Author soars on seagull’s message
Tauranga teacher and debut author Nicole Miller was getting recognition for her children’s book two years before it was published. The manuscript for her book Celia Seagull and the Plastic Sea was a 2019 Joy Cowley award finalist and is a living legacy to Kiwi teen Bobby StaffordBush, whose love affair with the sea and marine life was cut tragically short at the age of 16.
The foundation established in Bobby’s name will donate free copies of Miller’s children’s book to every school library and public library in Aotearoa New Zealand. Nicole says, “I am honoured to be representing the legacy left by Bobby Stafford-Bush; to respect our ocean and marine life and to help others when we can.”
Celia Seagull and the Plastic Sea is “a delightful story that speaks to the harm that is caused by the plastic waste that ends up in the sea. The message is clear: we must dispose of plastic safely and help all life in the ocean,” says Dr Jane Goodall.
The manuscript for your first children’s book was a 2019 Joy Cowley finalist. Did that make a difference?
Definitely. Before I entered the Joy Cowley Awards, I felt reasonably confident about my ability to write in my chosen style, but I also had moments of self-doubt and self comparison. Being a finalist for the award confirmed that my manuscript was commendable, which gave me the nudge to persevere with getting my first book published. Getting a first book published can be really hard, especially as an unpublished author! As well as having a quality manuscript, you need to keep believing that your writing has value, and also have patience.
What inspired you to write Celia Seagull and the Plastic Sea?
I had gone through a separation when I was five months pregnant, so I was feeling quite down and disheartened. I was doing my best to be strong for my children, but I was at high risk of having post-natal depression, so my counsellor had ordered me to walk every day, eat well, drink a lot of water, and do something that I love — something for me. I started with writing songs for my kids and found that my counsellor was right and that having a creative outlet really picked up my mood. Around the same time, confronting images of the Pacific Garbage Patch were circulating on social media. I wanted to educate myself and my kids more about this problem, so when Jesse was 6 months old we got some books on plastic pollution out of the library. It was hard to find anything that was fictional on the topic. It can be hard to make a serious topic fun for kids. I think when we are trying to spread an important message, we need it to hit home from
every direction — role modelling, open discussions, documentaries, experiences, songs and books are all great ways to educate tamariki. The more they hear the message in every form, the more embedded it becomes. Being a musical person, I have always loved rhythm and rhyme, and I’m a teacher, so the idea to send an environmental message through rhyming verse made sense. The concept was born, and I started writing.
Your book is a living legacy to Bobby Stafford-Bush, a young man who was passionate about the sea and marine life. Please tell us more about that.
I never had the opportunity to meet Bobby Stafford-Bush, but I know that he cared deeply for the ocean, marine life, and about helping others. Celia Seagull and the Plastic Sea teaches children about those same values. At the beginning, Celia is a very selfish seagull. The ocean is littered with plastic waste, which is harming other sea creatures, but she doesn’t care because she is busy looking for plastic to weave into her lovely big nest. When she runs into trouble, a mermaid comes to help her — with an open mind and no agenda — and this inspires Celia. Together, they go and help all the creatures and invite them back to the nest.
Jane Goodall has endorsed your book. What did she say?
She sent me this quote: “A delightful story that speaks to the harm that is caused by the plastic waste that ends up in the sea. The message is clear: we must dispose of plastic safely and help all life in the ocean.”