"Make a difference by choosing to act with compassion and kindness"

“I’d had the idea for the event early last year,” Kate explains, “but had no idea if it would ever come together as it relied on schools and community groups choosing to take part. However, I needn’t have worried as the response I received was overwhelming! In the months leading up to publication I received more than 1,700 paperchain links with beautiful, heartfelt messages and drawings of love, hope and kindness from children and grown-ups across the country. I spent many hours during my Christmas holidays connecting the links and was incredibly moved by the sheer volume of loving messages and tributes to lost family members that I read.

“It was a huge honour to be able to create these very special chains. On the day of the event, I read Superheroes Always Fight Back… Or Do They? and spoke about the power of kindness to all 630 children at the school. Then, after a busy paperchain constructing session to add all 1,200 of Downview’s links of kindness to the chain, Key Stage 2 helped me unfurl the paperchain in the hall.

“The final paperchain of kindness contained 2,990 paperchain links, over 3,000 messages of love and kindness and stretched to over 230 metres in length. But not only that, the event joined together messages from children and grown-ups from over 25 schools and groups across the country to create a virtual chain of kindness of over 1,321km (821 miles)! It was a powerful demonstration of how even small kind acts can connect us and trigger a chain reaction of kindness and love that really can change the world.

"Taking part were Downview Primary School, Felpham; Broadwater CE Primary School, Worthing; Upper Beeding Primary School, Steyning; Uplands Primary School, Fareham; Edgeborough Prep School, Farnham; Lessness Heath Primary School, London; Grasmere Academy, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne; Together Arun’s Felpham Toddlers and Crafternoon groups; Felpham Methodist Church’s Rocky Road Youth Group, Felpham Methodist Church; 11th Worthing Brownies; 1st Lancing Rainbows; 2nd Northbrook Brownies; 1st Easebourne Rainbows; 1st Midhurst Rainbows; 1st Sullington Brownies; 2nd Storrington Guides & Rangers; 1st Staunton Brownies; 1st Burley-in Wharfedale Rainbows; 1st Burley in Wharfedale Brownies; 1st Burley in Wharfedale Guides; 2nd Burley in Wharfedale Brownies; 3rd Burley-in-Wharfedale Brownies; various children’s authors; and Clare Elsom and her lovely family.”

The book has been published by Welbeck Children’s Books, available from book shops and online at all the usual places including Amazon, Waterstones, Hive.co.uk and Blackwells.

Kate, aged 38, explained: “Superheroes Always Fight Back… Or Do They? is my second rhyming picture book collaboration with the highly-talented illustrator Clare Elsom. Our first picture book, Superheroes Don’t Get Scared… Or Do They? explored the themes of fear and bravery, but with the help of a brand-new cast of superheroes and the super cute Arthur and Grandpa, our new book celebrates the power of kindness and empathy.

“Kindness and empathy are themes that I explore in a lot of my writing simply because I try to live my life with kindness at its core. However, for this particular story, which I wrote in the autumn of 2020, I was definitely inspired by all the acts of kindness during the first lockdown that made such a difference to so many during that difficult time.

"I think it’s important for children to know that no matter how scary or out of control things may seem, they always have the power within them to make a difference by choosing to act with empathy, compassion and kindness.”