Trini up for best children's story prize

Local author Jeunanne Alkins is a finalist for an international award for her children’s story, Ready. Set...Hatch! Alkins has been nominated for the best children’s story prize in the ALAS-IDB awards.

The Inter-American Development Bank, under president Luis Alberto Moreno, has partnered with Colombian recording artiste and education activist Shakira and the ALAS Foundation to recognise those involved in early-childhood education through the ALAS-IDB awards. The categories are best centre, best children’s story, best innovation and best educator.

Alkins’ nominated work tells the story of Hatch an ambitious and inventive turtle’s struggle to reach the sea, along with millions of baby leatherback turtles. She uses maps, images and facts in the story which teaches children about the migratory patterns and ecological importance of the leatherback turtle.

A release on her nomination says Alkins hopes to remind parents, especially those who have never seen baby turtles hatch, that an amazing phenomenon occurs every year, in our own back yard. The story is educational and entertaining and a testament that learning can be fun.

Alkins is working on other stories that she hopes will help children see the value in preserving the historical and natural wealth of TT. One of her current projects, The Adventure of Bim and Bam, follows two children as they chase their curiosities and stand up to the forces that threaten the environment. Another of her books, The Magnificent 7, brings the seven historical mansions to life, teaching children about the history of the island through the stories of these magnificent structures.

A constant theme unites all her stories, one of protecting and preserving the environment, and behind the captivating illustrations, exciting dialogue, and curiosity-driven plots lies an important lesson for her young readers.