About the book
Children naturally see a magical life in the rain, sand and trees. This book builds on what they already know to be true, encouraging children and adults to look for magic in the world around them every day.
I was inspired to write the book after my 5 year old niece said to me "Did you know the sand is alive". Her pure heart helped me see beauty in the world through the eyes of a child.
The story is from the perspective of a little girl's imagination with short nature inspired rhymes, each starting with “Did you know?”.
There are 4 blank pages for children to write and draw their own stories.
More about the book...
I started writing this book for my niece, Eva, in 2015 when she was 5 years old. I was going through a hard time in my life when I felt lost and alone. I was living on the opposite side of the world, north of the Arctic Circle in Sweden and felt disconnected from my family and friends.
I came home to visit Adelaide for just a few weeks and spent one afternoon with my niece at the beach. She saw wonder in the world around her and helped me see a magical world through her eyes. She did this with one simple question...
I excitedly answered..."Yes! There are tiny sand families living all around us." Eva looked up
at me with bright eyes. "Does that mean the water is alive too?" It was so easy for her to see the magic in nature, and I could see it too. It was the beginning of my journey to finding myself, finding my voice and finally returning home.
On my flight back to Sweden I wrote a poem for Eva titled 'Did you know that the sand is alive?'. I wanted to send her the sand poem to say thank you, but I couldn't stop there. More poems came spilling out of me and A BOOK WAS BORN.
I have hand drawn all the images and coloured them brightly in photoshop. I even made a custom font from my handwriting. I have poured so much time and love into this book and am excited to send it out into the world.
I started a Kickstarter campaign in October 2021 to raise fund for the first print run. It was a great success with the first edition printed in November 2021 in Australia.
