This children’s story about climate change
is in search of a publisher and illustrator. It offers an honest yet
hopeful message to young children about meeting environmental adversity
with ingenuity and resilience.
At a more satirical level, it's written for adults who are still living in a fairy tale about the effects of human activity on our polar icecaps, both Arctic and Antarctic. [Have you seen the recent news about the accelerating collapse of the western Antarctic ice sheet?]
I’m seeking a publisher audacious enough to take a chance on this picture book concept and project. Please contact me immediately if it captures your interest, or pass it along to someone who might like to look it over, especially if they're in the storytelling business.
The entire proposed text reads as follows:
Once there was an old man named Santa Claus.
He lived at the North Pole with his wife, Katrina,
in a toymakers’ cooperative owned and run by one hundred elves.
The cooperative was in a village that rested on a firm sheet of ice.
All year long, Santa, Katrina and the elves made toys for girls and boys.
In winter, Santa and his team of reindeer would carry the toys in a sleigh
to children around the world.
One summer day, Santa noticed the ice under his feet had begun to melt.
He cried out, “Oh, my! Oh, my! This is a warm July!”
“The ice is turning to water,” said Katrina calmly. “We must make a plan.”
They asked the council of elves, “Whatever shall we do?”
Athena, president of the elves, said “I have an idea.
Instead of making toys this year, we can make a giant raft together
and slide it underneath our village.
Then, if the North Pole turns into the North Pool,
our village will be saved.
Someday the children will understand that we did it for them.”
The elves voted on the idea and agreed.
“Let’s get to work!” they said.
And so they built the biggest raft in the world,
made of recycled materials from an abandoned Arctic village nearby,
and slid the raft underneath their village with the help of nine strong reindeer.
The next summer, as some had feared,
all the ice at the North Pole melted.
The North Pole had become the North Pool,
but the village was saved.
The elves began making toys again in their floating village.
But from that day forward, the people of the village would always wonder
why the climate had changed,
why the ice had melted,
and whether the boys and girls of the world, when they grew up,
could help make the ice come back again.
“I hope so,” said Santa.
“I do too,” said Katrina.
“So do we,” said the elves, and they all gave each other one big hug.
The End.
Prospective Readers: Children (4 to 8). Environmentally concerned adults may appreciate a book that introduces a potentially disturbing subject to children in an honest yet hopeful way.
Thank you for considering this attention-focusing book on what may be the world’s timeliest and most important topic. Children are never too young to start learning how they can help Santa create a more sustainable world.
For more information, contact: drigney3@gmail.com
Sincerely,
Dan Rigney
-- originally proposed in Danagram at opensalon.com
At a more satirical level, it's written for adults who are still living in a fairy tale about the effects of human activity on our polar icecaps, both Arctic and Antarctic. [Have you seen the recent news about the accelerating collapse of the western Antarctic ice sheet?]
I’m seeking a publisher audacious enough to take a chance on this picture book concept and project. Please contact me immediately if it captures your interest, or pass it along to someone who might like to look it over, especially if they're in the storytelling business.
The entire proposed text reads as follows:
Once there was an old man named Santa Claus.
He lived at the North Pole with his wife, Katrina,
in a toymakers’ cooperative owned and run by one hundred elves.
The cooperative was in a village that rested on a firm sheet of ice.
All year long, Santa, Katrina and the elves made toys for girls and boys.
In winter, Santa and his team of reindeer would carry the toys in a sleigh
to children around the world.
One summer day, Santa noticed the ice under his feet had begun to melt.
He cried out, “Oh, my! Oh, my! This is a warm July!”
“The ice is turning to water,” said Katrina calmly. “We must make a plan.”
They asked the council of elves, “Whatever shall we do?”
Athena, president of the elves, said “I have an idea.
Instead of making toys this year, we can make a giant raft together
and slide it underneath our village.
Then, if the North Pole turns into the North Pool,
our village will be saved.
Someday the children will understand that we did it for them.”
The elves voted on the idea and agreed.
“Let’s get to work!” they said.
And so they built the biggest raft in the world,
made of recycled materials from an abandoned Arctic village nearby,
and slid the raft underneath their village with the help of nine strong reindeer.
The next summer, as some had feared,
all the ice at the North Pole melted.
The North Pole had become the North Pool,
but the village was saved.
The elves began making toys again in their floating village.
But from that day forward, the people of the village would always wonder
why the climate had changed,
why the ice had melted,
and whether the boys and girls of the world, when they grew up,
could help make the ice come back again.
“I hope so,” said Santa.
“I do too,” said Katrina.
“So do we,” said the elves, and they all gave each other one big hug.
The End.
Prospective Readers: Children (4 to 8). Environmentally concerned adults may appreciate a book that introduces a potentially disturbing subject to children in an honest yet hopeful way.
Thank you for considering this attention-focusing book on what may be the world’s timeliest and most important topic. Children are never too young to start learning how they can help Santa create a more sustainable world.
For more information, contact: drigney3@gmail.com
Sincerely,
Dan Rigney
-- originally proposed in Danagram at opensalon.com
No comments:
Post a Comment