Shaan And The Thief Of Smiles

MY THOUGHTS

When I read a couple of books by Kids On Alert, my knee-jerk reaction was to wonder whether these books were suitable for children. Their content is focused primarily on body safety and consent, and making children understand that message in a way they understand. I still wondered if it was too on the nose.

As a mother of two boys (10 & 14), I have spoken to them about predators and body safety, reiterated the lessons, and hoped they understand how to stay safe. But I worry every single day, and it is so hard not to. I then realised, I gave my boys a book on puberty and what to expect, even though we had spoken to them about it, because I felt reading the facts would make them understand better. Wouldn’t a book on body safety and consent work the same way?

Shaan and the Thief of Smiles is about a powerful king called Irsha, who was loved and respected by all in his kingdom. But King Irsha had a dirty secret. He would offer sweets to children and steal their smiles. He loved collecting children’s smiles and would enjoy them in his palace, secretly. He would prey on children when he toured his kingdom. That’s how he meets Shaan. He offers Shaan sweets and tells him to keep their interaction a secret. But Shaan remembers his parents telling him never to keep a secret from them, and he reports the incident to them. King Irsha loses his magical powers and turns to stone, returning smiles to children everywhere.

Without using graphic language, this book does a brilliant job of reminding children that it is bad to keep a secret from their parents. If a parent is reading this book aloud to their child, they can choose the level they want to reveal to their child. On the face of it, this is a simple story of an evil king stealing the smiles of children. This can be read at so many different levels as your child grows older. For a child 8-10 years old, it is so important to understand that a predator doesn’t have to be evil. He can be a person everyone around you trusts, just like the King.

The text is short and simple to read. The illustrations are bright and colourful, with a comic book feel. It reminded me of old Tinkle digest comic books. Use this book as a handy resource that you pull out periodically when you want to reiterate body safety and boundaries. Add this to your child’s bookshelf, not so much as a storybook as an important resource in a parent’s arsenal.