Agent Submission Package

When the Air Changed

& The Roof Hour

Two companion children's books exploring calm, pattern recognition, and sensory regulation

Section 1

Query Letter

Dear [Agent Name],

I am seeking representation for two companion children's books that explore how kids experience overwhelm—and relief—without lessons, labels, or adult explanations.

WHEN THE AIR CHANGED is a 36-page picture book for ages 4–8 about a four-year-old on a swing who notices the moment the world begins to move around them. Told in spare, concrete language and driven by illustration, the book captures a universal childhood experience of sensory regulation without naming or teaching it. The story ends quietly, with nothing fixed and nothing erased—just steadiness returning.

Its middle-grade companion, THE ROOF HOUR (ages 10–14), follows a pattern-sensitive twelve-year-old who counts shingles, tracks wind angles, and sits through a passing storm from the safety of a roof. With slightly denser text and more interior thought, the book presents solitude, pattern recognition, and observation as valid coping strategies—again without diagnosis, instruction, or triumph.

Together, these books form a shared universe that grows with the reader, offering age-appropriate narratives that respect children's intelligence and lived experience. They fill a gap in the current market for emotionally resonant, neurodivergent-affirming stories that transmit calm rather than explain it.

I am a practicing pediatrician and clinical geneticist in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where I work daily with medically fragile and neurodivergent children. These books draw equally from my clinical experience and my own childhood memories of noticing patterns in wind, light, and motion. Both manuscripts are complete and ready.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I would be delighted to send the full manuscripts or discuss this project further.

Warm regards,

Michael A. Kayser, DO, FACMG

[Email] · [Phone] · Tulsa, Oklahoma

Section 2

Book Synopses

When the Air Changed

Picture Book

Ages 4–836 pages~400 words

A four-year-old sits on a swing, crying for reasons they don't yet have words for. Nothing bad is happening—but something inside feels heavy. When the wind arrives, the child notices how the air moves the grass, the leaves, and the light. Slowly, without effort or explanation, the crying stops.

Told in short, concrete sentences with generous white space, When the Air Changed is an illustration-driven story about a moment of sensory regulation that many children experience but rarely see reflected in books. There is no lesson, no adult intervention, and no resolution beyond the return of steadiness.

The book invites repeated readings, allowing young children to remember the feeling of calm while giving adult readers a quiet moment of recognition.

Tagline: A story about the moment the world breathes back.

The Roof Hour

Middle Grade

Ages 10–1436 pages~4,500 words

A twelve-year-old narrator counts shingles to stay steady. When a storm approaches, they climb onto the roof—not to escape, but to watch. The wind shifts. The rain arrives. Thunder follows. The child stays still, counting seconds, measuring angles, and letting the storm pass without chasing meaning.

The Roof Hour presents pattern recognition, counting, and solitude as practical responses to overwhelm rather than problems to solve. The story avoids diagnostic language, moral framing, or adult explanation, allowing readers—especially neurodivergent ones—to see themselves reflected without being categorized.

The book ends not with a breakthrough, but with a choice: the child goes back inside when the moment feels complete.

Tagline: One hour. One roof. The storm passes.

Section 3

Comparative Titles

The Rabbit Listened

Cori Doerrfeld (2018)

Similar: Shares emotional sensitivity and quiet presence

Different: When the Air Changed is less prescriptive and more experiential—no helper figure arrives to guide the child

Outside In

Deborah Underwood (2020)

Similar: Nature-focused and reflective, emphasizes connection to the natural world

Different: Your books emphasize regulation rather than perspective shifts—the focus is on internal steadiness, not lessons about nature

Ida, Always

Caron Levis (2016)

Similar: Quiet emotional honesty, trusts young readers with complex feelings

Different: Your books center the child's internal sensory world rather than relationship or loss

Counting by 7s

Holly Goldberg Sloan (2013)

Similar: Pattern-sensitive protagonist who finds order in numbers

Different: The Roof Hour is shorter, quieter, and non-diagnostic—no tragedy catalyst, no transformation arc

Fish in a Tree

Lynda Mullaly Hunt (2015)

Similar: Neurodivergent themes, validates different ways of thinking

Different: Your work removes the 'fixing' arc entirely—no teacher arrives to help, no diagnosis unlocks potential

Section 4

Market Analysis

Parents, educators, and clinicians are increasingly aware of nervous system regulation, sensory processing, and co-regulation—but most children's books still address these topics through explicit lessons or adult explanations. There is a growing demand for stories that support emotional steadiness without instructing children how to feel.

When the Air Changed and The Roof Hour meet this need by offering lived experience rather than guidance. They align with trauma-informed and neurodivergent-affirming approaches while remaining firmly literary, not clinical. Their restraint makes them suitable for home reading, classrooms, therapy offices, and hospital settings.

The paired format allows children to grow with the books: younger readers encounter calm through imagery, while older readers find validation in pattern recognition and solitude. This shared universe also creates strong potential for future companion titles across age ranges.

Institutional Markets

• Therapy and counseling offices
• School libraries and counselors
• Occupational therapy clinics
• Pediatric hospital settings

Current Trends Addressed

• Trauma-informed education
• Sensory-based interventions
• Neurodivergent-affirming literature
• Non-didactic emotional support

Section 5

Author Bio

Michael A. Kayser, DO, FACMG, is a board-certified pediatrician and clinical geneticist practicing in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He works extensively with medically complex and neurodivergent children and families, focusing on careful observation, regulation, and long-term support.

In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Kayser has spent years studying how children experience overwhelm and relief before they can name it. These books grew from both his professional experience and his own childhood memories of noticing patterns in wind, light, and motion as a way of staying steady.

He lives in Oklahoma with his wife and two children.

"These books emerged from both my clinical work and my own memories of being a child who noticed patterns in wind, light, and motion."

Section 6

Submission Materials

Included in this submission

Query letter
Synopsis (both books)
Comparative titles
Market analysis
Author bio

Available upon request

Complete manuscripts (both books)
Illustrator style guide
Sample visual mockups
Author CV

Preferred contact: Email

Expected response window: 6–8 weeks. Will follow up if no response after 8 weeks.

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