Nursery World - Spotlight on… Vanessa Nicholson

Managing director of Honeycomb Books

Why did you decide to start producing bespoke books for children starting school and nursery?

I used to work in the finance department of a charity, although I’ve always been more comfortable with words. It was really one of those times when your passion for something grows because it doesn’t really fit your day job. I wrote my dissertation on children’s fiction and studied the power of words in psychology and education. The idea of creating bespoke children’s books had always interested me, so I quit to set up Honeycomb.

How do the books help children starting nursery or school?

The books help welcome the child and build their resilience, so answer questions like ‘who is going to look after me?’, ‘will it be fun?’ or ‘will it be safe?’. Nurseries and schools can engage with the content and adapt as they want, so each book is personalised. There is a real educational culture of well-being, resilience and nurturing emotions, and I think books can be a brilliant tool for developing this.

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