Simon & Schuster is putting the finishing touches on “Dr. Fauci: How a boy from Brooklyn became the doctor of America”, a book written by Kate Messner and illustrated by Alexandra Bye.
The publisher reported on Sunday that the illustrated book will hit bookstores on June 29.
“There is so much in his story that it will resonate with children today – riding a Schwinn bike through Brooklyn to deliver prescriptions from his father’s pharmacy, playing stickball on the streets of a neighborhood where he learned to get along with all kinds of people , and always asking questions about the world, “Messner told CNN Business.
Previous children’s books about interesting figures like Ruth Bader Ginsburg have had 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 spokesman said the book was written with his permission and approval, and he and his team were consulted around the clock.
“Last spring,” said Messner, when asked about the project’s origins, “I contacted Dr. Fauci’s office with a quick question about another children’s book he was working on, about the children’s passions of people who grew up and became great scientists. “
Fauci responded to Messner by email and the more Messner learned about his past and childhood, the more she thought there could be an independent story to tell about him. She reached for his office in the fall with the idea of a 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 when providing public health guidance during the worst of the pandemic, but I also knew that Dr. Fauci understands how essential public education is health “, she said.
Messner interviewed Fauci a few times “at the limit of his long days at work,” she said, once on a call from Zoom while he was coming home from the office, and again in the early hours of the morning. She also took advantage of her public speeches and interviews. Then she incorporated stories about her education into the book.
She said she was impressed by his “determined curiosity” and his effectiveness as a communicator.
“Before Tony Fauci was America’s doctor, he was a child with a million questions, about everything from tropical fish in his room to the things he learned in Sunday school,” she said. “I am really hopeful that curious children who read this book – those we count on to solve tomorrow’s scientific challenges – will find themselves on the pages of Dr. Fauci’s story and set their goals equally high.