Today we talk about The Sea Children, a book by Pamela Fowler published with our publishing house Europe Books.
Europe Books had the pleasure of interviewing the author, Pamela Fowler, to get to know her better, where she found the inspiration to write her children’s book The Sea Children, as well as the importance of illustrations in a children’s book.
Below you can find our interview. Take a seat and enjoy your reading!!!
- Where did you find the inspiration to write a children’s book?
Too much time on my hands I expect. I had been thinking for what seemed to be a long time about an imagined picture of a nest of brightly coloured eggs under the sea. From this I began to wonder what could possibly hatch from these kinds of eggs, with no idea of a story or where it could go. I started to write this beginning and it all seemed to unroll. The little characters developed along the way. I had no plan how it would be ending but it did it itself. When it was finished, I asked Rose for illustrations and left them to her. When the typed and illustrated story was finished, I asked my 8-year-old great-niece if she would be prepared to read it and give me her opinion. She told me she loved it and loved that I had pt her in it with a Millie dolphin. This led to Rose’s son Seth choosing a dolphin for himself. There were a few adaptations to develop the Millie and Seth dolphin characters a little more.
- How important do you think illustrations are in a children’s book?
I believe brightly coloured illustrations are important in children’s books. They help to develop a child’s imagination and bring meaning to what is being read. A picture in a book can be looked at an unlimited number of times and will immediately help a child to remember reading it, or being read to. They can evoke in a child’s memory the circumstances around when the book was bought, or given, and what the story was about. They give colour and meaning to all the circumstances around the book. These images will frequently last a lifetime and can be recalled many years later. I still vividly remember (now at age 88) pictures from my first book chosen – nagged for – when I was 6 or 7 years old. Although I no longer recall the exact story, just the ideas brought back by the remembered pictures. This was a beautifully illustrated sea story. Full circle?
- What would you like to hear from your young readers?
I have not considered this aspect before, that any child or children would wish to pass on their thoughts in connection with this story. It would certainly be lovely to know if it had been in any way instrumental in helping to form a love of the sea and a care for environmental issues within the oceans and the welfare of the creatures that inhabit these oceans. Technology plays such an enormous part in childhood in these present times and it would be interesting to discover through the words of our youngest generation what part imagination plays in their lives. To know how they view stories of imaginary and magical beings living their own secret lives and helping to create within the imagination of children a love of simple fantasy. I believe I have learned some of this from my own great-niece, who has been full of excitement to “show and ell” at her school.
- What will parents understand through your stories?
I have no idea what parents will understand through this story. I do know that parenting today is very far from how it was when I was a child and when I had children of my own. From what I have observed, today’s parents and their children have a far more sophisticated relationship. Good caring parents appear to allow their children more freedom to explore the world, the environment and all that technology has to offer. Theirs is a far more difficult task than ever before. I only hope that parents might register the aspects of the story that mention the dangers of pollution in our oceans and the damage it does to sea life, touching on the part in the story about the child helping turtles when they swallow plastic bags believing these are jellyfish. I hope that parents might encourage a place in a child’s life for fantasy, and also to foster a care for the environment.
- Are you working on new writing projects that you can tell us about?
At the present time I have three books of illustrated limericks going through the publishing process. These are not the funny type I love, such as the Edward Lear originals and Spike Milligan limericks. I have attempted to write very mini stories in limerick form about varied weird and strange creatures. A few of these limericks are linked together to work as longer stories about murders, dragons, aliens, a poor old donkey and many more. I have a very long-standing love of limericks since my school days when I discovered Edward Lear. At work I once submitted limericks for the staff magazine about each member of the team I worked with. I now regret that some were not very complimentary but they were all printed. I am not at all sure when the three new books will be in print, since the first was accepted for publication two years ago in July 2024. I live in hope. I have no plans for any more books at present.
Europe Books thanks the author, Pamela Fowler, once again for taking the time and answering our questions. We are really pleased to have walked alongside her on the editorial path that led to the publication of her book The Sea Children. We wish her the best of luck for her future works.
To you, my readers, may this book be a great source of inspiration for everyone and may it bring you a great experience to enjoy. And remember that, no matter how adult you are, books for children have a lot to teach us all! Written in simple and clear concepts, illustrated children’s book have the ability to give us important life lessons or they put us back in touch with our forgotten child side which just needs to be awakened.
So, my dear reader, all I have to say is to enjoy your reading!
Your editor!