Since being awarded an MBE by the Queen last year for his efforts during the Covid pandemic, 'The Body Coach' has been on a nationwide tour of primary schools promoting his new book. Howard, who has lived in Belfast for the past 22 years, is delighted to see how his approach is already breaking down barriers and impacting upon those children with learning difficulties, including dyslexia. The message with children always has to be: “Do your best. If you can’t do it perfectly, have a try.” Don’t judge yourself. Don’t compare yourself. Nothing brings you more into the moment than freezing water Earlier this year the Duchess of Cambridge chose to read the book on CBeebies Bedtime Stories to mark Children's Mental Health Week.

Howard has also enjoyed working with the youngest children "who have no inhibitions" and with the primary four and five age group, empowering them to become illustrators and design a new book cover for The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark. There are days when it wears me down, not so much my posts as messages from people who are struggling. I try to reply. I’m constantly giving out energy. But I can put my phone away. The first few hours I’ll miss it, but as each hour passes I feel lighter: I’m not in demand, no one can reach me… it’s a nice feeling. Joe's message is about having children being active and taking care of their mental health and I wanted to reflect the bears vitality, energy and liveliness using bright colours," he explains. I used to, but now I think more about the mental health crisis. I used to focus on physical transformation – leanness, body shape. But during the pandemic I realised that it’s with mental health that people need help and motivation. Without a healthy mindset and the energy you get from exercise, life feels a lot harder. If you look at exercise from a mental health perspective, the body will follow. Howard, who illustrated an abridged edition of Jill Tomlinson's story in 2001, is the current Northern Ireland Children's Writing Fellow and he is "thoroughly enjoying" getting out and about inspiring children with their creative writing and reading.With the goal of eating more while exercising less, this book aims to provide clear goals when it comes to a more sustainable diet plan. Offering clear and simple to follow recipes that can be made in fifteen minutes or less, the book lays out each recipe with clear and concise instructions. With over a hundred recipes included, they all have the same goal of achieving a more healthy body weight, while also working out. Combining food and exercise, the book shows how to balance the two within a busy daily schedule, getting the most from both.

Being an illustrator is a very solitary profession and sometimes you forget the effect of what you are doing has on people. French is the author of more than 300 books and has beenawarded an MBE for her services to literature, literacy, illustration and the arts. She has also received the Scottish Book Trust’s outstanding achievement award and isthe co-founder of the critically acclaimed Picture Hooks scheme to help emerging art graduates find their feet in the world of book illustration.The Workout Badges will be available on The Body Coach TV YouTube channel and on the YouTube Kids app, starting 22 September