Ten Tiny Things shortlisted for Wilderness Society Award

Ten Tiny Things author Meg McKinlay was pleasantly surprised to be shortlisted for the Wilderness Society’s 2013 Environment Award for Children’s Literature, just one day after winning a Crystal Kite award.

Ms McKinlay said Ten Tiny Things engaged with environmental ideas throughout the narrative even though it was not about a specific environmental issue.

‘The messages in the story are about mindfulness and living slowly and the narrative that carries this message throughout the book is central to the awards ethos,’ she said.

’Even though I didn’t set out to write a message book, the concerns I wrote about were personal concerns I had.

‘Ten Tiny Things is about people getting out of their cars and appreciating the wonderful world around them.’

Ms McKinlay said it was important for children to learn about caring for the environment as they were the future custodians.

‘It is essential that humans look after this place that we call home because if we don’t it might not be a very nice place to live in the future,’ she said.

Ms McKinlay said she would only have a short time to celebrate the announcement.

‘I am working on a strict deadline,’ she said.

‘But to celebrate I think I will step away from my desk for an hour and take the dog for a nice long walk through the bush.’

The Wilderness Society’s 2013 Environmental Award honours Australian children’s books that promote thinking about the environment in a caring and responsible way.

Ten Tiny Things is available in all good bookstores or online.