First time Author and self published Bridget McGovern Llewellyn sells 15,000 books in first 4 months!
When Bridget Llewellyn first started writing her children's book in October 2007, there weren't any others quite like it – a fact that she says was her inspiration for One Child, One Planet.
"[The goal is] to get children to appreciate the beauty in nature and preserve it, to get more kids playing outside instead of watching TV or playing video games," Llewellyn said.
The lines, "Earth, so big, and me, so small – oh, what good can I do?" "Funny you should ask, my child. The world's been waiting for you," greets readers at the beginning of the book to set the tone for the conservation-
The author says she wrote the book with a young audience in mind to teach them about recycling, consumerism and safeguarding the environment.
"[The book] teaches kids how to preserve the beauty of Mother Earth and take care of her, appreciate her gifts," said Llewellyn.
To illustrate her book, Llewellyn partnered with well-known photographer Carl Sams. Readers may be familiar with his In the Woods series featuring Sams' wildlife photography.
This was the first time Sams worked with someone else outside his family on a project, according to the author.
"He thought this was a very important book," she said.
Llewellyn traveled to Sams' home in Milford to select photos for her book from his collection of over 40,000.
"He saw [the book] in March 2009 and said, 'Yeah – I have some pictures to put with this book,'" said Llewellyn, laughing. The author sifted through about 10,000 to make her selections.
Sams and Llewellyn also had a photo shoot with the author's family to get pictures demonstrating recycling and lifestyle changes children and families can make. All four of her daughters, ages 12, 10, six and four, her husband, and Scooby the dog are pictured in the book.
Llewellyn says she's always been interested in conservation and recycling.
"I'm from New York City, originally,"
She added, "I've always been a recycler. Even in college my roommates thought I was cheap, but I just wanted to recycle."
http://onechildoneplanet.com
