Collaborating with Greenpeace to create a book that informs the younger generation of the shocking destruction to the habitat of so many animals author James Sellick tells the story of a little girl and an orangutan that she befriends after finding him within her bedroom.
Seeing the orangutan outside of its natural habitat gives the reader an understanding of what they must have to endure when the destruction being caused by humans is depleting the surroundings familiar and safe to them and so may other animals.
The book transports the little girl to scenes of rainforest destruction that humans are routinely responsible for, all in order to obtain ingredients found in shampoos and other cosmetic products, and even food items like chocolate too!
This combination of allowing children to make up their own minds as to what is wrong within the content of the book and the addition of factual content that helps readers to be well informed when making judgements and decisions ensures that this is a book worthy of sharing far and wide, especially within libraries so that librarians can promote this highly relevant and significant topic to individuals as well as larger groups during reading sessions and planned activities.
The idea for this book came from a Greenpeace film which had gone viral, with this book being aimed at the younger generation, those who will ultimately be making decisions that affect the entire world before long, such as climate change and environmental disasters. The collaborative efforts of both Greenpeace, James Sellick and Frann Preston-Gannon make this an incredibly powerful book with the message behind the story, the stunning illustrative content – which draws in the reader and helps depict the emotions involved beautifully, and the story itself, a stark reminder of how our choices and decisions have a knock on effect elsewhere in the world.
I love that the story is told in rhyming verse which consequently engages the audiences attention from the offset. The story leaves lots of opportunity for discussion when finished, and highlights to those that can turn things around by making better choices and more informed decisions what needs to stop. The subject of Palm Oil and its uses will continue for some time to come, and through this book younger children will be able to take part in that debate going forward. The likes of Greta Thunberg would undoubtedly be pleased that younger audiences have access to content like There’s a Rang-Tan in My Bedroom.
Do check out James Sellick’s Guest Post on the FCBG Blog as part of this book blog tour, you can find it here . The post is a part of the FCBG National Share A Story Month content which this years is centred around the theme The Planet We Share – which I highly recommend looking at if you haven’t yet, and do sign up to receive the emails informing you of the new content that goes up with them too. The final stop of this blog tour is @faeryartemis ( always amazing content) so be sure to head there tomorrow too. The blog tour information is below if you haven’t yet followed all of the action along the way.
I would like to thank Hachette for including me in this hugely relevant book’s blog tour, I have thoroughly enjoyed being able to promote such a powerful and significant book.
There’s a Rang-Tan in My Bedroom is available to purchase now from all good booksellers.
BookBound 