Simon & Schuster are putting the finishing touches on “Dr. Fauci: How a Boy from Brooklyn Became America’s Doctor,” a book written by Kate Messner and illustrated by Alexandra Bye.
The publisher said Sunday that the picture book will arrive in bookstores on June 29.
“ There is so much to his story that will resonate with kids today – riding his Schwinn bike across Brooklyn to deliver prescriptions to his dad’s pharmacy, playing stickball on the streets of a neighborhood where he learned to cope with all kinds of different kinds of people, and always asking questions about the world, ”Messner told CNN Business.
Previous children’s books about newsworthy characters such as Ruth Bader Ginsburg have achieved considerable success in the market.
So now it’s Fauci’s turn. He is not in the business of endorsing books, but a Simon & Schuster spokesperson said the book was written with his permission and approval, and that he and his team have been consulted everywhere.
“Last spring,” Messner said when asked about the origin of the project, “I had contacted Dr. Fauci’s office with a quick question about another children’s book I was working on, about the childhood passions of people growing up. to great scientists. . “
Fauci responded to Messner via email, and the more Messner learned about his background and childhood, the more she thought there was a self-contained story to tell about him. She reached out to his office in the fall with the idea of the picture book biography and asked for an interview.
“I was aware that I was asking for time from someone who was literally one of the busiest people in America as he provided public health counseling during the worst pandemic, but I also knew that Dr. Fauci understands how essential education is in public. is health, ”she said.
Messner interviewed Fauci a few times “on the brink of his long workdays,” she said, one time during a Zoom call while going home from the office, and another in the early morning hours. She also drew on his public speeches and interviews. Then she incorporated stories about his upbringing in the book.
She said she was struck by his “determined curiosity” and his effectiveness as a communicator.
“Before Tony Fauci was America’s Doctor, he was a kid with a million questions about everything from the tropical fish in his bedroom to the things he learned in Sunday school,” she said. “I am hopeful that curious children reading this book – the ones we rely on to solve tomorrow’s scientific challenges – will see themselves on the pages of Dr. Fauci’s story and set their goals just as high. “