Luna's journey: teaching resilience through children's literature

Shareez Bagaria, a human resources professional, has written her third children's book, Luna's journey: A tale of grit and courage. She was inspired to write by her late father, who was a school principal. Bagaria speaks to Candice Soobramoney about the importance of children's literature through the eyes of Luna. 

Q: Luna's journey: A tale of grit and courage is your third release in the children's series following Luna Learns about Viruses and Luna Learns about Consent. What is the latest book about and why do you write the kinds of books you do?

A: The latest book is about teaching children resilience and how to persevere in spite of challenges or fears that they may have. As the world becomes increasingly stressful and complex to navigate, I found that young children, especially, need to acquire certain tools to enable them to become mentally stronger. One of those tools, for example, is reciting affirmations.

As a life coach, and a parent, my experience has taught me that we need to equip our children with the skills and knowledge that are beyond the ABCS and 123s that we learnt growing up. Things like emotional intelligence, resilience, conflict management, self-control and mental toughness are not spoken about enough and this is one of the reasons for topic.

Q: Is the inspiration behind the books the "real" Luna, your daughter, and, as a grown up, how do you ensure the messages you share come across with the intended meaning?

A: Yes, Luna, who is now 8, is the inspiration for this book. I love learning through the eyes of my children. They look at the world with such awe and wonder and curiosity. The story has real life moments where Luna herself had to dig deep and overcome her fears, so the experiences are real and honest. It really is a journey through her eyes and her world, and expressing her feelings of fear, anxiety, joy and happiness as she works through different moments. 

Q: What themes do you find yourself drawn to when you write and why are these themes relevant?

A: I’m very much drawn to themes relating to mental and emotional intelligence of children. I think there isn’t enough literature aimed to educate and help us parents raise mentally strong children. Globally, children are displaying signs of depression and anxiety at a far earlier age than before. I believe that if we equip them from a younger age to deal with mental health issues, we will be raising a generation of resilient adults.

Q: Can children's literature impact their development?

A: Oh absolutely. We draw from the characters in the books that we read. We embody their values, temperament and beliefs and learn from their experiences. A simple tool (that’s also in the book) that I taught my daughter at aged 3, was to recite and repeat 5 positive affirmations daily. And she still does it today. Things like “I am brave, I am strong, I can do anything I set my mind to”. These are powerful. 

Q: Who has provided the illustrations in the book and how important are illustrations in children's storytelling?

A: The illustrations were done by the talented Rouxmia Roest. For this age group (7 to 9 years),  illustrations are critical as they help the reader form a lasting memory of the story and characters. In addition, for children who cannot read every word yet, the illustrations help tell the story without words.

Q: What has been the most rewarding aspect of being a children's book author?

A: Most definitely without a doubt, the personal interactions with the children at schools and at the book launches. Answering questions about the book and its purpose and also knowing that someone has learnt something that they didn’t know before reading the book. I also love it when people send me videos of the little ones reading my book. It is most heartwarming to see the direct impact that a book can have on a child.

Q: What was your favorite children's book while growing up, and has it influenced your writing?

A: I loved the Enid Blyton series, which had amazing adventure and mystery stories. We also read Dr Seuss, and this was the inspiration for my first book.

Q: Luna is scared to go to school for the new year and her mom advises her to "be good, be kind, but always speak your mind". Elaborate on the importance of this advice.

A: Culturally we are often taught to be “good girls and keep quiet” and if we speak up we are “causing trouble”. The older I grew, I realised that by keeping the peace, it caused me much internal conflict. I taught Luna that we can express how we feel and speak our truth in love and kindness. That way we don’t become people pleasers or push overs. This is an important lesson in emotional intelligence.

Q: Does the book mention your Mount Kilimanjaro expedition and in what context in the book? 

A: Yes it does. My initial reason for climbing Kilimanjaro was to demonstrate to my children that we can tackle hard things and with the right mindset and preparation we can be successful. I climbed in 2022, and I was alone (except for a few porters and my guide). It was an 8 day non-stop expedition where I was challenged mentally, physically and emotionally. The summit day was a gruelling 16 hours in duration from start to finish. Children learn by watching us do difficult things, and I’m sure now they can say “If my mum climbed a mountain alone then I can also do hard things”. Doing hard things builds resilience.

Q: When will the book be available and at which bookstores?

The book will be out in the first week of June. We will be retailing at Exclusive Books. Keep an eye out on the Penguin Kids SA Social media pages and website for additional ways to purchase.

THE POST