Pomare School children become book illustrators

Pomare School children become book illustrators

Words by Sue Avison

dare2discover has partnered with Pomare School to illustrate an eco- fairy tale, Snow Bright and the Frozen Waste, written by Geraldine Brophy.

The story is set in Taita and is full of characters like Prince Farming, Red Finding Hood, the Who Cares and the Human Bean. With a clear message on what can happen if we don’t take care of our environment, the book is funny, magical and thought provoking.

The idea for a book came from a theatre production of the same name written by Geraldine. The play was staged in 2015 at the Little Theatre in Lower Hutt and many low decile schools were encouraged to attend.

dare2discover, which is a registered charity, partners with low decile schools in The Hutt Valley to provide experiences for children that are memorable, educational, fun and free.

They financially assisted some low decile schools, including Pomare School, by covering the cost of the students’ transport to the Little Theatre.

Sue Avison, Trustee of dare2discover, who took her grandsons to the show, thought it would make a delightful book.

“After seeing the show and the delight on the children’s faces, I had a chat with Geraldine and we decided that the story would make a great children’s book. We also felt it was a wonderful opportunity to involve some students with the illustrations. dare2discover has worked with Pomare School in the past so we took this idea to the Principal Katrina Day.”

Day was delighted that Pomare school was being given an opportunity to showcase their school to the community and to demonstrate that a small school in the northern end of Taita could be involved in a project such as this.

“For a little school, being part of this project has great mana. It fits our values of perseverance, responsibility, integrity, diversity and empathy. The children are getting an opportunity to learn about the environmental impact rubbish carelessly tossed away can have — in a fun engaging way. They get to learn art skills that the art curriculum doesn’t offer and they get to be part of something that is bigger than themselves. We can show the community that Pomare School, though small in numbers, is big in heart.”

Dr Hannah McKenzie Doornebosch has tutored the students over the course of two terms. With only a couple of lessons to go, the children’s work will be done and Doornebosch will be preparing their artwork for the book.

dare2discover have funded the project through private donations, a movie fundraiser, Rotary Hutt City, Safegard Alarms and a grant from Pelorus Trust. They still need some extra funding to complete the project which includes having the book translated into Te Reo. They hope to have the book published in time for Christmas.

If you would like to sponsor or donate to the project, please contact at Sue Avison sue@avison.co.nz. All donations are tax deductible.

ENDS

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