Waroona writer’s children’s book all about acceptance and inclusion
Arriving somewhere new, not speaking the language or knowing the culture is undoubtedly a difficult experience for new residents.
But, one Waroona author has come up with a handbook to help guide others through challenging times — featuring a dragon and a young boy as the main characters.
Author Janette Stampone’s newest children’s book Dragon Guest Handbook includes illustrations by Novia Heroanto, exploring themes of inclusion and acceptance.
It follows what one should do when a dragon tourist decides to land in your backyard, from meeting loved ones and working on table manners, to the challenges of working though non-verbal communication, in an instruction manual.
“Obviously, you can’t speak dragon and dragons can’t speak human, so I wanted to explore the cultural differences and language barriers someone might feel when going to a new place,” Stampone said.
She said her original inspiration came from a single word — “zap” — which inspired the idea of an alien landing in the backyard and how someone would try communicate with them.
As her writing evolved, the story shifted to feature a dragon because “everyone loves dragons,” she said.
Stampone said her illustrator, Novia, told her she could relate to the dragon as a Indonesian immigrant.
“It is really nice to know my co-creator identified with the dragon,” Stampone said.
“It just feels good to know people can form a connection to this story.”
Stampone first became a published author with in Just Write For Kids Australia and Friends’ Our Australian HeART — part of an anthology alongside several other artists and writers.
She then published her first book Shadow and the Girl, exploring themes of self acceptance, inspired by her own child’s fear of reflections and shadows.
With her third story now out, Stampone said she was thrilled be still sharing her stories.
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