Tag Archive for: Children

Darcy’s Tale

Darcy’s Tale – the groundwater flooding storybook project and your chance to own one!

Recently we had the delight of working with Project Groundwater Greater Lincolnshire and the Environment Agency on the Darcy’s Tale project which began as an amazing short film by Aardman. By expanding the story content, we were able to produce a  children’s storybook which was published in June 2025 . And now we’re offering you the chance of getting your hands on a Darcy cuddly toy and book! Read on till the end to find out more..

The topic of this tale is groundwater flooding and it features Darcy as the main character, a little mole who is looking for love.  The content also highlights a strong message of community spirit, and teaches children how we should all look out for each other, and the fact that this is even more important when adversity strikes. Without a doubt, our environment is changing and with that our weather patterns and storms are becoming much more frequent and severe. Now it seems very common to hear forecasts with red, amber and yellow weather alerts some with risk to life being broadcast, where as once, not so long ago it was fairly unusual.  With these huge storm fronts comes more rain, and ultimately this is due to climate change, so therefore the urgency to educate children on the topic of groundwater flooding is very real and present.

Darcy’s Tale is produced as part of Project Groundwater Greater Lincolnshire, which is funded by Defra as part of the £200 million Flood and Coastal Innovation Programmes which is managed by the Environment Agency. The programmes will drive innovation in flood and coastal resilience and adaptation to a changing climate.

What is groundwater flooding?

Groundwater flooding is the lesser known or understood reason for flooding in that, it’s not a river breaking its banks after a deluge of rain. No, groundwater flooding can appear days, weeks or even months after the rain has fallen, causing it to be very unpredictable indeed. Groundwater flooding occurs when the level of water within the rock or soil underground (i.e the water table) rises. Water can  then seep up through the land, up to the surface and break out causing a flood. Groundwater can also overwhelm existing drainage systems and watercourses leading to a lack of capacity for these networks to hold rainwater and thus leading to increased surface water flooding.

Let’s hear from Vicky Jones and Brett Rycroft-Jones Flood Resilience Programme Co-ordinators at Lincolnshire Country Council:

“Flooding can be devastating for communities from all sources and groundwater is especially difficult as it can occur long periods after a rainfall event and can be quite isolating to those whom experience it. Educating children on flooding matters to building future resilience and Darcy’s Tale has been a great way to do this building on the animation with the beautifully created book by TfME. We’re proud to be sponsoring the books rollout on a national scale.”

– Vicky Jones

“It is important for children to learn about flooding and its impact because it builds personal resilience, equips them with life-saving knowledge, and empowers them to become active contributors to their community safety. This education helps mitigate both the immediate physical dangers and the long-term psychological impacts of flood events. Ultimately, teaching children about flooding and Groundwater is an investment in creating safer, more informed, and resilient communities that are better equipped to face future climate challenge”

– Brett Rycroft-Jones

Getting out and about with Darcy’s Tale

Children up and down the country are becoming more familiar with Darcy’s Tale now, as the activities mount and the national interest grows. Also, children adore their cuddly Darcy’s and it’s wonderful to see them engaging with them. Don’t forget we have a special message at the end of this page if you know of someone who would love to own a Darcy toy and storybook too. 

Recently we visited the children and teachers at Heighington Millfield Primary Academy in Lincolnshire and shared our story Darcy’s Tale with them. It was a very poignant meeting, as this community understand the dangers of groundwater flooding all too well, after Storm Babet in October 2023, groundwater and surface water swept through their school and premises forcing the doors to close for a considerable amount of time. Meeting the children who have first-hand knowledge of that experience was sobering, and they are a credit to their school, as the values of community and resilience were there for all to see – shining brightly. It’s just passed the second anniversary of the event and to share our story was our absolute pleasure. Cuddly Darcy’s were in demand too, and everyone got a little mole and a storybook to take home! With the wonderful team at Lincolnshire Country Council and the Environment Agency a combined effort is being made to ensure that children across the country are informed and alert to the dangers of groundwater flooding and they are using Darcy’s Tale to drive this message.

       

Pictures courtesy of Stuart Wilde Photography 

Now it’s your turn to own a Darcy mole and storybook!

If you know of someone between 3-10 years whom you believe would like to own their very own copy of our storybook ‘Darcy’s Tale’ and a cute cuddly Darcy mole we have a few to give away. All you have to do is colour in one of our set colouring pictures found here on the Lincolnshire Council Project Groundwater website and send it back to us to  Hello@talesfrommotherearth.co.uk – and every picture received gets a book and toy gift while stocks last and for a limited time only.

   

   

So don’t delay, all you have to do is select your image, download the pictures, share them with a child and get colouring – it’s that simple!

 

/by

Why do we add audio to our storybooks?

Why is the audio element of our storybooks so important to us..🎧

As a parent you want the best for your children. You want them to thrive, taking in all that they see in the world, be it good, bad or indifferent, process it and come to their own conclusions over time. You want them to comprehend life in all of its beauty and harshness and make the most of everyday.  You want them to feel connected with nature as you know there’s a multitude of benefits encased within that lifelong relationship that you hold so precious. Well I do anyway and I’m sure I’m not alone in this..

Also, I’m the kind of parent, that when I see in my child’s development a leaning, or a preference to learning that is different from my own, I’m happy to explore and accommodate as best I can in order to help. I experienced this firsthand, when my son showed signs from a young age that he wasn’t keen on reading. So I made a point of encouraging him into the world of literacy with audiobooks, and we never looked back!

He used to listen to the stories, enjoying the sounds, and sometimes follow along with his finger on the words. This became ‘his thing’ and soon he loved learning in this way and many times I joined him and we’d listen together. We used to go the library regularly too, where he’d pick a few more audio books after scanning the covers carefully. It was always good to get the written words as well, so that if he chose to he could read along and follow the text. I recall one of his favourites was ‘An Eagle in the Snow’ by Michael Morpurgo.

Fast-forward a number of years into our journey here at Tales from Mother Earth

…and once again it made sense to include the audio element in our content. Now, we pride ourselves in knowing that a huge variety of children young and old, with different learning abilities and understanding for their ages, including SEND children can all access of our work.  We want our storybooks to be accessible to children on many levels, and that’s why we have packed so much into the content.  Children love making friends with our realistic characters who in nature really do need our help, and they love to participate by learning those all important conservation messages and tips that can, and do make a difference. This all culminates in the physical content that can be seen within the pages, and also the audio elements of our books that combine to create a powerful and fun learning resource. So regarding the later, yes we see it as an integral part of our young readers experience, so much so, that typically we like to produce four tracks to accompany every one of our storybooks and we would encourage this to remain in our future titles.

  1. Full story narrated by Mother Earth and/or other storybook characters
  2. Full story read along – as above with page turning sound bites so children can learn to read with our content
  3. Story character’s theme music – specific theme music that backs the individual stories
  4. Mother Earth’s Theme – our beautiful signature piece of music

What the experts say..

I’ve known from past experience and seeing my son thrive that audiobooks are great, but now I’ve also found evidence to back this. In fact the internet is a wash with experts confessing the benefits of audiobooks for children which is wonderful to see. I particularly liked this article which was published recently on the Starglow Community website a purposeful parenting community. They have looked into this topic further and have consulted experts and teachers alike. By doing this, they’ve discovered 18 compelling, research-backed reasons why audiobooks can play a powerful role in a child’s education, imagination, and overall well-being. I’m adding the list below, but please take a moment to study their website for the details on each of these points that you’ll find on this page here.

  1. Boosts Vocabulary Development

  2. Improves Listening Comprehension

  3. Encourages Reluctant Readers

  4. Promotes a Love for Stories and Learning

  5. Supports Bilingual and ESL Learners

  6. Builds Critical Thinking Skills

  7. Improves Focus and Attention Span

  8. Enhances Pronunciation and Fluency

  9. Makes Reading a Shared Experience

  10. Provides Access to Advanced Texts

  11. Helps Children with Visual Impairments

  12. Encourages Multitasking with Learning

  13. Reduces Screen Time

  14. Strengthens Emotional Intelligence

  15. Improves Sleep Quality with Bedtime Listening

  16. Reinforces Classroom Learning

  17. Expands Cultural Awareness

  18. Fosters Independence and Self-Confidence

From looking at some of the research available on this subject, audiobooks are a powerful, enriching tool for children of all ages. We now know that they support a child’s academic growth, emotional development and overall love of stories – even if they are reluctant readers like my son, or have learning difficulties, it’s clear audiobooks have a valuable part to play in our brand.

Without doubt they’re a smart, research supported addition to any child’s learning, and rest assured we will continue to produce them for our storybooks here at Tales from Mother Earth.  🦔🐝💦🌲🐞💚🎧

 

 

 

/by

Introducing our storybook ‘Sitka Spruce the Amazing Timber Tree’ in Welsh!

NEW storybook ‘Sitka Spruce the Amazing Timber Tree’ in Welsh!

Tales from Mother Earth is delighted to announce the launch of Sbriwsen Sitka – y Goeden Bren Ryfeddol, the Welsh translation of Sitka Spruce the Amazing Timber Tree! This is our very first children’s audio/picture storybook produced in another language—and it’s now being sent out to all 1,277 primary schools in Wales, in both Welsh and English. This means that teachers can begin to build bilingual language lesson plans around the story in time for the new school year.

The Welsh version of the storybook was launched at WoodBUILD25, an annual two-day conference for the timber industry, held this year on 3–4 June in Llandudno. Organised by Woodknowledge Wales, the event brings together timber and construction stakeholders to collaborate, innovate and drive meaningful change. The conference proved to be the perfect setting for the book launch. To much applause, Gary Newman, CEO of Woodknowledge Wales, presented Sbriwsen Sitka to a room packed with interest during the celebration dinner.

“We’re thrilled to support the Welsh-language launch of Sitka Spruce the Amazing Timber Tree. It’s a wonderful example of how storytelling can spark curiosity in children about the natural world and the vital role timber plays in our lives. By reaching every primary school in Wales, this bilingual storybook helps us grow a future generation that values forests, materials and sustainability – in both Welsh and English.” Gary Newman, CEO, Woodknowledge Wales

Together with Morgan Sindall Construction and other enthusiastic partners, Woodknowledge Wales was instrumental in helping us develop the original English version of Sitka Spruce the Amazing Timber Tree in 2024—and now they’ve helped bring the Welsh version to life.

New Production Requirement

Translating a book into a language we don’t personally speak is a huge act of trust. Fortunately, we worked closely with the expert team at Cymen, who provided a wonderful Welsh translation that perfectly captured our words, passion, and tone. This care and attention extended to the supporting resources too, such as our newly created Welsh crossword puzzle, which was thoroughly checked and approved.

Because our books have a strong audio element, it was vital to find two talented Welsh speakers to bring the characters of Mother Earth and Sitka to life. That’s where tinint, a production and broadcast company based in Wales, stepped in. Their casting and production work brought just the right warmth, friendliness and energy to match the original English voices.

Our sincere thanks go to the brilliant team at Woodknowledge Wales for overseeing this development—what a great collaboration it has been!

Available now from our website shop

 

 

/by
,

Why Stanley the Water Vole?

Why Stanley? What’s in a name?

The name Stanley fitted our image and character of a water vole perfectly, and so the story was written with his name fixed and in place right from the start. In fact every character name chosen for our storybooks is crucially important to me, and sometimes I conduct a buzz test to see what sounds the best!

Other times, I share my thoughts and we bounce some names around, but for Stanley I loved him from the start and it’s a joy to know that many children and adults do too.

 

Why a water vole?

Water voles are important in our environment as they are mini ecosystem engineers, rather like beavers but on a smaller scale,  and they contribute greatly to healthy river ecology. They are the largest of the vole family in our country and have an exceptionally wide appetite of vegetation. In fact scientists discovered when studying a vole’s nest by random, that one single vole had approximately 182 different plants and berries in it’s larder already stocked away for the colder months ahead – just like in Stanley’s story. For more information on water voles check out these details from the Kent Wildlife Trust. 

Water voles are sadly in decline, and are listed as endangered on both the Great Britain and the England Red List for Mammals. Population in GB is around 132,000 and they have undergone one of the most serious declines of any mammal in Britain. With one of the reasons for their decline being habitat loss and water pollution, the marriage between our Stanley and the plastic litter issue was sealed.

We wanted children to understand the connection between the two and that by disposing of litter properly would allow for cleaner environments especially in or by the water where Stanley and his friends live. So our storybook details this issue precisely and introduces children to a wild animal, and one who doesn’t like people coming near his home as it scares him. He, as in Stanley doesn’t understand that the humans are there to ultimately help and clean up the environment. So our storybook teaches children how our waterways can be impacted by plastic pollution and how our wildlife suffers as a result of people’s careless actions, and of course what we can all do to help in this situation.

Litter Champions and Stanley!

Stanley has been instrumental in creating many litter champions and environmental warriors around the country throughout schools.  Lots of organisations continue to use his resources and storybook to highlight the message of litter, plastic and engage children with our various fun activities, for instance, teaching them how long plastic can be sitting in our environment prior to it breaking down into microplastics and what that means for biodiversity and us too.

Contact me directly if you’d like more information regarding our workshop resources jenny@talesfrommotherearth.co.uk

Children get it!! 

Children really understand the message and when I run our workshops, the kids are eager to act responsibly and get litter disposed of correctly which is so heartwarming. The message within our Stanley also touches on recycling, waste and the circular economy all important subjects for young minds to understand.

It’s a joy to see children engage with our storybook Stanley the Water Vole, and judging from the comments and feedback we get, I know they’ll never look at crisp packets the same again!

 

 

To purchase your copy of Stanley the Water Vole and see some of our other children’s titles, please go to https://talesfrommotherearth.co.uk/shopwhere-you-can-purchase-our-childrens-audio-picture-storybooks/

All storybooks now with QR code for downloading our audio tracks x4

 

 

 

/by