About a month ago, I was sitting on a train in the middle of Melbourne CBD when a light bulb appeared.  My mind was whizzing around like a crazy person so I did what I always do when lightning strikes and grabbed my pen and paper.

10 minutes and a missed train stop later, what was once a blank page had now become the first draft of 'Teaote and The Wall'.

Teaote is my mother.  An energetic, cheeky, slightly stubborn (admit it Mum) and hard working woman who faces the battle of rising sea waters every day.  



When this moment of inspiration hit on the train, I realised that there isn't a simple, educational, love filled childrens book that has:
a) ever been set in the islands of Kiribati
b) realistically addressed the climate change issues that surround the country.  

You know that country predicted to be submerged under water? You got it.  That's Kiribati.



I am a huge believer that education is the answer and this should start with the worlds little people.  The world can change in an instant.  And even though solving Kiribati's problems is a hugely complex issue, the biggest teacher is awareness.

Kiribati is a country that goes unnoticed (as in 'Marita, did you just make up a country?'). The islands that make up Kiribati are small but it's heart and culture is big and I want to share that.

Now the biggest issue in the world is now available to share with your children and grandchildren in a lyrically and visually stimulating form: 'Teaote and The Wall'.



This book has been illustrated by the ridiculously talented Stacey Bennet. An award winning illustrator and graphic designer, Stacey has brought Teaote and The Wall to life with her fabulous use of colour and amazing detail.  I guarantee, these illustrations will make you smile over and over again.

Teaote and The Wall is about a Kiribati woman determined to build a strong wall, tall enough to keep out the gigantic waves that threaten her home.  She builds her wall with sticks and stones, with rocks and sand.

Teaote and The Wall is about hard work, resilience, positive thinking, working together but most of all it's about the strength of a community.  Kiribati life is about relying on one another when the chips are down and pooling your resources to support one another.  

Teaote and The Wall is more than an educational environmental book.  It is a homage to a country that is full of culture, life and the happiest people on the planet.  

UPDATE & THANK YOU

Ok we need $4000 to get this going.

Where does this go?

A small print run of around 500 books

Website hosting

Mailing costs and distribution

Illustratative costs

Marketing (e.g. media releases and extra design costs) 

Launch event of the book!

Our biggest obstacle is getting the money raised in time!

With Marita and Stace being huge go-getters, they have promised to produce this book by April.  Yep next month! So we're working like crazy to get it done in time.

However, we wouldn't be doing this if we didn't think it was possible. We're professionals, we're used to tight deadlines and we love working to pressure.  We're organised and have set deadlines we need to hit every couple of days to make sure we stay on top of the workload.