Baltimore-Born Nurse Practitioner Mandi B. Franklin Publishes Her First Children's Book

A Baltimore native and pediatric nurse practitioner, Mandi B. Franklin constantly puts her passion for health education to work.

Franklin started the Petite NP website and blog (petitenp.com) and social media accounts, and recently self-published her first children’s book, “Is My Best Friend a Robot?”

She hopes the 34-page book — which was illustrated by Brooke W. Weber — inspires young readers to feel comfortable accepting their differences and embracing what makes them unique.

Franklin says it’s the book she wishes she read as a kid.

Franklin, 34, received a bachelor of science degree in nursing from Towson University before earning a master of science degree for advanced practice nursing from the University of Maryland School of Nursing. She started her nursing career in 2010 and has been a certified pediatric nurse practitioner since 2014.

Jmore recently caught up with Franklin, who in late 2019 moved to Boca Raton, Florida — “Like all Jewish people eventually do, right?” she jokes — with her husband, Jared, and their puppy, Capri. Franklin currently works at Just for Kids Pediatrics in Boynton Beach, Fla.

Jmore: What inspired you to write this book?

Franklin: Writing a children’s book has always been on my bucket list of things I’ve wanted to do. I have type 1 diabetes, which I was diagnosed with at the age of 3. Growing up, I really didn’t know any other type 1 diabetics, and I wish that I had felt more comfortable with my diagnosis.

I wrote this book because I think it’s important for any kid who has an underlying medical condition to feel comfortable explaining what makes them unique, and for other kids who don’t have the disability or disease to ask questions.

What do you hope readers get out of the book?

I hope that it’s a great educational tool for people. I hope that for newly diagnosed kids, it will be an important tool for them to use to simplify their understanding and to say, ‘I don’t need to be ashamed’ or ‘I don’t need to hide my disease, I can be proud of it.’ And if someone asks the question, ‘This is how I can explain it to them.’

My husband’s cousin, Brooke W. Weber, illustrated the book and I’m so pleased with how the illustrations came out. We wanted the characters to be diverse. That’s so important for kids to see and to understand from an early age.

We all are all unique, and that’s what makes this a beautiful world.

Tell me about the characters in ‘Is My Best Friend a Robot?”

The characters in the book are Albert and Myra. Albert has type 1 diabetes, and Myra thinks that the beep on his pump is because he’s a robot.

Both my parents passed away a couple years ago. My father’s name was Arnold [Alperstein] and my mother’s name was Marjorie. So I wanted to do an A and an M name. And those two names just came to me. There’s nothing significant about those specific names, but I just really wanted to honor both of my parents and use their initials.

When did you feel more comfortable with your diagnosis?

When I got to college, my freshman roommate was also a diabetic, and I definitely felt more comfortable with it. And then as I’ve gotten older, I finally said, ‘This is me and I’m proud of it.’

It wasn’t until only a couple years ago that I started to wear my insulin pump places on my body that people can see, rather than hiding it under clothes. My pump basically functions as my pancreas. I wear it proudly, and I love answering questions from strangers.

What are the common misconceptions associated with type 1 diabetes?

I feel like there’s still so many common misconceptions. I think the biggest one is, ‘What’s the difference between type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes?’

And the other biggest one is people saying, ‘There’s a piece of cake. You can’t have that,’ which just isn’t true.

What is your day job?

I’m a pediatric nurse practitioner. I was a nurse for a few years at University of Maryland, on their general pediatric unit. Then I went back to school to become a nurse practitioner. I see patients anywhere from zero to 18, and I treat a variety of things: check-ups, common colds, upper respiratory infections, anxiety, depression, ADHD. A little bit of everything.

So why did you move from Baltimore for Florida?

My husband and I moved to Boca Raton at the end of 2019. Whenever there was a snowstorm in Baltimore, we were just like, ‘Not again.’ When we moved, I decided I wanted to start a blog. So that’s where the Petite NP blog and social media accounts came about. I want to educate and make sure that there is truthful knowledge being published out there.

Because you can find a lot of misinformation online, so I hope to be a good resource.

Anna Lippe is a Washington, D.C.-based freelance writer.