There’s a new crowdfunding campaign underway for a bilingual book on the ocean and its connection to Indonesia.
Yvette Bezuidenhout has written “Wayan And The Turtle King,” a children’s book that teaches kids about plastic and the ocean, specifically a boy’s encounter with sick turtles. She is running a Kickstarter campaign to raise enough funds to print and distribute the book — which will be bi-lingual in Bahasa Indonesian and English — in Indonesia.
Yvette, an English teacher and avid freediver, spent three months as a volunteer, teaching with Coral Cay Conservation in Fiji. Her experience in Fiji built the foundations of her passion for the marine environment.
“Wayan And The Turtle King” is meant for Indonesian kids aged 7+ who speak Bahasa Indonesian; kids aged 10+ who speak English as their second language; and/or 7+ year-old-kids who speak English as their first language.
The 16-page PDF version of the book will contain the story, along with photos Yvette has taken during her time in Indonesia, as well as seven pages of activities.
The paper copy will be soft-cover, full color with illustrations done by Fabianus Bayu, a.k.a Shirohyde.
Yvette says:
“There is a current lack of books and resources available to educate kids about the environment. My book has text, photos and activities designed to boost your child’s creative and critical thinking skills as well as their English language skills. Your child will learn about the ocean, Balinese culture and one of the most pressing environmental issues that we face, and that they will inherit.”
Yvette’s ultimate goal is to be able to give Indonesian children access to her book, regardless of their socio-economic status, so she plans to work with green-books.org, among others, to facilitate distribution within Indonesia.
To learn more about the book, check out the “Wayan And The Turtle King” Facebook page.
To contribute to the campaign, go to kickstarter.com.
