New Internationalist partners with 8-year-old to publish book

The New Internationalist magazine is partnering with an eight-year-old girl from Guelph in marketing a new book called Braids written by acclaimed children’s author Robert Munsch. The proceeds are going to Children of Bukati, a charity that supports more than 650 HIV/AIDS orphans at Bukati Primary School in Butula, Kenya, by providing pencils, school uniforms and a lunch program.

The book goes on sale beginning June 16, the International Day of the African Child.

The 36-page book is illustrated by students from Sir Isaac Brock Public School in Guelph; the project was led by Taya Kendall, a Grade 3 student at the school who, in January started a school paper call the SIB Times to raise money for the charity, which was founded in 2006 by Cate Dewey, chair of the Department of Population Medicine at the University of Guelph.

A chance meeting with Munsch at the Guelph Public Library led him to offer her one of his unpublished stories.

“I wanted to make the story into a book because it was meant to be a book,” says Kendall, who had originally thought she would simply feature the story in a special edition of the SIB Times. “I think people should buy it because all the money is for charity. When they buy the book, they are making all the kids in Butula, the kids at my school, and Dr. Dewey and Robert Munsch happy. They’re the reason I published Braids.”

"Well, it started out with Taya,” says Munsch, “who looked like a good fit for the story. I often give unpublished stories to kids and that is that; except Taya wanted to put it in her school newspaper, and then wanted to put it out as a book. The idea just grew and grew."

The book can be ordered at various locations in Guelph, Kitchener-Waterloo, Toronto and Owen Sound and by phone, mail order and online in partnership with New Internationalist, an independent magazine renowned for its campaigning stance on a range of world issues.

“I think the project is a terrific idea that deserves the broadest possible audience,” says Ian McKelvie, North American publisher for New Internationalist. After hearing about Braids, McKelvie contacted Kendall’s mother and discovered the book was only going to be made available through selected stores in Ontario. “I knew we could offer our support with general sales as well as market Braids to our readers. For us, it was only a matter of adding another product to our online store. All proceeds from book sales will go to Children of Bukati, and shipping and handling fees will cover those costs.”

Munsch is one of Canada’s most loved children’s authors. He has written more than 40 books and has sold 30 million copies, many of which have been translated into other languages.

“Robert Munsch has the uncanny ability to take an issue that is a serious and real concern to a child, add humour and show parents and teachers what it feels like from the child's perspective,” says Dewey. “The book will provide enjoyment for a Canadian child and the essentials of life and hope for a child in Kenya. Profit from the sale of one book will feed an orphaned child for a week and provide a pencil for the child to use at school. Profit from two books will provide a school uniform.”

The book can be bought online from the New Internationalist shop: In Canada; and in the United States.

Related articles:

• Kid’s author Munsch teams up with 8-year-old (Toronto Star)