I never dreamed of writing children’s books until I heard a scientist on the radio …
I often get asked “Did you always want to write children’s books?” The honest answer is no. I never even dreamed of writing children’s books until I heard a scientist on the radio.
Back in 2018, I was working hard to become an illustrator and had a part-time job with Environment Education Victoria.
I’d just illustrated my first board book about a mouse in a garden for Usborne Publishing. They asked me to illustrate a second board book, this time about unicorns.
I was living in Glenlyon in Victoria, surrounded by bushland. As I was drawing, I listened to ABC Radio National.
One evening, an ecologist, Professor Euan Ritchie, was talking with presenter Phillip Adams about Australia’s extinction crisis. Two Australian mammals had recently become extinct. This stopped me in my tracks. They were talking about species I’d never even heard of: the Christmas Island Pipistrelle and the Bramble Cay Melomys – the first mammal in the world to have been wiped out by human-caused climate change.
I looked down at the unicorn I was drawing. I put down my Apple pencil. I swore that I had to do better. NO MORE UNICORNS.
I finished the unicorn job as best I could and got cracking. I read hundreds of non-fiction and picture books. I began researching and formulating ideas for my own book ideas. They needed to be non-fiction, picture book hybrids.
Thankfully, my pitch for Busy Beaks was accepted by Affirm Press in 2019. The Affirm Press team helped me through the process of creating my first picture book.
After Busy Beaks was published, I got in touch with Euan to tell him about the impact his words had had on me. And then something wonderful happened.
Euan collaborated on my second book, Jumping Joeys. He’s become a friend and fantastic supporter, helping connect me with a world of amazing scientists.
That one radio interview lit a spark.
Three books later, more than 130,000 copies have found their way into the hands of children and families.
Sharing the wonder of Australian wildlife is now what I do.
Not a unicorn in sight!
Further reading
The scientist I heard on the radio
Professor Euan Ritchie — wildlife ecologist, conservation scientist and the scientist whose ABC Radio National interview inspired Sarah to write her first children's book.
Why more Australian scientists should team up with authors
Euan Ritchie and Kate Umbers explore the value of collaborations between scientists and authors, including the story of how Sarah and Euan began working together. The Conversation, 23 August 2024. Read the article in The Conversation