Hello Children!
DUST
and
RAIN
Chipo and Chibwe Save the Green Valley
"Absolutely brilliant"
Do you care about climate change?
I wrote my new book Dust and Rain especially for you. Tell me what you think and I promise to reply.
This story is inspired by young people telling the world to act now to heal climate change. Chipo and Chibwe fear the drought on their parents' farm. To find a solution, they journey bravely across Zambia and down the Zambezi River. They face terrible dangers, but wonderful people and animals help them, and they return wiser and stronger to save the Green Valley.
I will do my best to answer your questions and I want to read your own stories about climate change. I may even publish some here!*
Yours for our Earth,
Ruth
* I will only publish your contributions with your and your guardian's consent.
"The book is very vivid and the characters are great and very well described. I liked it so much that I think everyone should read it."
Hello, I'm Ruth Hartley
I was born into a quiet world with books for companions, not all suitable for a child. My thoughts, imagination and dreams flourished as I read of heroes and warriors. Certain I would be both, I gradually discovered the stories of the silent, the unimportant, and the fearful, who are also brave. I decided to tell the stories of ordinary people whose lives flavour the earth with salt. Everyone has a story, as do I.
I am a Storyteller
To be a human, to be alive, is to learn and discover. The world is wonderful and shocking; trying to understand it and myself is tough and creative work. Writing and making art help me do this and so does reading. To participate in this writing-reading circle, I share my own stories. Yet I try to minimise my words, and I make art to share ideas and feelings that can’t always be expressed in words.
Our digitised world is dense with words and images that provoke, anger and manipulate us. I aim to write common-sense stories that are thought-provoking, funny, and gripping. Sharing my stories in my own words and images is my "fightback", my way to affirm our common humanity. So I'm anti-verbiage and pro-significance and I make art and write atypical books for you. Read more about my storytelling journey.
Yours,
Ruth
Ruth Hartley
🤩 Ruth Hartley wins 🤩
Charroux Short Fiction Prize
2020 Runner up award
Truth, Dare, Command