FISHERS, Ind. — Daisy Ramani wears many hats. She’s a mother and a pharmacist, and now she’s a newly published author.
She wrote "Miss Violet Vaccine" because her daughter was anxious and nervous about getting a shot.
Ramani looked for an easy way to explain vaccines to her daughter, but couldn’t quite find a book that had what she was looking for. So that’s when she decided to write one herself.
For this first-time author, writing a children’s book proved to be much harder than it looked.
“I thought it was going to be easy,” Ramani said, laughing. “Then I realized trying to bring it to a children’s perspective and trying to explain it in a child-friendly manner is harder than I thought. Because I’m a pharmacist, I was getting really clinical with it.”
She said the first time she read an earlier draft of the book to her daughter, it proved to be a “hilarious” moment.
“She was the best critic I had. She was able to tell me what made sense and what didn’t make sense,” Ramani said.
She continued to tweak the book until it was child-friendly.
“Miss Violet Vaccine is the shot itself, and she’s an imaginary character that shows up in Zoey’s bedroom and helps talk through and asks questions. Like are these the things you want to do? And this is how I help,” Ramani said.
Ramani said the main character Zoey is named after her daughter, to whom the book is also dedicated. Her daughter's favorite blanket was even included in the book.
“She’s excited,” Ramani said. “It will help kids understand why they have to get the shot and why it’s painful for that few seconds for something that’s going to be rewarding in the long run.”
The Fishers Health Department said it’s a valuable tool because knowledge is power.
“It’s a good way for kids to have that level of understanding that mommy’s not trying to hurt you. Mommy’s trying protect you,” said Monica Heltz, public health director for the Fishers Health Department. “And it makes it in a way that they can understand that this is super protecting power.”
The book will also help prepare children for if and when COVID-19 vaccines are approved for younger children.
“Most of us have never met someone with polio or tetanus or any of the other diseases that we’ve been preventing for decades due to the success of the vaccinations,” Heltz said.
Heltz and Ramani said Miss Violet Vaccine offers parents and kids another tool to protecting themselves and others.
The book is available on Amazon in both paperback or eBook format.