Kirkham children's author teams up with Manchester City Football Club charity City in the Community with new book celebrating dads and male role models

Susan Quinn, 66, from Kirkham, wrote her fourth book "My Dad" in a bid to promote positive male role models in her late father's memory.

A former children's librarian, Susan eventually turned her hand to writing for youngsters herself and published her first book in 2013.

Her dad Leo grew up in an orphanage in Manchester and followed Manchester City Football Club all his life, until he died of cancer in 1996.

Susan has now donated copies of My Dad to club charity City in the Community (CITC), an initiative to help get families and their children aged two to five to take part in physical activity together.

She said: "I felt that dads are often underrepresented in some cases and there can be some stereotyping around, so I thought it would be good to present dads in a positive light.

"The book isn't about my dad per se, but it is dedicated to him. I wanted to put across the simple things that children and their dads do together, and celebrate the relationship between a parent and child.

"It's the togetherness that matters, the simple things in life, they were what mattered to my dad. And I wanted to be able to reach children who, especially during the pandemic, may not have had the chance to get many books."

In a nod to Leo, Susan asked her illustrator Marina Ruiz to colour one of the story's football teams' in a sky-blue kit, to represent the team he loved throughout his life.

The book will play a role in a special workshop delivered by CITC to celebrate the positive male representation within their City Play Together programme across reception classes and nurseries in Manchester.

Copies were handed over at the Etihad Stadium to CITC’s Ambassador and ex City goalie Alex Williams, who was awarded an MBE in 2002 for services to young people.

Susan took her dad's football scarf along to the stadium, so a part of him could be with her.

Alex said: "It’s great – the concept is fantastic and it’s great to use the power of football, especially our brand of Manchester City, to try to get messages over to young people.”

City women’s player Esme Morgan added: "The idea of ‘My Dad’ being the best in the world made me smile, and is so sweet.

"It is definitely the sort of thing I would have read when I was little.”

"My Dad" is available to buy on Amazon.

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