Earlier this month, I sat down with local author, Amiee Isaac to discuss her debut book, “The Planet We Call Home” and the journey she, and this book have been on.
Amiee is an environmental advocate for Clean Water and the Delaware Center for the Inland Bays, as well as a passionate advocate to end Alzheimer’s. She credits her drive for environmental advocacy to her late father, Ron Bowen, who was a founding member of the Watershed Stewards in Maryland. Her father’s work as an environmentalist, along with Amiee’s beach clean ups with her daughter, and work with the Delaware Center for the Inland Bays, served as the inspiration for this book. The overarching message is a call for children to become environmentally conscious.
Amiee spent 9 years in the classroom as a special education and general education teacher before staying at home with her children. A year after her father’s passing, Amiee came across a message her father had inscribed on a book to her daughter. After reading her father’s words, Amiee was struck with an idea for a story. She wrote what would become “The Planet We Call Home”, in her kitchen with her kids underfoot.
As a former teacher, Amiee wanted to reach children who would typically not be drawn to informational fiction or nonfiction text. This is a unique challenge to offer information to readers without making it feel like “work” or laborious to understand. Amiee’s choice of structure, rhythm, and rhyme make “The Planet We Call Home” naturally flow for readers of all ages and levels. The detailed illustrations by renowned illustrator, Jaime Kim, draw readers in and holds their attention as they follow along, learning how we’re all connected through the environment, the impact we have locally and at a global level. At the end of the book there are key points for readers on how they can become better stewards of the Earth. Little things like, you can use reusable bags and bottles or plant native plants in your garden.
While the draft was developed in 2019, Amiee spent time Revising and Resubmitting (R&R) the story before she received an offer in 2020. Amiee credits her on-line groups, writer’s conferences, and the Rehoboth Beach Writers Guild for giving her encouragement and guidance on getting “The Planet We Call Home” off the ground. Amiee anticipates her next book will be released in 2024. She is excited to be announcing it soon.
Amiee will be reading her new book, “The Planet we Call Home” at the Laurel Public Library on Saturday, April 29th at 11am. MacaroniKID Sussex, DE will be there with a hands-on recycling craft. Families can look forward to giveaways at this FREE family event!
