Tales from the Forest: Sea the Light

Johanna Sarah Aldridge
Kindle Direct Publishing, £7.99 (paperback)

Profits from this book will go to the British Heart Foundation.

The uniqueness of our planet is both a source of wonder and endless curiosity to young minds; the range and depth of children’s questions today is a testament to their primary education, aided by the availability and use of the internet; the knowledge and excitement of teachers explaining what is unique and special about our earth; the many life forms, including ourselves, and the delicate checks and balances needed to maintain its equilibrium.

In themselves these fundamental concepts can be overwhelming to young children but if woven into their imagination using story telling involving magic, witches and other-worldly creatures that are friendly, familiar, can speak like humans and have adventures then the notions of flying, whirlpools, gaseous exchange using lungs and / or gills, climate change and human influence, empathy and respect for all life can be drip fed into their minds ready to be built upon in later life: most importantly for young children is the need for the stories conclusions to be happy ones where no character is harmed or the planet irreparably damaged.

Aldridge is very masterful in creating, through her stories, paradigms explaining the mechanisms by which planet Earth and the life it supports are intertwined and exist in a fine balance and how its future continuance is dependent upon the sensitivity and proactiveness of its human caretakers working collaboratively with each other and all forms of life.

Dr Stephen R Hoskins CBiol FRSB FLS