Paseka

December 6, 2019 at 7 p.m. Shoal Centre, 10030 Resthaven Drive, Sidney, B.C.

Tickets $10 (including refreshments) are available online and at Tanner’s Books. A package of tickets to all four events in the Fall 2019 Reading Series will be available for $30 at Tanner’s Books only. All proceeds from ticket sales will go to support the 2021 Sidney and Peninsula Literary Festival.

About the Presenters

Join us for a fascinating evening with Ruth James and Kent Laforme who’ll talk about their collaborative work on the beautiful story of Paseka: A Little Elephant, Brave. Loosely based on a true story, it is the incredible story of an orphaned elephant calf. Told from Paseka’s point of view, the story raises important issues about the interaction between humans and wildlife, and our role in its protection and conservation. It also encourages empathy, so often the catalyst for positive change. While written to create African literature for African children, the book’s relevance is universal. http://pasekathebook.com/the-book/

Ruth James is a former school teacher who loves children’s literature. She is a director on the board of the African Children’s Book Box Society. The society, which began as a literacy project in Kenya, now works mainly in Tanzania, providing portable libraries of books by African authors to schools that have few storybooks and even fewer featuring African children.

Kent Laforme is a stone carver who loves to draw. In fact, he’s loved drawing and stones all his life and they are the foundation of his artwork While illustrating the book, Kent stumbled upon a 15,000lb (almost 7,000kg) boulder that looked very much like an elephant, and was instantly inspired to create a sculpture of Paseka. If you want to check out Kent’s work, please visit kentlaforme.com.