CHILDREN'S BOOK CREATORS FOR CONSERVATION
Wild Tomorrow is looking forward to welcoming the first Children’s Book Creators for Conservation group to the field in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa this October 2023 for a two-week volunteer trip. Children’s books can convey the awe we feel in the great outdoors and encourage care for wild species. Read our latest blog post below about the creators and this incredible initiative!
Hayley and John Rocco with two of their forthcoming children’s books.
What is the Children’s Book Creators for Conservation (CBCC) you might ask? The CBCC is a collective group of children’s book authors and illustrators who share a love of the planet, support conservation efforts, and believe that protecting biodiversity and re-wilding our planet is essential for a better tomorrow. This initiative was created by New York Times bestselling, Caldecott Honor-winning author/illustrator John Rocco and children’s book author Hayley Rocco (this married power duo also happen to be two of Wild Tomorrow’s incredible Ambassadors)! The CBCC aims to bring passionate and conservation-minded children’s book creators together to collaborate in hands-on conservation work while inspiring conservation-minded books for young readers for the greater good of the planet.
“Joining us are some of the best bookmakers in the business, and I know that this experience will profoundly inspire and inform their work. I cannot wait to see what comes out of it.”
The group consists of ten award-winning children’s book creators including Candace Fleming, Meg Fleming, Brian Floca, Jessica Lanan, G. Neri, Sherri Duskey Rinker, John Rocco, Hayley Rocco, Eric Rohmann, and Corban Wilkin. Collectively, their work has garnered numerous awards including multiple Caldecott Medals and honors, Robert F. Sibert Medal and honors, and a Coretta Scott King honor, among many others. In addition to their volunteer work in the field, the CBCC hopes to raise $20,000 towards the conservation efforts being made with Wild Tomorrow. You can donate to their cause here.
“We are extremely excited that CBCC’s esteemed group of children’s book creators will spend time working hands-on helping conservation efforts at Wild Tomorrow’s Greater Ukuwela Nature Reserve and at our partner reserves in South Africa. Often, we hear it said that animals can’t speak and need our voices. Wildlife and their wild spaces need our creative talents too, to move hearts and minds to take action to save our planet. We are very much looking forward to seeing the creative outputs inspired by this one-of-a-kind volunteer group.”
In an exclusive interview with Publishers Weekly, Greg Neri reflects that immersive experiences such as this will benefit both the author and the audience; “As storytellers for young people, we find a way to translate an experience and show readers not only what’s at stake, but what’s being done about it. As artists and writers, we may not know how to cure disease, solve climate change, or save a rhino, but we can capture the hearts and minds of young people so they know they can make a difference too.”
Although this is the first CBCC trip, they are hoping to continue to host these types of trips with the mission of creating a bridge between children’s publishing and conservation, and giving conservationists a voice in the children’s world!