We Can Help!: A First Book of First Aid

by Vivian French, Anna Simeone (Illustrator)

Overview

From scrapes to scratches, head bumps to bruises, learn all about the basics of first aid with Nikki and Enzo.

Nikki and Enzo are playing a game about accidents . . . LOTS of accidents. When Nikki’s dinosaur crashes into the train station and bumps his head, Enzo’s mom, who’s a doctor, introduces the two children to some simple first aid, like wrapping ice in a cloth and holding it to the bump. As the game continues, more casualties are discovered (or averted) thanks to Mom’s practical advice on things like nosebleeds, allergies, sick stomachs, water safety, and how to get help quickly in an emergency. With a running narrative from prolific storyteller Vivian French, useful tips scattered throughout, and friendly illustrations by Anna Simeone, this charming story—kicking off the First Skills series—will keep young children engaged and serve as a valuable teaching tool for parents and teachers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781536250831
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	01/20/2026
Series:	First Skills
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Vivian French has written more than 250 books for young readers, including Growing Frogs and T. Rex, both illustrated by Alison Bartlett; Hello, Horse, illustrated by Catherine Rayner; From Here to There: A First Book of Maps, illustrated by Ya-Ling Huang; and Chick, Chick, Chick, Chick, Chicken!, illustrated by Nanette Regan. Vivian French lives in Scotland.

Anna Simeone is a freelance children’s illustrator based in Sopot, Poland. She loves working with traditional techniques using colored pencils, watercolors, and digital media. Anna Simeone has illustrated children’s books for publishing companies around the world, including in Poland, Italy, France, and the UK.

Children’s author and storyteller Vivian French doesn’t worry about writer’s block; her problem is just the opposite. “My first book was published in 1990, and since then I have written almost nonstop. I think I have become addicted to writing. I have always been addicted to words.” But after first taking a job as an actor in a theater company in an attempt to satisfy this love of words, Vivian French realized she still hadn’t found her calling. “I don’t think I was very good at acting,” she explains. “It seemed much more fun to share the story, which is why I became a storyteller. All the same, when I am writing a story I still act it out in my head, and I always know how the voices sound and how my characters move.”

This attention to detail is evident in Vivian French’s award-winning nonfiction book, Growing Frogs. Her engaging narrative accurately evokes each growth stage of the frog, in a story that may inspire children to roll up their sleeves and experience firsthand the wonders of the natural world. The story had its origin in a charming mother-daughter ritual: every spring when Vivian French’s daughters were young, they visited the pond next door to collect some frog spawn and watch the tadpoles hatch. And the writer’s daughters weren’t the only ones who enjoyed this tradition. Vivian French notes, “My cat was always very interested!”

Vivian French’s cat also figures into another of her stories, A Present for Mom. This tale follows Stanley on the night before Mother’s Day as he tries to think of just the right gift for Mom. Interestingly, the author notes, illustrator Dana Kubick “has drawn Stanley to look exactly like my cat, Louis.” But sometimes Vivian French takes her inspiration from artists rather than the other way around. She remarks, “I love meeting up with illustrators and seeing if I can find the seeds for new ideas in their drawings. I think illustrators are the true magicians of the world; they take words, and suddenly there the characters are. And they are real!” In A Present for Mom, Stanley is “real” in more ways than one. He may physically resemble Vivian French’s cat, “But he talks and thinks like my daughter Nancy. She’s the youngest of four, just like Stanley, and she says it doesn’t make life easy.”

Vivian French is also the author of The Story of Christmas, a retelling of the traditional story of Jesus’s birth that School Library Journal calls “a joyful and readable introduction to the Nativity.” In A Christmas Star Called Hannah, Vivian French takes a different approach, revisiting her theatrical roots with a simple but heartfelt tale about a girl performing in her class Christmas play. For years, both holiday favorites have held a place of honor on readers’ bookshelves, as well as in their hearts.

When asked what she does when she’s not writing, Vivian French answers, “I look for my daughter’s socks, or put on the washing machine, or shop, or read, or go to the library and spend far too long there. Or I spend time with the family . . . or sleep.” She lives in Scotland.