Testimonials

Sammy's New Food Week. (Amazon review)

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 10 October 2020

"I read this to a 3 year old child who I am keyworker for, as she is fussy with eating and reluctant to try new foods.

I loved the story, as did she. Pictures were simple but bright. The story offered opportunities for the child to join in and contribute. By the end of it she said she would try broccoli!.

I will definitely be using this story in future"

Suzie's Toilet Time. (Amazon review)

5.0 out of 5 stars Encouraging

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 10 October 2020

"I loved how the story rhymes- really catches the attention if the child.

Nice bright pictures.

Offers opportunity for children to interact throughout the story as well as providing them with reassurance."

Suzie goes to a Funeral:

"Hi Charlotte,

I have been reading your book ‘Suzie Goes to a funeral’ and wow.

I have to say, the way you have written this, not only encapsulates the realness of loss, change, the unexpected and then all the emotions of losing someone so close to you. You have managed to do this sensitively and with some thoughtfulness and respect. I think being able to write a book and keep the child at the centre of their emotions is very well put together.

The emotions that come through the book is also powerful. Makes it ok to feel sad and be sad, and also celebrate the loss of a loved one. I guess it also allows the child to see this from other people’s perspectives and learn about death, in an empathetic way too. Ultimately it happens to all of us at some point. But it opens many questions such as why is there cake? what is a toast? and why it’s important to say goodbye, and could open up many other discussions in ways that children and families do this differently.

The thing which strikes me about this book is the spirituality connection that it has. I am currently writing a blog about loss and how to deal with it, Suzie demonstrates that its ok to feel loss and all the emotions that come with it, but also its important to feel a sense of belonging. Thank you, Charlotte, I loved your book and feel that you are connecting real life issues to children’s lives, through a platform which can open up debate and also support a child through times that they may not quite understand what is happening, or the why it has happened.

Thank you for sharing, it was an honour to read your book and wish you all the successes."

Suzie Goes to School
Book Review by Declan Nigel Dowkes, Postgraduate researcher in Early Childhood Studies

Suzie goes to a Funeral:

"A simple book that will be a useful introduction to supporting children to talk about feelings. The book introduces some words that children may not have heard before, and paves the way for open conversations to explore the subject of funerals further."

Debbie Garvey; Stonegate Training, consultant, trainer & author.

Suzie's Toilet Time:

"Thanks for resending the book. I think it's a lovely story and would be a great resource in any nursery. It's short, uses rhyme and has lovely clear animations.

 If I were looking for any negatives it would be just the first page as it begins with "try not to be slow" and perhaps would be more useful to state a more positive phrase stating what should be done (let's get there in time) and then the word "bum" is used when in nursery we teach 'bottom'

I like the way that the toilet is referred to as both 'toilet' and 'loo' and this could maybe be done with 'bottom' and 'bum'

Overall I would be delighted to have this as a resource in our library

Thanks so much for sharing your book with me."

Sammy goes on an Aeroplane:

"Sammy goes on an Aeroplane was a fantastic way to help prepare our two boys (3 & 5 at the time) for their first flight in the summer. The pictures and detail of the inside of the plane are really helpful including the seats, trolley and TV sets. My eldest was very anxious about flying and the book really helped him. He was clutching and checking it in the airport and on the flight."

Suzie's Toilet Time:

"It is really helpful to have a book about sitting on the toilet as so many focus on the potty. I love how detailed the book is even talking about the bathroom tiles and loo roll. Perfect for all children getting used to the toilet."

Learning about autism with Suzie and Cruzie:

"With two autistic children its not surprising that this is my favourite of all the Suzie books. It is great to have a book showing children wearing headphones, lining up toys and chewing. I think it is a wonderful representation of children on the spectrum."

Suzie goes to the dentist:

"As a parent to an autistic child I love how detailed Suzie goes to the Dentist is. It includes all those little things like noise in the waiting room and the buzz of the dentist chair. Perfect to help an sensory anxious child prepare for a visit to the dentist. My 6 year old is non-verbal and struggles with understanding, the detail and clarity of the pictures make this the perfect book for us to prepare for the dentist."

"Having already bought and thoroughly enjoyed reading 'Going on an Aeroplane' with my three year old son, I was delighted to see 'Toilet Time ' had been published as a hard copy. I immediately bought it as a gift for a friend. Her daughter has found toilet training tricky and the book will not only open up discussions, it will also give her daughter a friendly character to identify with. The books are a great resource for anyone who wants to help children feel more confident about everyday experiences that they come across. I will be buying more titles."

"What a great idea for a series of books. It is hard to find up to date resources to help children through the various milestones in their lives and this series certainly delivers. My son thoroughly enjoys the book. I would definitely recommend them." (Going on an Aeroplane)

"Read a book about Suzie to my 20 month old daughter, really enjoyed the storyline and the concept, of a little girl who loves dressing up and pretending to be different people. read it on my kindle which I found a little bit difficult, as my daughter and I love turning pages and seeing the pictures and writing together. My daughter loves rhyming books and these books would be brilliant if published in hard/soft back and I would definitely buy them as I know my daughter would love them"  Julie Hands, Mum of 3

"My daughter (3) enjoyed the story. We have been discussing what it means to do things independently and she could really relate to Suzie. I like that it reinforces many different lessons that we're working on. Also the repetition of the days of the week is helpful." (Star Chart)

"The children enjoyed the rhyme and the basis of the story again." Day Nursery. (Hairdressers)

"I took my daughter who is 2 years and 9 months to the hairdressers last week, so the experience was still fresh in her mind. She really enjoyed the book, especially the "snip, snip" the spraying of the water and the brightly coloured cloak, all things she could relate to." (Hairdressers)

"Both children were engaged in this story and loved guessing what she was going to be next." (Dressing up)

"A nice story and the children really enjoyed the rhyme." Day Nursery. (Moving house)

 
"Showing children that there is no need to be afraid of this experience-it's fun. The rhyme is clever and I like that Suzie is being praised for trying new things." Nursery worker. (Hairdressers)

"Sophia(3,1/2) thought the story was very nice and Suzie was very brave. Repetition of the story helped and Sophia liked the emotional journey Suzie took too."

"We very much enjoyed the book. My son (3) enjoyed putting the stars onto the page. All lessons are very relevant to what we are trying to teach him. N.B He woke up this morning and asked for Suzie. We will definitley download copies!!!" (Star Chart.)

"I haven't had a chance to look at your website but we really enjoyed your book and would definitley buy a copy. Great idea, especially with a star chart."

"Hi, I love the Suzie’s Toilet Time book – a beautifully illustrated story with a simple, easy to read text.  I wondered if you were going to publish a boy version of this same book?" (Lady in Australia.)

"Yes Charlotte and thanks it was brilliant for my little girl, I have already recommended it to her school. Thanks again and happy new year."

"We have tried many apps, books, social stories before to help Eliza get to grips with toilet issues. She is 7 soon and still in pull ups. It had been a long ongoing thing which included even getting her in to bathrooms as she struggles with confined spaces. Then sitting on a "chair with a hole" took months of encouragement and trying various seat aids etc (We now have a toilet seat that has a built in kids seat in the lid so we can all switch as we please). My bathroom is full of laminated pictures so if you come to our house and use the bathroom, there are social stories and instructions everywhere. - Recently we got this book - Suzie's Toilet Time and it has helped nudge Eliza a bit further. She enjoys reading it and has started to take herself off to the toilet without prompting. OK so we may need to work on a few things (timings especially like not leaving it till last minute then stripping in the middle of class and peeing on the teachers cardigan.....) but this week on the way to the doors at the end of school she stopped a teacher and told them she needed to go to the toilet! Huge step forward. It may take us weeks, months or even years to get this but she is trying so hard and it is slowly coming together."

"We loved the book! My little girl (Suzie) took it to nursery for her teacher to read to the class! We really want 'Suzie starts school' so I will keep checking for when your new titles come out!..."

"I brought sammys new food week for my daughters as both of them fussy eaters and have a limited diet I was so exited to get this book to read with my children I read the book to my youngest daughter and she loved the book. After which my child who has autism ate tried a fish finger and now eats them I highly recommend this book 5 out of 5"

Autism Parent Empower."Just received this fabulous children's book to review from Suzie Books. Well done Charlotte Olson - wonderful book and lovely to see such a vast collection on offer"

Suzie goes to the Hairdresser. "We have read it before bed every night since we got it. I'm over the moon with it as he has asked to get his haircut so he can look like 'a handsome boy' we shall see how his next hair cut goes, fingers crossed it goes well."

"Suzie Goes to School has really helped my daughter overcome her anxieties around starting school in September. Reading the book prompted her to ask lots of questions; she now understands what to expect and is starting to become excited about her first day at school. A brilliant little book! Thank you."

"Charlotte's books are lovely. They are warm and encouraging, engaging the reader in real life scenarios with personable language. They are short enough for wandering minds to stay focused, and the illustrations are attractive and endearing. Sammy's New Food Week gives praise to the child on every page, helping the reader to also feel a sense of achievement if they are in a similar situation. Five stars!"

"***** 5 stars. Thanks for sending me your book to read. I loved it, I especially would like to give it to my grandkids, who will be making their first plane ride to the mainland from Hawaii at Christmas. The illustrations are very detailed and I especially liked the rhyming along with the story. Is there somewhere else you want a rating? I would be happy to give."

"I first bought ‘Suzie goes to school’ to prepare my son who has ASD to start school. He immediately loved it and we have read it every night since! We have now received ‘suzie’s Christmas time’ and he loves this one too! The books are appealing, attractive and simple for children to understand. We look forward to reading more titles! I highly recommend!!"