{"id":134683,"date":"2023-02-01T10:44:25","date_gmt":"2023-02-01T15:44:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/?p=134683"},"modified":"2023-02-01T10:44:27","modified_gmt":"2023-02-01T15:44:27","slug":"wright-state-graduates-book-empowers-and-educates-kids-about-wearing-eyeglasses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/2023\/02\/01\/wright-state-graduates-book-empowers-and-educates-kids-about-wearing-eyeglasses\/","title":{"rendered":"Wright State graduate\u2019s book empowers and educates kids about wearing eyeglasses"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Wright State English graduate Kristin B. Gyimah was inspired to write \u201cTeddy Gets Glasses,\u201d a children\u2019s book about wearing glasses, after one of her children when through the process.<\/p><\/div>\n

Going to an optometrist can be routine for adults, but not so for many children. For them, a visit to an eye doctor can be filled with a lot of unknowns.<\/p>\n

Kristin B. Gyimah, J.D., knows this all too well. So as a Wright State University graduate \u2014 and as a mother to three children \u2014 she addressed that issue through a children\u2019s book she co-authored, \u201cTeddy Gets Glasses.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gyimah, who in 2003 earned a bachelor\u2019s degree in English<\/a> and minors in communication<\/a> and Spanish<\/a> from Wright State, said she and a friend each had a child in their life who needed corrective glasses at the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe looked for ways to help encourage them, but we couldn\u2019t find much,\u201d said Gyimah, a consultant who leads a faith-based coaching program. \u201cThere was only a small pool of books, and none seemed to do what we hoped they\u2019d do, especially for African American children. It felt like an opportunity for us to fill that gap.\u201d<\/p>\n

A book was born.<\/p>\n

Gyimah and her former law school classmate and friend, Tanisha Wilburn, collaborated on the writing. They then found an illustrator and connected with a book distribution company that partners with self-publishers to produce the book.<\/p>\n

In early December it became available online, including platforms like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, GoodReads and more. They are working to get physical copies of the book available in bookstores soon.<\/p>\n

The book\u2019s title sets the story. \u201cIt\u2019s about a little boy who was nervous about the process,\u201d Gyimah said. \u201cTeddy sees one of his friends in the doctor\u2019s office and essentially says, \u2018Oh, you come here, too.”<\/p>\n

She said a child can often think he or she is all alone, but then they see others who face the same situation. That can help remove the concern of whatever they’re about to face or dealing with at the time.<\/p>\n

With the help of his parents and the optometrist, getting glasses isn\u2019t so bad after all for Teddy. \u201cThe undertone of the storyline is that Teddy\u2019s not doing this alone,\u201d said the Cincinnati native.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really for kids, but it\u2019s written in a way that parents can enjoy as well,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s a solid read. What makes it even more engaging is the illustration. Honestly, any age can enjoy this book!\u201d<\/p>\n

Writing a children’s book was something on Gyimah\u2019s bucket list. \u201cI wanted to do this a long time ago,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She learned a lot about writing and bringing a book to market, knowledge that she said she\u2019ll put to use with her next books.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the long-term plan,\u201d she said about whether another book is forthcoming.<\/p>\n

In addition to some adult-focused books, she said she has several possible topics along the same lines as \u201cTeddy Gets Glasses\u201d \u2014 \u201cthings that young children may have to deal with that could try to make them feel insecure, to help navigate those real-life experiences, build confidence and face challenges they may encounter.\u201d<\/p>\n

She credits her husband, Kofi Gyimah, a 2004 Wright State graduate who was on the baseball team, with \u201cbeing our biggest supporter and encourager along the way.\u201d She, too, was a student-athlete, being a four-year player and captain on the women\u2019s soccer team.<\/p>\n

Gyimah also credits Wright State. Having the foundation from writing as an English major \u201cset the stage for future writing opportunities. I\u2019ve always enjoyed writing.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also put that writing experience to good use while earning a juris doctor degree in 2007 from Ohio State’s Moritz College of Law.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe knowledge I gained and my experience from pursuing my undergraduate degree at Wright State helped me to do this and hopefully write many other books down the line,\u201d Gyimah said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wright State English graduate Kristin B. Gyimah was inspired to write \u201cTeddy Gets Glasses\u201d by one of her children. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":134691,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[722,733,4309,4299,2037,2798,725,4863,747,715,4855],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-134683","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics","category-alumni","category-alumni-association","category-alumni-profile","category-arts-scene","category-athletics","category-home-news-sidebar","category-humanities-and-cultural-studies","category-liberal-arts","category-news","category-social-sciences-and-international-studies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134683","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/66"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134683"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134683\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":134699,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134683\/revisions\/134699"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/134691"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134683"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134683"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134683"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}