When a ferocious storm sweeps across Seima’s village and her big brother Rainsey can’t be found anywhere, it’s Seima’s tin can telephone that saves the day – and the year 3 pupils at Longsight community primary school were impressed, especially as she was only five years old at the time.
“Children are capable of doing anything,” one said, when they were asked what the story of Seima and the Storm, one of the books from Save the Children’s Wonderbooks series, told them about children.
“Children are brave,” volunteered another. “Children can make an impact,” came a third voice.
But Seima is more than a character in a story: she’s a real little girl in Cambodia. Each story in the Wonderbooks series is based on the life of a real child who Save the Children works with in one of many countries around the world, and introduces young readers to themes such as diversity, inclusion, resilience, the effects of poverty and, in the case of Seima and the Storm, climate breakdown. This gave the teachers at Longsight the perfect way to discuss how rising temperatures and extreme weather are making life increasingly challenging for communities such as Seima’s. “For our children, it really connected us to Seima,” says Rukhsana Ahmed, the Manchester school’s executive headteacher.
Seima travels to school from her floating village by boat
Seima’s floating village is on Tonlé Sap, the largest freshwater lake in south-east Asia, with a surrounding region that is home to more than a million people. Their lives have always been shaped by water, but higher temperatures, drought, pollution, overfishing by commercial trawlers and environmental damage have led to devastating drops in the fish stocks the vast majority rely on for their livelihood.
“Fishing is the main source of income and food security, but climate change is making it harder and harder,” says Reaksmey Hong, Save the Children’s country director in Cambodia. “Once there’s no water, or it’s too hot, once it’s stormy or raining all day, that sole source of income is not possible – but communities here don’t have a coping mechanism for that.”
Save the Children is determined to help families like Seima’s adapt to the challenges they face, and educate children on ways to take their future into their own hands. Hong says the charity is now running multiple initiatives in the region to promote access to inclusive and quality early childhood, primary and lower-secondary education. Thanks to its GREEN project, pupils now get lessons about the climate emergency and the environment, and take to the water to conduct awareness-raising campaigns and collect rubbish.
Besides education, adds Hong, Save the Children is supporting the floating community in diversifying its income beyond fishing – working in partnership with them to create 2,250 new employment opportunities outside of the industry. The charity has also helped repair storm-damaged schools and installed solar powered fans to keep children cool during the dry season’s increasingly intense heat.
But climate shocks still have the power to blight Cambodian children’s education. Schools hit by flash floods have been forced to close, and more than once the government has reduced school hours during heatwaves over fears about pupil health and safety. Children on Tonlé Sap travel to school by boat, and when there are storms it is sometimes simply too dangerous to go. “We talked about how climate change would impact on a child’s life at such a visceral level,” says Ahmed.
Nicola Davies
For Nicola Davies, an author who has written extensively for children about the environment, nature and the climate crisis, one of the joys of the Wonderbooks series is the way it represents the experiences of children whose lives are so incredibly different from those of their readers, in a way that remains relatable. Seima and the Storm cheerfully charts Seima’s journeys by boat, her schooldays, and her love of inventing and making things, such as the tin can telephone that turns out to be so crucial to the story. And, as Davies points out, it does this in a way that is empowering for Seima and her community.
“It’s not saying: ‘Oh, this poor little kid, she lives in a house on stilts in the middle of nowhere,’” she says. “It’s this little kid, just talking about her life and how it is for her. I think that’s great. It potentially creates a real sense of connection between readers and the children in these books.”
How does she advise adults to make the link between the climate emergency and what happens to Seima? “Open the conversations,” she says. “Don’t tell, ask. Go through it, and talk about the pictures and the situation.” In Davies’s experience, focusing on what children can do to help is key.
The writer, podcaster and actor Kelechi Okafor has been reading the Wonderbooks with her three-year-old son, who was captivated by the drama of the rising water in Seima and the Storm. She’s enjoyed them not just because they show children from a range of cultural backgrounds, but for the breadth of what they bring to life.
Kelechi Okafor, who has been reading the Wonderbooks series with her young son
“They’re wonderful – there’s so much that happens in them,” she says. “I like to read books to my son that have big worlds in them, that allow him to explore and also that do have characters that are non-white.”
Okafor adds that ensuring story books feature diverse characters is important for all children: “For us to not have to keep investing and investing in diversity and inclusion initiatives down the line, it’s important we teach children about diversity and inclusion from the very early years.”
Her son’s hunger for information means Okafor’s always looking out for books that will prompt a discussion. “Seima and the Storm is a great story for him,” she says.
Tom Maguire, a producer in Save the Children’s brand and creative team, was on Tonlé Sap in September and saw children’s passion for defending their environment first-hand – children who, as the Longsight pupils might say, have the power to make an impact.
“Some of them can remember when the lake was green and lush and clean, and even in their relatively short lifetime they’ve seen the water becoming muddier and fish stocks being depleted,” says Maguire. “Now they want to do something about it.”
Five tips for reading Seima and the Storm with your child
Talk about Seima’s life and ask questions. What might it feel like to live somewhere where everything floats?
As well as the differences between Seima’s life and theirs, discuss the similarities.
Think together about the emotions in the story. What parts made them feel happy or sad or scared?
Read the story of the real life Seima and think about the ways the climate crisis is making life on the water harder. How did it affect Seima in the story?
Try making a tin can telephone just like Seima’s.
Introduce your child to the big issues – from climate change to girls’ rights – with a Wonderbooks subscription. Discover more here
