Take Two, Type 2

When nine-year-old Nella learns that her beloved Pop Pop is living with type 2 diabetes, she wants to understand what that really means. What begins as a question about someone she loves becomes a journey through family, health, curiosity, and creativity.

Take Two, Type 2 follows Nella as she learns how the body uses sugar for energy, what insulin does, and why type 2 diabetes can make that process harder. Rather than turning health information into a lecture, the story brings it to life through Nella's imagination, humor, relationships, and love of the arts. As she connects what she is learning at home, at school, and in her community, Nella discovers that understanding health can be empowering and that children can play an important role in starting conversations that matter.

Rooted in the warmth of a Black family and created for children and the adults who care for them, this illustrated story is designed to make a complex chronic condition easier to understand without fear, shame, or blame. It is especially useful for families in which a parent, grandparent, relative, or other loved one is living with type 2 diabetes, as well as for educators, caregivers, health professionals, and community programs looking for a culturally grounded way to introduce family health conversations.

Readers will find a story about more than diabetes. It is also about love between generations, asking questions, learning how the body works, using creativity to make sense of something difficult, and finding the confidence to share what you learn with others.

Take Two, Type 2 is the first title in Yale's Tales, a children's storytelling series where health and the arts meet. Through culturally grounded stories, the series helps children build health understanding, use their voices and gifts, and invite the grown-ups in their lives into meaningful conversations that can change what families understand, believe, and do.