Pakenham ‘mummy blogger’ and early childhood lecturer Sara Saunders tells ALANA MITCHELSON about the concept behind her first book There Once Was an Orangutan.
“Being surrounded by nature made me become attached to it. I think it instilled that idea of caring for and looking after the place we live in.”
Sara Saunders’ commitment to helping prepare children as critical thinkers of the future has for the first time taken shape in the form of a children’s book.
Its release co-incides with her recent new appointment as a contributor for a soon-to-be-launched parenting blog.
Ms Saunders has come a long way since she began writing mummy blogs while on maternity leave.
With her own two children in mind, she has crafted a fun tale filled with creatures big and small, imparting a serious message at its core: the small things we do can have a huge impact on animals’ lives and their habitats.
The story hopes to connect with children and to help them picture their place in the fight to keep the environment and the world’s animals safe.
It has a strong focus on ‘conversation’ and the book aims to be a resource that could assist children throughout their entire primary schooling in understanding these complex issues.
Ms Saunders told the Gazette that growing up in rural Victoria had given her a life-long appreciation of nature and a passion for conservation.
“We used to holiday in Yarrawonga as well. There were no toilets. It was just full on camping,” she said.
“Being surrounded by nature made me become attached to it. I think it instilled that idea of caring for and looking after the place we live in.
“I didn’t know any different. I don’t think I started reflecting on it too much until teaching young children.
“I’d like to think that starting conversations would lead to projects to help get that thinking happening.”
Ms Saunders lived in the country until her late adolescence and moved to Pakenham about four years ago.
Since launching There Once Was an Orangutan in December, Ms Saunders has received much positive feedback from parents and teachers who have explained how they are using the book and what they have learnt.
“If it gets kids talking about it, they’ll go home from school and want to tell their parents what they’ve learnt,” she said.
“And that in turn reminds parents what’s important.
“We’re always losing air quality and on-and-off on water restrictions – it’s not as far away as we think.”
Ms Saunders said that the concepts of conservation and protecting resources that have the potential to disappear could be taught from birth.
With a four-year-old son and 15-month-old daughter, Saunders said she wanted to write a story that children could relate to and where they could find answers.
While Ms Saunders’ book focuses on the natural environment, she admitted that everything had its own place.
“Technology – whether we like it or not – exists and children do need to learn,” she said, speaking of the increase of children being exposed to mobile phone and tablets from a young age.
“That’s their future as well.”
The new writing project led her to work with a childhood friend who detailed the illustrations for the picture book.
She said that going through an independent publisher gave her much involvement in the process which was a valuable experience.
Ms Saunders already has two more stories on-the-go: one centred on girls’ self-esteem issue and the other on gender stereotypes.
“I hope the book will help families and services work with children to comprehend their place in their own futures,” she said.
“If they learn now the importance of caring for their world, then hopefully it will instil this as a life skill for children, who become adults that advocate for their world every day.
“It’s important for children to learn that they need to first protect their world. I think for our generation, it’s almost too late. They’re the ones who are going to make the impact.”
For more information, visit Sara Saunders’ blog at www.facebook.com/TheMumWhoDidntKnowItAll or www.alysbooks.com
