St Swithun’s Prep School teacher celebrates having first book published

St Swithun's School is excited to announce that Louise Caldwell, a teacher in the Prep School, has published her first children’s book entitled ‘Dancing Sloths’.

Dancing Sloths is a conservation-driven adventure story, weaving environmental themes into its narrative, aiming to inspire young readers to become confident advocates for the natural world.

The idea for Dancing Sloths came about when Louise was teaching online during Covid, a time when teaching and planning had to adapt to allow children learning at home, to access the curriculum. Writing the story of Dancing Sloths enabled the children to cover many aspects of their rainforest curriculum, such as where tropical rainforest grow, the animals and plants that live in each layer, the importance of biodiverse ecosystems and an awareness of global climate change.

Talking about the new book, Louise Caldwell said: "I write so that children can discover beautiful wild places, to highlight these places need protecting and most importantly to motivate children to become confident change makers.

“Writing for children allows me to have an impact beyond the classroom, to spark an interest, to generate curiosity, to create that excitement when a child discovers something new. I hope my writing connects children to nature, there would be something very special about that."

Liz Norris, Head of St Swithun’s Prep School said: "I am so proud Louise has researched and produced such a beautiful book. To have a children's book published is a wonderful achievement and to have a published author in our school is very exciting. Dancing Sloths is not just a story told alongside stunning illustrations but a book with a powerful message, which I love.

“The ethos here at St Swithun's is beautifully in line with Dancing Sloths in its aim to inspire a generation of confident, curious children who are ready to make a difference in the world.”

The foreword for Dancing Sloths has been written by Dr Niall McCann, a biologist, explorer, conservationist, and broadcaster, who worked alongside Sir David Attenborough on the BBC's A Perfect Planet. Dr McCann visited St Swithun’s in May last year to speak to current students and the wider school community on the importance of protecting our planet.

The book’s illustrator, Rachel Hudson, has a conservation background and a first-class degree in the Anthropology of Art and a Masters in Illustration.

If you relish adventure and delight in exploring wild places, if you long to catch a glimpse of whistling tapirs, dancing sloths, sleeping ocelots, and chattering spider monkeys, then Dancing Sloths is the book for you!

Watch out for details about the upcoming book launch of Dancing Sloths, here at St Swithun’s Prep School.