Author to speak on talking tough topics with kids

Sheetal Sheth writes children's books about topics she's found adults think kids aren't ready for, like racism and mental health. But when she visits schools, she hears from children: "Thank you for writing a book about something that I actually deal with." Sheth, an actress and producer whose third children's book comes out in September, will speak in Findlay at two Thursday events. "Reading in the Park with Sheetal Sheth" is at noon at Waterfall Pavilion, Riverside Park. Sheth will read her books and "encourage children to internalize their greatness, regardless of what makes them unique," a press release states. Her widely acclaimed children's book "Always Anjali" and its sequel "Bravo Anjali" tell the story of an American girl who overcomes challenges and peer pressure to embrace her heritage. Kona Ice Findlay will be on site at the Riverside Park event with free sweet treats provided by Blanchard Valley Health System. Free picnic blankets and complimentary copies of Sheth's books will be handed out to the first 300 families on site. "Fireside Chat with Sheetal Sheth and Dr. Navneet Patti" is at 7:30 p.m. at the Fisher Wall Art Gallery, Marathon Center for the Performing Arts. Sheth and Patti, a physician at the Psychiatric Center of Northwest Ohio, will discuss how families can support children struggling with acceptance and bullying. The events are a partnership between the Marathon Center, Blanchard Valley Health System and the Findlay-Hancock County Community Foundation. Both events are free, but attendees are asked to RSVP at MCPA.org/SheetalSheth When Sheth, who was born in New Jersey and is of Indian heritage, was pregnant with her first child, she sought out books featuring children who looked like her. And she found herself exclaiming, "Are you kidding me? These are the same books I was growing up with!" Sheth, 46, was determined that her children — now 5 and 7-years-old — would have a different experience than she had, and would see themselves "as the heroes of stories, as normal as everybody else." She said she hears every day from children that these books filled "a hole" in what was available for them to read. "We're doing a disservice to kids" when we assume they can't talk about race, she said. Sheth visits a lot of schools — some very diverse, some mostly white — and has found that, in either case, every child understands what it's like to feel like they don't fit in. Just as Anjali, in the books, thinks of changing her name to fit in, all children have felt, at some time, like there is something they need to change about themselves. "There's not one kid that doesn't relate," she said. Sheth said people tend to ask whether her books are "really for everyone." Yet no one asked her that when she was growing up reading books about white characters. "No one asked if I could relate to that," she said. "Because it didn't matter. Because I could." After all, she said, what's important are the character's experiences. She called her upcoming book "Making Happy" her "most personal book." Sheth's children were very young when she was undergoing cancer treatment, and she wanted to find ways to help them process their feelings. So she looked for books that might help children with related mental health concerns — and found none, perhaps because the topic was considered "too heavy" for children. She said she comes from a "very honest place" in talking about mental health, acknowledging she is not a professional but can draw from her own experiences. She said "to not talk about self-care and mental health," is a disservice to children, and she would like to see schools teach this more directly, just as they do physical education. In general, she said, Thursday's events will focus on how to talk to children about "real things" — the things they deal with every day.