TALKING POINTS

• But Why…Do I Have to Get Vaccinated?: Tips to Connect Public Health with a Child’s individual Health.
• But Why…Do I Have to Get Vaccinated?: Misinformation of vaccinations and how to help caregivers and children feel more at ease with the Covid-19 vaccine.
• Autism and vaccines – where the misinformation lies.
• In-door masking – will this continue for schools? And is it beneficial?
• School changes and adjustments, what children, educators and caregivers can expect for the 2022 school year.
• The debate on mandating vaccines for educators – the benefits and possible risks.
• How can educators tie STEM education to the pandemic and vaccine development to better educate the children in their classrooms?
• Vaccination hesitancy – How to talk to children about shots and the fears they may have.
• How children adapt to a post-Covid world. Processing the changes at school and around them – tips from veteran educators in the field.

ABOUT THE SERIES

Created by senior level educators and child development specialists, the BUT WHY children’s book series highlights the cross-cutting concepts of Next Generation Science Standards for California Public Schools, NGSS (K-12 standards) to public health and safety topics for children. These colorful and engaging books intersect STEM topics with reassuring and comforting retorts to a child’s curious nature, and desire to ask “but why,” from the smallest of questions to the bigger ones — particularly in regards to the physical and public health needs of children in schools. 

But Why these books? There is an overwhelming amount of information surrounding health-related and STEM topics for children, and quite a bit of information in regards to COVID-19 — what the But Why series does, is provide reliable and easy-to comprehend explanations of the world around them using factual answers to curious questions. Because kids are naturally and wonderfully curious about the world around them – and this series is meant to foster that spark. The But Why series provides young readers with the knowledge they seek in affirming responses on topics significant to their health and well-being, like mask-wearing in-doors and the benefits of vaccines. 

This series taps into a kid’s natural scientific ability to question what they see, hear, think, and wonder. And their ability to be resilient and adapt when their whole world seems to shift around them. What do kids see? And how do they see it? Kids are natural scientists and it’s our goal to inspire the next generation of thinkers and problem solvers, and the But Why series is an excellent addition to any home or school library for young children.

Creative Team and Authors behind the series

Dr. Susan Kumar is the Founder of the United Children’s Learning Academy and Director of the Center for Autism and Related Services (C.A.R.S) based in Los Angeles, CA. Dr. Kumar is a multi-decade educator working within the academic field, and author of the But Why series. Dr. Kumar received her Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education and Psy.D in Clinical Psychology. She has a passion for helping children and believes deeply in the impact of early childhood education and intervention.

Author Spencer Walker has been a writer/creative executive at Nickelodeon, Disney, and Cartoon Network, is the author of Cook To Bang published by St Martin’s Press, and currently works with National Lampoon, Stick Figure Productions, and comedians JB Smoove & Jo Koy.

Dr. Helen Kim, one of the co-authors of the But Why series, is a mom of a teenage daughter and an educator for 23 years.

John G. Serpico is the attorney for the But Why series, but he likes to be creative and provides author in-put into the series.

Jamey Dogom has worked in both general and special education K-12 classrooms for over 15 years. As a Computer Science graduate with experience in the tech world, he combines his classroom experiences with his STEM knowledge to the But Why Series, while also contributing to the development of their website and upcoming mobile application.

Illustrated by: Pumudi Gardiyawasam and Niyaz Ahmed