Lockdown gives local author push to finish children’s book
Inglewood author Helen Griffiths wants to take young readers on what she calls a “collective noun safari” in the book she plans to publish later this year.
To help get the book published, she is offering one lucky person the chance to be featured in the book itself.
“With quality independent publishing being an expensive business, I needed to find a creative way of covering costs. So I came up with an initiative called ‘Your Face Here’.”
Helen is selling raffle tickets at $5 each for the prize of being drawn into the book by illustrator Simon Chadwick.
“His illustrations have added a whole new level of magic to the book, so to be drawn by him is a really great prize.”
The raffle tickets are on sale now from the book’s website - www. treasurebeyondmeasure.co.nz
Helen says the draw is open to all ages, and people can nominate someone else to be drawn if they prefer. All money raised goes to the cost of getting the book published.
The book itself promises to get children excited about language and the wonderful world of words, says Helen.
“It’s really a celebration of language, all these marvellous words we have and can use. It also has a conservation element to it, it will help make children think about the world they are in and the animals we share the world with.”
Helen is a trained speech therapist, and says lockdown gave her the push to get the book finished.
“It’s been an idea for a while, but during lockdown, while I was at home, unable to get out and meet with the clients I am normally seeing, it gave me the motivation to make sure something good came out of the experience.”
Helen continued working with her clients virtually during lockdown, but not having to travel gave her more time to work on the book.
“I set about organising free preview readings online and found myself virtually in homes and classrooms, some as far afield as Vietnam. The response to the book has been overwhelmingly positive.”
Eight-year-old twins Tristan and Harvey Brignall-Smith are among those to have enjoyed a preview of the book. Their mum Claire Brignall says they enjoyed it and were “buzzing” after listening to it.
Although the book, entitled Treasure Beyond Measure, is Helen’s first children’s book, it isn’t her first foray into writing.
Under the name The Bandana Bard, Helen has also enjoyed success as a poet, and has already published her first poetry chapbook Lighthearted, as well as featuring in the Taranaki Arts Trail and taking to the stage at WOMAD.
In fact, it was WOMAD that got the book started, she says.
“The book was inspired by the 2017 Conservation Week, and started off as the very first poem I performed in public, at WOMAD 2018. Someone said to me the poem would be a great children’s book and so the idea has been there ever since.”
And having previously run a popular children’s indoor playground in New Plymouth, The Rumpus Room, for more than five years, turned out to be helpful in getting the book going, says Helen.
“While I had the Rumpus Room, we hosted a children’s author there to read from his book for the children. The author was Craig Smith, of Wonky Donkey fame.
“When he came to the Rumpus Room it was before the Scottish Granny, so it was when he was still doing the hard yards, going round to places to read from his book and get support.”
Helen still has his number, so when she started thinking about turning her conservation themed poem into a book, she used it. “I called him and asked him - where do I start.”
Armed with pointers, along with a positive review of the book from Craig himself, Helen set to work and the book is now ready to be published in time for Conservation Week in September this year, she says.
“I think it is apt for it to be launched then. Conservation Week inspired it, so it feels right for the book launch to take place then.”