'Grandad Fox' pens new book to coach children in self-confidence

Sunday 28 July 2019

A coach, and grandfather of eight, has penned a book to help parents and carers talk to their children about self-confidence through a fable involving a ginger tom cat and foxes.

‘George: The Cat Who Lost His Confidence,’ Mark Bisson’s second book offers a child-friendly introduction to the world of self-confidence and includes activities and questions to help children between the age of five and eight focus on their skills, talents and attributes, instead of comparing themselves to others.

The book was actually inspired by one of Mark’s daughters who was called in at her five-year-old son’s school to talk to his teacher, who was concerned he had lost all confidence: “She said ‘I don’t want a parenting book, I want something that I can read with my son. Go and find a book for me,” Mark said.

Despite his best efforts, Mark – who has been coaching and mentoring for over twenty years - couldn’t find a suitable book. Having previously published ‘Coach Yourself First, A Coach's Guide to Self-Reflection,’ Mark decided to put pen to paper again and to write his own.

Pictured: The cover of 'George the Cat.'

To do so Mark drew upon his experience coaching adults who had issues with self-confidence, which a large number of starts during childhood. He combined his coaching style with a fable that would appeal to his own grandchildren but also to all children.

The characters in the fable are inspired by Mark’s very own cat, George. “We used to have a house with a big garden and a ginger tom cat called George,” he explained. “There was a group foxes at the bottom of the garden and George used to sit with the foxes as if he was one of them.

"I thought about their relationship and started writing about a cat who doesn’t like himself and decides he would become a fox.”

Pictured: Mark is known as 'Grandad Fox' among his grandchildren.

George then seeks help from a character called ‘Grandad Fox’ which is how Mark is known among his eight grandchildren. “There was a Norwegian group, Ylvis, who had this song called “What does the fox say?” I used to play it on the iPad all the time for the grandchildren. In the fable, Grandad Fox coaches George the cat.

“Grandad Fox ask him questions to help him finds what he likes about himself and what others like about him. There is one point in the story when one of the fox cubs falls in the water and is rescued by George. Grandad Fox tells him he’s courageous and George realises it’s quite fun being a fox but that he likes being himself.”

The questions Grandad Fox asks George are meant to help parents and carers speak to their children and guide them. The book also include activities such as drawing an animal that represents them, aiming to help children recognise their uniqueness.

Pictured; Mark read the book to his grandchildren.

After completing the book, Mark tested it out on his own grandchildren who offered some valuable feedback. “I had to rework some of the questions. I was thinking about how parents would use the book and some of the questions were too adult.

"I practiced with the grandchildren and after a while I stopped bringing the book to them, but they still ask about the story even though we have other children’s books.”

‘George the Cat’ will hit the shelves at the end of August and Mark will be at Waterstones at 17:30 on 14 October for a signing. But the coach turned author already has another one up his sleeve, for nine to 12-year-olds.

While Mark spends most of his time coaching adults, his career actually started with a dissertation on long-term NEETs. “I felt the desire not just to do research but to have an impact on them, to make a difference for children and young people,” he explained. “It’s always been part of my coaching history.

Pictured: Mark has already written a third book.

“I started coaching teams to improve in a complex organisation. It lit a fire that has never gone out. I still absolutely love it. I’m still living the dream.

“I have been doing this for 20 years. I love seeing people’s growth and development and being part of the journey. To support them on that journey, I feel very privileged. Sometimes people talk to me about things they have never talked about; it’s really humbling.”