By: Samantha Walls
Before Shafer Stedron, MD, became a neurologist, she was a musician. She was a singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist, and these varied aspects of her background show up in her new children’s book.
The Boy and His Electric Guitar, scheduled for release in fall 2026, follows a neurodivergent boy who learns guitar, writes a song, and prepares for his first public performance. Written for readers ages 7 to 11, the book explores growth mindset, mistakes, self-expression, and the challenge of trying something new.
The story is the follow-up to The Boy and His Brightly Colored Blocks, which explored PDA, or Pathological Demand Avoidance, through the story of a young boy learning to navigate a world that often asks more of him than it realizes.
With The Boy and His Electric Guitar, Stedron continues that work through music. The main character’s guitar becomes the place where he practices persistence, works through frustration, and learns that mistakes do not have to mean failure.
For Stedron, the story brings together two parts of her life. As a neurologist, she is interested in the relationship between music, the brain and children’s development. As a writer, she uses the experience of a child learning an instrument to show what growth can look like from the inside.
That perspective shapes her approach to neurodivergence in children’s literature. Stedron’s work is rooted in the belief that stories can give children language for experiences they may not yet know how to explain. When a young reader meets a character who learns differently, reacts differently, or moves through the world differently, that child may have an easier time recognizing that their own experience belongs in a book too.
That moment is where representation becomes more than an idea. In children’s literature, representation can become a mirror, helping children feel seen and less alone. It can also help parents, teachers, siblings, and peers approach neurodivergence with more understanding.
The larger mission behind The Boy and His Electric Guitar is to promote acceptance and education around neurodiversity while teaching children a growth mindset. The book does not frame mistakes as something to avoid. Instead, it shows mistakes as part of learning, practicing, and finding one’s voice.
That mission also connects to Stedron’s broader work through Little House of Dreams Publishing House, where she helps authors move from an idea to a finished book, with a special focus on young authors.
That focus is personal as well. Stedron’s daughter, Amelie Anastasia, is the author of a three-book wildlife series that began with Fox Tales. Her fourth book, Shelter Dogs, was released in July 2026. Written by Amelie and illustrated by her mother, the book supports animal shelters and adoption efforts, with profits benefiting local Humane Societies. Amelie raised $9,000 for the Little Traverse Bay Humane Society ahead of the book’s release.
Together, these projects reflect a consistent thread in Stedron’s work: stories can help children understand themselves and act with more compassion toward others.
The Boy and His Electric Guitar brings that belief to a boy, a guitar, and a song he is preparing to play in public. It is a story for young readers learning that mistakes are part of growth, and that finding one’s voice often begins with the choice to keep going.
To learn more about Dr. Stedron’s work, visit www.drshaferstedronova.com.
