By Martha Jacob
As the time grew closer for 5 year old Drew Addyson Gill to begin kindergarten, her parents (Brandi and Andrew Gill) were concerned about how well their beautiful little girl would be accepted by her classmates.
“Drew was born with only one hand and only part of the growth plate in her other arm,” said Brandi, “My husband and I wanted to find a way to help people around her understand that she is just a normal little girl who was excited about going to school.”
Brandi teaches reading at Hamersville Elementary School so she was aware of bullying issues and worried about how Drew might be treated.
“Eventually I got together with Lori Highlander, a local book publisher with KiCam Projects, and, with her help, my daughter and my husband, we wrote a children’s book,” Brandi said. “It’s called “Drew is Just Like You!”, released September 10, 2019.
“The whole theme of this book is to let kids know that even though someone might look a little different, they are all the same and can do almost anything and everything anyone else can do.”
Drew is Just Like You! talks about how Drew, even with only one hand, can ride a bike, tie her own shoes, play soccer, exercise with her mommy, swim and do everything other children do, she simply does it differently, which is okay.
“Drew showed a pig at the Brown County Fair this year,” Brandi said, “She simply has very few limitations, and that’s the message we wanted to get out to people, especially children. No one should let one difference get in their way.”
Thanks to the efforts of Mindy Pride, principal at Hamersville Elementary, and others, more than 700 copies of the book were purchased and distributed to all the kids at Western Brown Schools.
“I am very happy with the positive responsive we’ve received on this little book,” Brandi said, “I hope to try and get the book into the libraries at other schools as well.
“Drew now has her own facework page which she is enjoying sharing her ideas with others, especially with others who have missing limbs or have other physical disabilities
“Brandi is going to do just fine in kindergarten and in life, she is strong, she is happy and she is comfortable with what life has dealt her.”
The book, “Drew is Just Like You!” is illustrated by Lucia Benito and is available at the KiCam Book Store and Gifts located at 309 North High Street in Mt. Orab, (513) 964-0070.
