Animal Ark:
Celebrating Our Wild World in Poetry and Pictures
1. What inspired you to write
your book?
Animal Ark is a collaboration with photographer, speaker,
author, teacher, and conservationist Joel Sartore. Photographing these
animals is his life’s passion and work. We were brought in to help introduce
the subject of endangered animals to children through poetry. The exquisite
photographs inspired us to write the haiku and poetic narrative that gave voice
to each image, to each animal.
2. What is it about?
Animal Ark is part of The National Geographic Photo Ark
Project committed to documenting every endangered species in captivity
through the eye of renowned photographer Joel Sartore. Over 6,000 of the
12,000 animals who are on the endangered list have been photographed. Animal
Ark was created to educate young children about our interconnectedness
to the animals and to each other in the world and also to inspire conversation
about what part they may play in our future.
3. What do you hope will be the
everlasting thoughts for readers who finish your book?
Our hope is that Animal
Ark will plant a seed of awareness not only about the endangered animals
themselves, but about what part we all play in
this. Ultimately we would like people to care enough to take action
and to understand how interconnected our human and animal lives are.
4. What advice do you have for
writers?
To write about something that is
meaningful to you. For us, endangered animals is a subject with urgency behind
it. More important is the role we all play in this delicate balance that will
affect the future of all of us, particularly our children and their children.
As poets we turn to poetry because it speaks to and accesses the hearts
intelligence directly. Writing not only helps give us a voice, it helps us to
tune in and listen to what is going on inside and all around us.
5. Where do you think the book
publishing industry is heading?
The book publishing world has
never been this exciting. Writers, especially writers of children’s literature,
are becoming more daring in telling authentic stories that need to be
told...stories that matter and make a difference in small and big ways. Not
only is the writing becoming more daring and truthful, poetry as a storytelling
format is becoming increasingly popular with readers. Poetry is alive and well
in picture books through young adult literature and beyond, and is coming to life
in the classrooms and at home. Kids are now inspired to be poets and
storytellers too. The book publishing industry is not only thriving, it is
becoming more innovative and interested in distinct, diverse voices. This is
incredibly important, as many voices need to be heard to complete the picture.
And though we still have a ways to go, we're making progress.
6. What challenges did you have
in writing your book?
Approaching the subject matter
of endangered animals was a delicate one to present to young children.
We wanted to be informative without being scary or depressing. Poetry because
of its metaphorical nature makes what you want to say more accessible. Good
poems show rather than tell. Poems are pictures much the way photographs are
literary snapshots. The combination of the two in Animal Ark is
like notes forming chords to a song.
7. If people can only buy one
book come February 2017, why should it be yours?
Animal Ark is more than a book filled with eye catching
photographs and beautiful narratives. It is a reminder that when we stop taking
care of each other we affect our own future too. No matter how individual we
strive to be or think we are, we are in truth one global family. The animals in
Animal Ark are one way of talking about how changing what we do now is a way of
paying forward to future generations.
For
more information, please consult: https://shop.nationalgeographic.com/product/books/kids-books/animals-and-nature/animal-ark
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