By Erin Wood
Following the Oscar’s slap heard ‘round the world, public recognition quickly grew for a condition that impacts millions of Americans: alopecia.
According to the National Alopecia Areata Foundation, alopecia areata is a common autoimmune disease impacting the skin, which causes hair loss on the scalp, face, and other areas of the body. It affects as many as 6.8 million people in the US, and is not limited by age, sex, or ethnic group.
Often, alopecia begins in childhood. Arkansas author and first-grade teacher Tracy Peterson is working with former student Matthew Shelby and illustrator Lindsey Witting on a book that she hopes will help more children and families understand not only the condition itself, but many of the feelings that surround it. Peterson’s book—Beanies, Ballcaps, and Being Bald: Different Isn’t Bad, Different is Just Different—forthcoming fall 2022, is based on Shelby’s real-life alopecia story as it unfolded in Peterson’s classroom.
About the book, Peterson says, “I love to tell the stories of the children who inspire me. Kids have all sorts of challenges and books can help lead the classroom conversations that are so vital to helping peers understand what a friend is going through. I hope Beanies will help kids everywhere understand that “different isn’t bad, different is just different!”
Look for this 8.5 x 8.5 picture book in hardback and paperback this fall, and find Peterson’s other children’s book Cartwheels: Finding Your Special Kind of Smart, based on her former first-grade student’s dyslexia journey, on sale at local and national retailers.
Hot Springs native, Erin Wood is a writer, editor, and publisher in Little Rock. She owns and runs Et Alia Press (www.etaliapress.com). Wood is author of “Women Make Arkansas: Conversations With 50 Creatives” (April 2019) and editor of and a contributor to “Scars: An Anthology” (2015).
