A Little Turtle with a Big Story
Source: The New Straits Times
Date: 2010/11/18
By: Sean Augustin
KUALA LUMPUR: While waiting for turtles to nest on an island in Terengganu, retired professor Chan Eng Heng would tell a bedtime story to the children at a turtle camp there.
It was about a young girl, Maya, who followed a leatherback turtle to its village, where she was regaled with a sad tale of the dwindling number of turtles and what must be done to save them.
Now, more than a decade after the yarn was first told at “Kem Si Penyu” in Chagar Hutang, Pulau Redang, the story will be shared with all Malaysian children through a book authored by Chan.
Aptly titled Little Turtle Messenger, the book features illustrations by former turtle camp participant Tan Yi Sin, and is supported by MPH Bookstore Sdn Bhd, the Worldwide Fund for Nature Malaysia and the Turtle Conservation Centre (TCC).
“I have always wanted to write a children’s book and the story has been incubating for some years now,” she told the New Straits Times.
“As a writer, I want to keep improving but I’m so happy I have realised this dream.
“The issue of turtles and their conservation is very relevant and I want children to be the messengers.
“I want to sow it in them while they are young.”
Writing the 34-page children’s book wasn’t an arduous task for Chan, who has been interested in producing one ever since she began reading such books to her children.
She has also, in the last 15 years, collected children’s books on turtles, partly as material for the camp which has been held annually since 1996 for students at Sekolah Kebangsaan Pulau Redang, and as inspiration for her own publication.
“Many of the existing children’s books are factual and miss the fun element.
“That’s why I decided to come up with a fantasy story, one that delivers a message and is educational at the same time. Children can relate to such stories better,” Chan said, adding that the main character, Maya was inspired by the children who took part in the camp.
The book, which has so far sold more than 1,000 copies since its launch in October, is also available in Bahasa Malaysia.
Chan will soon apply to the Terengganu government to distribute the Bahasa Malaysia version to schools in the state. Proceeds from the sale of the books will then go to TCC, a newly-established centre which aims to restore the depleted wild population of fresh water, terrestrial and marine turtles in the country.
