Book Nook: An Angel in the Playground

As a teacher who has educated hundreds of children from every conceivable cultural and religious background, Julie Finnemore has noticed that spirituality has been the missing link in their development. In fact, it’s a foundation in Finnemore’s life that is rarely explored or even discussed in most other families.

This “missing link” inspired Finnemore to pen ‘An Angel in the Playground’ to help children understand and open a dialogue into their spiritual side, as well as explore the possible existence of angels.

Jodie is relieved and delighted when she meets a girl on the playground at her new school after a rather difficult first day. Despite Jodie feeling very comfortable around her new friend, she realises there are a few unanswered questions and events that need to be explained. Jodie goes on to develop a unique friendship with her new companion that is unlike any other she has formed in the past. An unexpected twist at the end is when her new friend reveals a secret to Jodie that will change the young girl’s life for ever.

I had a chance to interview Julie to learn more.

Why did you decide to write this book?

Like a lot of people, I always had the desire to write a book at some point and having worked as a teacher for the last 16 years, I knew it would be based around school life.  However, I wanted it to be more than just about the tales of children, I wanted it to  have a spiritual element incorporated into the story as well.

One day on playground duty at school, I overheard a year 6 girl say that she had seen a ‘ghost’ on the playground and it cause quite a fuss. The headteacher said there could be no talk of ‘ghosts’ but It gave me the idea, as a believer of guardian angels, to change the ghost into an angel and make it not scary, but comforting to children.  Then as I was tidying out my study one day I came across an old photograph of me and my twin sister that was taken on the playground at my primary school ‘St Mary’s of the Angels’. I then knew that my characters would be linked in some way and I used the experience of being a twin to bring out the special relationship that we share and used this in the story as well. (I have had this photograph printed at the back of the book- I also used the image of my twin as the angel for the front cover of the book)

When I wrote the first four chapters I tested it out on children from my school and I got really positive feedback. I didn’t tell them that I had written the story and they kept asking me what was going to happen next until finally last year the book was completed and finally published in November 2018.

How can it be helpful for children to have faith in the existence of angels?

I believe that children are comforted by the ideas of having  a guardian angel. Speaking from my own personal experience, my own father passed away when I was only seven years old from a heart attack. It was very sudden and he was only forty years old. What helped me through this difficult time,  was imagining him being my angel and looking out for me and still being around. Death is so hard for children to comprehend, but it gave me comfort and support to think of him still being by my side. Again from experience in school, many children experience loss of a beloved family member and if the ideas helps them through this then it is a great thing. I was touched recently when a small child in my class came to me and told me that his grandad had died. He said to me ‘ Miss it ok because I know Belle will show grandad what to do in heaven’ (Belle is the angel in my story) That warmed my heart!

How can this faith transcend a particular religion or belief system?

What I love about this book and the idea of guardian angels is that it doesn’t matter what faith or religion you happen to follow. Again at my school, it is a very much a  multi-faith school yet what I have found when I have read it too a group of children, is that they all are comforted by the story and really embraced the idea that we have someone looking out for us. In any religion there is going to be loss and upset when a precious person is taken from the family through death. I strongly believe that, in a very gentle way, the message of my book can help young children to come to an understanding that they are not alone and that their loved one is still near by. 

‘An Angel in the Playground’ is available now: https://amzn.to/2IuRYwu.