I grew up in a city with skyscrapers everywhere where people
live in high-rise apartments. We didn’t have a garden so there were not many
colours around me. There was white, the colour of most of the apartments, and there
was gray, the concrete on the road. The sky was supposed to be blue but
pollution meant it was often gray. The park was my happiest place because it
was full of bright colours. I remember it would often take me and my two older
brothers over 30 minutes just to walk to the nearest park but we didn’t care
and we went there almost every day. When I moved to Australia I absolutely fell
in love with this country because of its vast nature. I love the nature because
it is where I can imagine and dream.
The location of Draw and Tell Chester-Petersen is in the forest.
The characters in the story also come from the forest. I want to use the story
to take children on a journey to the nature and I want to encourage parents to
take children to the nature more often.
Most children don’t like changes. Babies thrive on routine and
young children feel safer and secure when they know what to expect next. Draw
and Tell Chester-Petersen is a story about transition. I want to show children how they can embrace changes and that changes are not that scary. I want to teach
children we can always overcome challenges that may come with transition when
we do it together as a family or a community and we don’t have to be afraid of
it.
Putting the hidden messages aside, I hope you will simply enjoy
reading Draw and Tell Chester-Petersen with your children. I hope you will laugh
with your children when you imitate the sounds; I hope you will enjoy counting
with your children and playing “I spy with my little eye” spotting things around
you in different colours. But most important of all, I hope the story doesn’t
end. I hope it is only the beginning of your story; I hope you will take your
children to the nature, where you can create your story together; a story about
a family adventure; a story about swimming in the lake and splashing water at
one another and laughing together; a story called your story. Are you ready to
write your story?
Happy reading, exploring and writing....Ribbit, ribbit,
ribbit....
Till next time....
Simone
