Christopher Cheng – April 18 2021

International Mother Earth Day (also known as Earth Day) – April 22

Photo: Daniel Woo

Chris is an award-winning children’s books writer. He holds a Master of Arts in Children’s Literature and presents talks and workshops at festivals, universities and schools around the world. Chris has worked as a bookseller and infants and primary school teacher. He has taught at Taronga Zoo, Sydney, and worked as an educator at Purdue University (USA) developing science based educational CD-ROMs. Chris’s other books include the rhyming picture book, Sounds Spooky, illustrated by Sarah Davis, the non-fiction narrative, Water, illustrated by Susanna Goho-Quek, and historical fiction title, Seams of Gold, illustrated by Donna Rawlins. In addition to his books, Chris has written the libretto for the children’s musical, Pa’s Christmas Star, and edited 60 Classic Australian poems, illustrated by Gregory Rogers. He also writes articles for online ezines and blogs and is the director of the digital publishing company Sparklight. Chris is an Ambassador for the National Centre for Australian Children’s Literature (CNACL) and is on the International Advisory Board of the Asian Festival of Children’s Content (AFCC). He is currently co-chair of the International Advisory Board for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and established and co-ordinates the SCBWI Crystal Kite Awards, the only peer-given awards in publishing for young readers.

One child – Illustrated by Steven Woolman
Era Publications, 1997; ISBN 1863745084
3-5 years
One child saw trees torn from the ground; saw oceans stained with waste, no longer blue and clean; saw skies choking, blocking the sun. What could just one child do about the devastation of our planet?
One child is a picture book about kids, our planet and what one child can do. Global warming, habitat destruction, the accumulation of waste, pollution and many other environmental aspects are part of this title. A simple text with richly coloured illustrations drawing on the imagery of an old stained-glass window that is gradually cleaned to reveal the beauty underlying the pollution. This is a hopeful book about the environment for young children.

William’s Backyard – Illustrated by Bettina Gutheridge
Rigby Educational Publishing, 2007; ISBN 9780731274888
Junior Fiction
William lives in a cool house with a turret. He loves his home and his street but he longs for a backyard. When William decides that a vacant block of overgrown parkland should become the community backyard, he discovers that making it happen is more difficult than he thought. How will William handle the obstacles ahead of him? Can he win the community’s support? What would you do?