About Us
That's Me create personalised books and resources for young children, aiming to support them through important milestones and life events. Developed by a Teacher and Paediatric Clinical Psychologist, the books are inspired by Social Stories and focus on describing situations and feelings. Each story features the child as the main character, promoting understanding and confidence. The books provide a compassionate voice, encourage learning, and include a QR code for parents and carers to access expert ideas for additional support.
The Science Behind That’s Me
Power of Personalisation
With over 1000 possible characters, you are able to design the main character to look just like your child. Personalised stories are well known to have a huge number of benefits for children. These include;
- Increased engagement with the story
- Increased motivation and curiosity to learn
- Increased emotional literacy
- Increased self confidence and self esteem
Inspired by Social Stories
All books are created with psychological and educational theories in mind. That’s Me books are inspired by Carol Gray's Social Stories. Social Stories aim to help children prepare for life events by describing what to expect in situations and how children might feel.
Seeing themselves in the story helps your child to explore how they may feel and act in that moment. This will prompt children to ask questions and develop a helpful understanding of what might happen next. Seeing themselves achieving important milestones and having their future successes celebrated promotes confidence and helps children feel ready!
More Than a Book
That’s Me books are more than just a book, they are a tool for parents and carers to help their child manage upcoming life events. Each story creates a compassionate and non-judgemental voice encouraging curiosity and learning. Key ideas and phrases from the books can help grown-ups around the child to start conversations and develop their confidence to overcome challenges.
At the back of every book there is a QR code taking you to complimentary resources, relevant blogs and expert tips, which gives the adults additional support to manage this time.
The Book Design
Even the physical aspects of the book have been carefully thought out!
- Thick pages are designed to withstand toddler handling and rough play.
- A large two-page spread encourages collaborative reading between adults and children.
- Matte pages prevent light from reflecting off the pages, making shared reading more comfortable.
Co-Founders
Innogen Fryer and Dr Cleo Williamson
Innie (Primary School Teacher) and Cleo (Clinical Psychologist) started That's Me because they could not easily find books that represented the children in their lives and supported what they were going through.
Innie and Cleo have been best friends since they were twelve years old, growing up in Hackney and going to school together. Now they are raising their families alongside each other and working together on That’s Me!
Miss Innie is a qualified teacher who currently teaches within an inner London primary school. Working with children for over 15 years Innie has a world of experience from teaching in India to working in her local community. Prior to becoming a teacher she trained at Central School of Speech and Drama, studying Applied Theatre, Education and Drama and has worked for companies such as Immediate Theatre, Mimbre, Lyric and Islington Community Theatre. Most recently she was awarded London's first Active School Hero by Nike and ukactive, as her passion for children's health and wellbeing was contagious! Find out more here. Innie has seen first hand the importance confidence has across all aspects of child development.
Dr Cleo is a Paediatric Clinical Psychologist. With a masters degree in Child Development and Professional Doctorate in Clinical Psychology, Cleo has worked with children for over 10 years. Her area of specialist interest is children and families who are impacted by developmental disorders and chronic illness. Whilst working and conducting research with Great Ormond Street Hospital, University College London Hospital and The Portland Hospital, Cleo has had the privilege of hearing many inspiring stories which highlight the wonder and resilience of children.
Content Researcher and Social Media Co-ordinator - Irene Sanchez
Irene Sanchez is an Assistant Psychologist within the NHS and began her involvement with That's Me while working alongside Cleo at UCLH, where they discovered a shared passion for ensuring children feel seen and represented in the stories they read. As the content researcher and social media co-ordinator at That's Me, Irene Sanchez brings a genuine passion for connecting children with stories that reflect their experiences. With a degree in Psychology and prior experience in working in Paediatric Health Psychology, Irene blends her academic background and insights into child development to support the company's mission to represent all children in the stories they read
The Future
In the future, That's Me will cover many different important life events. These include more challenging moments that can be difficult to explain to children. Children are truly amazing and we are passionate that all stories will have a celebratory thread.