Preorders are now open for my self-published children’s book, “What Are You Made Of?“
I produced this book with a grant from the Blackbird Foundation in Australia, and my sister produced the adorable illustrations. It’s been an immense amount of work, spanning from September last year, when I received the grant. I have grown a lot as a poet — children’s poems are harder to write than I thought!
The book will be officially published at the start of March, when it will become available in online and in-person bookstores around New Zealand!
Book Blurb
What Are You Made Of? Taku Tinana, Taku Oranga — A Science Poetry Book
What Are You Made Of? Taku Tinana, Taku Oranga contains 21 educational poems about the parts of the body. It takes readers on a journey around the human body, from the brain to the bones, describing how each part works, and including the te reo Māori term for each organ.
The WAYMO Project
The WAYMO Project is an initiative that I’m starting as a follow-up to my book. I want my book’s messages about health and the human body to reach all children in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Having attended a low-decile primary school myself, I have seen first-hand the difference that donated books can make to a whole school library and its students. I wanted to give people the opportunity to feel that they are making a difference to the medical learning of children in schools like mine.
On my website, you can choose to pay for a copy of What Are You Made Of? to be donated to a low-decile New Zealand primary school. Follow the links to read more!
My goal is to donate 100 books by the end of 2022!
Blackbird Protostars
I shared the very first proof copy of “What Are You Made Of” at the Blackbird Protostars Season 1 Exhibition over Zoom on Wednesday, 9th of February. The full recording is available here!
How inspiring it was, as always, to hear and see snippets of my fellow protostars’ journeys. There’s something about sharing the journeys of other passionate young people that leaves me itching to race down my own path even faster than before.
I also took the opportunity to use the exhibition as the preorder launch for my new book, “What Are You Made Of?” and my website, https://loredanapoetry.com.
It was a big, brave step to launch my very first website to the world, and share my project in a webinar of over 100 people. When I received the grant last September, I couldn’t have ever dreamed this would be where it led me!
Huge thanks to Joel Connolly and the rest of the Blackbird Foundation team for believing in us and our passion projects. I wish my fellow Blackbird Protostars all the best with their creative and innovative journeys, and will be watching out for them when they change the world!
See the other projects funded by the Blackbird Foundation Protostars Grant here: