“All humans, in fact all living beings, are born with three universal constants: curiosity to learn, ability to care, and an innate desire to connect. It’s time to think radically differently about what we can build based on these three universal traits.”
-Jill Shinderman
Barclay Square Books is a small press. An “impact publisher” founded on the creative tenets and collaborative culture “Characters to Love. Books to Grow On”. Barclay Square Books is committed to creating evergreen stories and endearing characters that will impact those vital language enriching, attunement experiences between children and their grown-ups at each stage of their development. Creatively, we are a small village of book builders, comprised of extraordinary artists, early childhood development scientists and story tellers who share a larger vision, to connect the world through characters, story, and play in an effort to improve the quality of early childhood and early care experiences throughout the entire ecosystem of a child’s life: Family, School and Community.
We know the next generation of family, learning, and community connection on a global level – must move humanity forward. Barclay Square Books is excited to reflect, represent and elevate early experiences so all children and families can thrive regardless of where they begin and the challenges they face.
It takes a village to build an impact publishing press! But we are super excited as the response has been overwhelming – in a beautiful way.
CONTACT: Jill Shinderman – jill@barclaysquaremedia.com
“Crafted by a ‘dream team’ of writers, child development and educational experts, and exquisitely illustrated, Bunny to Bunny guides caregivers and young children to engage in ways that foster secure emotional attachment and healthy development. Throughout the book, readers will delight in the ‘carrots’ – psychologically-sound nuggets of wisdom embedded in the engaging rhymes and delightful depictions of woodland creatures who model joyful, loving and attentive connection. A wonderful book that subtly guides the reader to infuse the caregiver-child relationship with the core concepts of, ‘Love, Listen, Learn.’”
Traci Stein, PhD, MPH
Health Psychologist and Core Faculty
Spirituality Mind Body Institute
Teachers College, Columbia University
New Bunny Books Provide Much Needed Synchrony and Parental Support during COVID-19
What if there was an easy way to foster beneficial interactions between infants and their caregivers? The book series Bunny to Bunny produced by fellows of the Learning Science Exchange Fellowship features rhymes and poems to help with bonding.
From the very first moments of life, the interactions a child has with the important grown-ups in their life have profound and long-lasting effects. And yet we know that those early days of parenthood are often a whirlwind, and it can be hard for parents and other caregivers to know how to create those important meaningful moments. This is where our book series Bunny to Bunny comes into the picture and offers easy-to-use solutions.
Research shows that half of parents believe that the age at which their care has a long-term impact on a child’s development begins at 6 months or older. But we know it really starts at birth. While it can feel strange to read books to or even talk to a small baby, we know from the research that it can be hugely beneficial. How could we bring these insights from research to parents without overwhelming them with too much information?
Simple as picking up a book
Pondering this central question, we probed further: What if we came up with a solution that would fit into everyday life without the need for hours of training? Something that would be as simple as picking up a book.
Our answer to these burning questions was to create the book series Bunny to Bunny. Bunny to Bunny will specifically help to create important exchanges that will have lasting benefits for both children and their adults. We have carefully designed these books to promote interactions that create warm and secure bonds. Bunny to Bunny is a collaboration between a science journalist, a public policy expert, an early childhood scientist and a children’s writer, brought together by the Learning Sciences Exchange Fellowship.
Grounded in science
The book series is firmly grounded in the science of early child development, more specifically on research of social-emotional development and attachment. For instance, the literature tells us that adults who engage in sensitive interactions with a child, such as playing and singing, looking at things together, making the same sounds, and copying facial expressions, help children feel secure. These effects are long lasting – helping young children to also develop self-control (such as the ability to focus attention and navigate emotions). This, in turn, helps with many things such as sleep, language, and social-emotional skills. The interactions also help adults to become more confident caregivers.
Bunny to Bunny brings research out of the lab and uses the creativity and communication values of the entertainment and journalism industries to make the science accessible, through a product that is grounded in science but requires no expert knowledge to use and enjoy. It also has great potential to be used as a tool not just for parents but for all kinds of caregivers and also educators. Additionally, it could easily be disseminated through public policy programmes.
We hope that Bunny to Bunny will help many little and big bunnies to grow together along with the characters in our series.
Checkout our behind-the-scenes video on the science behind Bunny to Bunny Books!
The Learning Sciences Exchange
https://www.newamerica.org/education-policy/videos/about-learning-sciences-exchange/