A GWENT mum-of-two has turned personal tragedies into a children’s literary series aimed at helping young minds deal with real life issues.

And her latest picture book was written to help little ones with their self-esteem.

Jess Childs’ new picture book Ivy and the Mole takes a look at the journey we all make as human beings towards learning to love our true selves, and how identifying that one-off superpower that lies inside each one of us is the key to taking us there.

It is the second instalment in her Big Issues for Little People series, and comes after her debut picture book Ivy and the Rock was featured on the BBC, in national press outlets, and was also given an online reading by the Duchess of York.

Ms Childs, 40, of Machen, developed the Big Issues for Little People concept following the loss of her father Paul to suicide, and her mum Olwen following delays to her cancer treatment caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

She said: “Globally, we’ve been experiencing a real sense of unrest in recent years, and as parents it’s only natural to be worried about the state of our children’s mental health as a result.

“So, Ivy and the Mole is, first and foremost, a beautiful tale of adventure and discovery - but it is also a tool that families can draw upon to help them talk about how they might be feeling and view themselves generally in life too.

“And it is just one other way the Big Issues for Little People series aims to support parents in opening up conversations with their children about their true feelings."

Having dealt with a multitude of challenges emotionally, through personal experiences involving bereavement, mental health and more, Ms Childs created Big Issues for Little People to help her broach real life issues with her own daughters, Nancy, aged five, and Winnie, seven.

Ivy and the Rock was developed from a poem Ms Childs originally wrote and recited at her dad’s funeral after he took his own life in 2006. The book took on a new poignancy when she also lost her mother Olwen to a five-year battle with cancer in 2020.

Ivy and the Mole sees Ivy venture further into the Wildest Wood, meeting a down-on-his-luck companion along the way, and together the pair end up discovering as much about their own sense of self as they do about the magical landscape that surrounds them.

With a further Ivy adventure and various other titles under the Big Issues for Little People series already written, Ms Childs has also launched a website which she hopes will help in developing the series further and help families affected by all kinds of real-life issues with the provision of downloadable resources and more.

For information on how to buy Ivy And The Mole and to download a range of free resources to help children with their self-esteem, or who may be experiencing bereavement and loss in life, visit www.bigissuesforlittlepeople.co.uk.