We all love when a company does something good for the community and Boots did just that!

As a parent, and advocate for eye health, I was SO please to get their interactive "eye check storybook." I think it's a brilliant idea and even more wonderful - the star of the story, Zoe, is from the BME demographic.

With an estimated one million children in the UK* with vision problems, which can impact their development, the book was conceived to encourage routine eye checks and ensure ALL children flourish.

Zookeeper Zoe, paperback, is available FREE in most Boots stores and contains a range of eye check activities to help parents gauge if their child might need support with their vision. Parents can also download the free eye check storybook tablet app or read online at zookeeperzoe.co.uk
But there's more!
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Boots is also offering FREE NHS eye checks for under 16s (excluding the Channel Islands) and a £10 voucher for adults eye checks.(Some restriction  apply)

REMEMBER: Regular eye checks are particularly important in childhood because they:

• Check how well your child can see
• Look at how healthy their eyes are
• Help identify problems early to prevent them developing

There was no TV when I was growing up in the Cayman Islands in the 70's. So, we were encouraged to play outside and we read. A LOT! 

My grandfather always brought us bags of comics and mystery books. I liked reading Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys. And I read constantly. Under the almond tree. Laying on a blanket in the garage. At the dinner table...lol…that made my Mom mad.

At school we read Dick & Jane books. If you are my age, you'll remember these. Or maybe not. Maybe your brain purposefully blacked out while reading them because there were so BORING! 

They went like this: “See Jane run. See Dick run.” 

I just wanted Dick and Jane to run away. Or just do something really fun like I did, like play with rock babies or tease Granny until she chased us with her machete. But that's another story.

I decided then that I wanted to be a writer when I grew up and write REALLY exciting books. Funny books. Scary books. All kinds of books. But most of all books with people like me in them. Books with hilarious, ethnic characters that had universal appeal.

So I did just that!

Drawing a cartoon character is one thing. But creating a cartoon character that will be applied across multiple media platforms is quite another. This type of cartoon character must be especially BELIEVABLE, UNIQUE & MEMORABLE. Therefore, the creator has to act as a cartoonist and writer, who believes in their characters and is talented enough to portray that through dialog, design & personality. .

Kaa Kaa & Tokyo, the main characters of the first entertainment property from the Cayman Islands, was always quite "real" to me - they were my imaginary, childhood friends that remained with me into adulthood, so I knew their personailities well. They are strong characters, so I was sure people would find them interesting. Their voices were distinct - they often made me burst into laughter, garnering odd looks from strangers, so cataloging their dialog was also easy. However, there were certain things I had to consider when designing Kaa Kaa & Tokyo for multiple platforms such as TV animation, books, apps, games, merchandise, food & drink products, and large scale live events. What colors would best appeal to our target group? They had to be distinct and have a visual impact. What odd details made the characters stand out? What different types of accessories could be spun off into merchandise?

I believe the most spectacular thing that makes the Kaa Kaa & Tokyo believable,memorable and unique is their dialog - the authentic Caymanain accent is scripted to capture the personailties and attitudes of our ancestors, who had little concern for "political correctness" like we do today. So, at times Kaa Kaa & Tokyo may appear quite agressive and harsh, but this is unquely combined with rhyming humor. It's wonderfully wicked combination!

That is the unforgettable glitter of Kaa Kaa & Tokyo. Even if you couldn't see an illustration, their personailities and attitudes are automaticly communicated through their dialog, making them massively entertaining - even on the radio.