Steffi’s first book is a fun way to educate children on climate change

ATHY Occupational Therapist, Steffi Fennelly, has turned her passion into an inspiring educational project with the launch of her first children’s book The World is in our Hands.

The colourful book is a magical Irish adventure that helps young readers better understand climate change and endangered species, and is catered for readers between the ages of 8-12.

Steffi launched her debut book at a special event in Athy Library on Saturday, 11 October. The illustrated 80-page story follows Irish children who are whisked away on an Arctic adventure where they meet a family of walruses and learn about the effects of climate change on their environment.

“The book is set in Ireland, but the children end up on an Arctic adventure,” Steffi explained. “They meet a family of walruses and learn that because of the changing climate, the walruses are struggling to find food.

She continued: “The main focus is on endangered species, but there’s also a subtle message about the importance of political action and having a voice. I think in Ireland we can be quite passive. We’ll complain about things but not always do something about them, so it’s about gently showing children that their voices matter.” Steffi, who works full-time as an occupational therapist, began writing the book three years ago. “Writing it came really easily – that was the simple part,” she said.

But between her work at Naas Hospital and involvement in sports, there was no time to develop the project. That was until she got an ACL injury, which gave her the downtime she needed to start pursuing publication.

After giving birth to her son last March, Steffi began working towards self-publishing the book and started the process of bringing it to life. Finding an illustrator proved to be another challenge. “Everything took much longer than I expected, but it was worth it in the end,” she said.

After years and years of putting the book together, the day of the book launch finally arrived which saw plenty of people lining up to get their copy signed by the author, which Steffi said gave her a dose of “imposter syndrome.”

“The library were brilliant,” she said. “They supported me even before the book was printed”.

“The day itself was amazing,” she continued. “Friends, family, old teachers, even people I didn’t expect showed up. Some of the kids came in fancy dress, and I did a full reading of the book. Everyone stayed right until the end. It was really lovely.”

 Despite going completely solo with the project, Steffi said she didn’t feel nervous. “I wasn’t anxious or afraid of criticism,” she said. “I just loved what I had created. It was one of those things: if people liked it, that’s great. If not, I was still happy with it.” With the first delivery of 500 copies only arriving at her home just two weeks before the launch, Steffi said the early response has been overwhelmingly positive.

“Kids who’ve read it so far have been so encouraging,” she said.

 “A few have already asked when the next one is coming out, which is always a good sign!” She’s already applied for funding through Creative Places to help produce a second book: “I funded everything myself – from the illustrator to the printing and publishing – so I’d need some backing for the next one,” she said. “If I get the grant, that would definitely push me on to do book two.” ‘The World is in our Hands’ is priced at €11.99 and is available to order now online at www.steffifennelly.com with shipping available in Ireland and worldwide.

The book will also be available to buy at a special launch day event held in The Art House, Athy on November, 2 from 10am to 12pm – so make sure to head over to buy your own copy and hear a reading of the book from the author herself.