Life

LGBTQ+ author Jodie Lancet-Grant celebrates new book with Just Like Us partnership

By Sarena Moss

31st May 2022

Photo: Ellie Kurttz

Lesbian mother and children’s author Jodie Lancet-Grant has released her new children’s book, The Marvellous Doctors For Magical Creatures.

Author of The Pirate Mums, Grant’s new book follows Ava and her two dads who help magical creatures with a variety of different medical troubles.

Grant, Oxford University Press and Just Like Us  (the LGBTQ+ young people’s charity) are partnering to bring children and families stories about diversity to primary schools in the UK. 

For School Diversity Week (20-24 June), Grant has recorded a reading of her new book as a video resource that primary schools can watch with their pupils. Grant will also be visiting primary schools to read from her new book and answer questions from students. 

Just Like Us and Oxford University Press have additional creative classroom activity packs that contain educational resources surrounding Grant’s book, which is available for free to primary schools.

The author commented: “I couldn’t be more delighted to be partnering with Just Like Us. Their amazing school resources will not only show children with two mums or two dads that their families are accepted in the classroom, they also show other kids that these families exist.

“I believe this representation in early years settings does a huge amount to help us build an accepting, loving society.”

Dominic Arnall, Chief Executive of Just Like Us, added: “We’re so thrilled to be partnering with Jodie Lancet-Grant and Oxford University Press to bring much-needed representation and stories about LGBT+ families to more primary schools this School Diversity Week. 

“A huge thank you to Jodie and all at Oxford University Press – we hope the resources will help many more primary schools celebrate diverse families.”

Katie Haworth, Publisher at Oxford University Press, said: “We are extremely proud to be publishing Jodie’s The Marvellous Doctors for Magical Creatures.

“It’s incredibly important for children to see their own lives reflected in the characters in books and we love how Ava’s dads are a key part of Ava’s story without the fact that they are an LGBTQ+ family being the central theme.

“This is a great read about a little girl who helps a worried unicorn with a bit of medical know-how from her warm and supportive parents.”

Staff in primary schools across the UK can sign up for School Diversity Week to access the resources and for the chance to win a school visit from the author.

The free educational resources also include ideas for PSHE, PSED and lessons across the curriculum as well as worksheets, drawing exercises and discussion prompts.

Just Like Us provides free resources for EYFS to Key Stage 4 to celebrate LGBTQ+ inclusion and diverse families in all key subject areas of the curriculum, including posters, lesson plans, assemblies, form time activities and video resources.