decent SPF. It also explains, very simply,  the difference between the three forms of skin cancer. 
The story also gives tips on how to safely get your daily requirement of Vitamin D. This is an extremely important message to get across as well. The Irish Osteoporosis Society estimate that 88% of Irish primary school children have less than half of the recommended daily amount of Vitamin D. 

I love audio books and as an added bonus when you buy 'Hey! Don't Forget The Sunscreen' you also receive a free audio download of the book!! :-)


Thank you to the author who provided a copy in exchange for my honest review.