Why Write a Children’s Book About Migraine?
When I was growing up, pediatricians were just beginning to understand that migraine could affect very young children, even infants, and began to formalize diagnostic criteria for younger populations. Today, it is known that about half of all people who experience migraine have their first attack before the age of 12 (1).
Children’s books about migraine matter because children are already living with migraine, often without language, understanding, or validation. In my case, my parents and teachers found it hard to believe I could get so many headaches. This causes shame and self-doubt in children, as we are branded as “dramatic” or “sensitive” or “lazy,” or told we are “fine.”
Seeing themselves reflected in a story is a powerful communicator to children: my pain is real.
Seeing themselves reflected in a story is a powerful communicator to children: my pain is real.
Migraine symptoms can feel confusing and scary. Visual changes, dizziness, nausea, sound sensitivity, and brain fog cause anxiety. Children often lack language for these frightening experiences. Stories help children recognize what is happening in their bodies. It validates their sensory experiences. Children with migraine often experience the world intensely: lights brighter, sounds sharper, smells stronger. A book can normalize this sensitivity.
Stories help families communicate. Parents, siblings, teachers, and classmates often do not understand invisible illnesses. A children’s book creates a shared language that opens up hard conversations. It builds empathy early. Children who learn about invisible illnesses become adults who are more understanding of disabilities, chronic conditions, accommodations, and differences.
Children do not need stories that pretend illness is magical. They need stories that teach emotional resilience. Books that show they can still belong despite the isolation their illness creates. They can still be creative and take part fully in their lives even while living with something hard. They feel less alone. One child reading, “Someone else feels like this too,” can be powerful.
I wrote Mabel and Her Bright, Noisy, Prickly, Dizzy Migraine to fill a gap in children’s literature. There are many books about visible illness or injury, but far fewer about neurological conditions and invisible pain-especially migraine.
I wrote Mabel and Her Bright, Noisy, Prickly, Dizzy Migraine to fill a gap in children’s literature. There are many books about visible illness or injury, but far fewer about neurological conditions and invisible pain-especially migraine.
Mabel is a perfect ambassador in schools, too. A story about an elephant with a migraine can teach kids and teachers about empathy and how to help someone who needs special accommodations, like quiet time or less light.
Educating children early to understand migraine as more than just a headache changes future conversations about how we view invisible illnesses in our society.
(1) Jeng, Suzy and Gordon-Lipkin, Eliza. “Migraine Headaches in Kids: Signs, Triggers & Treatment Options.” Healthy Children, 5 June 2025, www.healthychildren.org.