With illustrations by Whangaparāoa’s Elise Potter, ‘Mr Bingley Is Different’ depicts the lives of two labradoodles (Mr Bingley and Manny) with very different personalities. According to the teaser on the back cover, “Mr Bingley doesn’t like to do things his brother Manny likes. He often feels left out.
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he can do something that Manny and his friends can’t do. And it’s really impressive!” Designed for ages two to eight, Nicky says her story aims to help children see that what makes them different also makes them special. “I wrote it with neurodiversity in mind, but children can feel isolated or different for many other reasons,” Nicky said, giving the example of a child relocating from another country.
Building on her background as a speech and language therapist, Nicky is now an alternative education tutor supporting children and youth who have different learning needs. Mr Bingley and Manny are a key part of her approach to helping young people gain confidence academically and socially. Nicky and Mr Bingley made regular visits to Gulf Harbour school as part of Hato Hone St John’s therapy dog programme.
After noticing that Mr Bingley behaved quite differently to ‘regular’ dogs, Nicky had the idea to write a book for children who might identify with him. A calm and gentle soul, Nicky said Mr Bingley was much better with people than at interacting with other dogs, making him a great therapy dog. When Mr Bingley retired in 2020, he was succeeded.
