Climate Change And Children’s Books

Anthea Simons

I was glad to have the opportunity to join the panel on climate change in children’s books at the IBBY UK conference in London last year. It’s not a subject writers can shy away from, especially as climate anxiety is a growing issue for young people. 

When you hear young people say that they find it hard to plan their futures when they do not think the planet can survive or that they would not dream of having kids of their own because Earth is trashed, you have to speak out and to find a way to celebrate and champion the young people who are trying to make a difference. 

At the same time, I think it is vitally important that we don’t lay all the expectation of action on the young. It’s totally unreasonable. We are the ones who created or facilitated this state of affairs, either through the voting choices we made, the lifestyle we adopted or the apathy or complacency we indulged in ourselves and others. There’s a balance to be struck between inspiring young people to action and overwhelming them with the scale of the challenge ahead. 

I also feel passionately that it is our job to push back against measures to curtail peaceful, non-violent protest. Protest is one of the main ways that change is achieved – and it features in my book, Burning Sunlight. I was inspired to write about the issue after I attended one of the big Climate Strike demos in Exeter and saw the army of passionate, committed kids with their heartfelt, hard-hitting banners and placards. I could identify with their single-mindedness.

I also wanted to explore the personal dynamics of activism. Activism can be very lonely; not everyone has the guts, or the energy, or is prepared to commit to the same degree. Your own commitment can make other people feel as though they are failing, or just put them off. It’s a lesson activists have to learn. Not everyone can go at the pace of Zaynab, my protagonist, or be as brave, or speak in public, or inspire others as she does, but everyone who wants to can make a difference. Lucas, for example, is quiet and shy, but he grows in confidence and also acts as a check on Zaynab when her zeal could backfire.  

Creating a hero from Somaliland, enabled me to tackle some other issues that matter to me, as well: racism, for example. Do you remember that photo of a group of young climate change activists taken at Davos and cropped by the newspapers to exclude Ugandan activist Vanessa Nakate, leaving only the Europeans? That horrified me, so Zaynab is a young person of colour and a Muslim and from a part of the world people know very little about. She also represents women and children who suffer disproportionately from the impact of the climate crisis and reminds us that actions taken in the West have consequences for others. Out of sight should not mean out of mind.

In conclusion, I think that writing about climate should inspire, should depict role models and characters the reader can identify with, but above all it should empower children to make demands on those with the power to do something at the micro level; on parents and teachers as part of the electorate, and on elected politicians and the managers of the companies and organisations to fulfil their promises to ensure a future in which young people can thrive rather than survive. We adults have a duty to fight for their futures and books are powerful weapons in the fight against apathy and lies. That’s why they get banned and burned…

After a successful career in the City, Anthea Simons quit to bring up her son in the west country. In the last ten years she has become increasingly involved in campaigning for progressive policies, climate action and a fairer democracy. She is the author of six books published by Andersen Press, including the YA novel Burning Sunlight,  which focuses on young climate emergency activists in her home county of Devon. She is editor-in-chief of the online citizen journalism paper, West Country Voices.