Local author shares gift of storytelling
'Nothing is impossible if you decide you want to do it.' - Author Karen Le Grange encouraged children to write their own stories.
UPPER Highway mom and author, Karen Le Grange is on a passionate mission to make reading fun and educational.
She spends most of her time visiting different schools, mostly in the Highway area, to read her books to the learners.
She recently visited St Mary’s DSG Kloof’s Grade 2 class for a fun reading exercise.
ALSO READ: Vaccinate your pets as rabies cases spike, urges City
“The girls were excited to hear about Karen’s journey to becoming an author and were able to ask her questions about her three storybooks,” said the school’s marketing and communications and administrator, Sarah Bartholomew.
“I feel like I’ve found my calling in life and even if one child chooses to change their path in a positive way due to my books – my job will be done,” Karen said.
Karen said she started reading to her two children at an early age. “I believe that the best way to teach a child is by reading a book,” she said.
Karen is also a motivational speaker, illustrator and general positivity encourager in children and adults alike.
She has always been creative and started seriously thinking about writing children’s stories when her children were young as she became desperate to find good children’s books that she and her young ones could enjoy.
“Many books I read had me rolling my eyes at the terrible writing and rhyming. I thought ‘No! We need some purely South African stories that parents don’t mind reading hundreds of times, but also something that will entice little ones’.
I wanted to write books that would grow with the kids,” she explained.
Her book, The Elephant’s Itchy Toe, is the first in a series that features the Grey Lourie (the Go-Away bird) and a very stubborn Elephant with a very sore, itchy toe. T
his wonderful story teaches children that kindness always matters and that good comes in all shapes and sizes.
The second, The Dancing Dung Beetle, features Rosie the dung beetle who just loves dancing and adores dung! All the other animals laugh at her and can’t understand why she dances on her dungball. This whimsical story teaches children that they should always follow their hearts and do what they love in life.
The third, More Than a Roar, features a mother leopard, iLembe, which means hero in isiZulu, who adopts an abandoned cheetah cub, Thando.
As the cheetah grows, he realises he is very different to his mom and brother, with one of the main differences being that he can’t roar.
This heart-warming story teaches children about love, adoption and accepting their strengths and weaknesses.
“Children’s books are my happy place, teaching and reading are my passions in life. I love seeing children’s faces light up when they listen to a story,” she said.
Karen encourages older children to write their own stories.
“Nothing is impossible if you decide you want to do it. I have a short video series on my Facebook page explaining how I published my stories, and I am always happy to help others reach for their dreams,” she added.
* Notice: Coronavirus reporting at Caxton Local Media aims to combat fake news
Dear reader, As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19. Readers with any comments or queries may contact National Group Editor Irma Green (irma@caxton.co.za) or Legal Adviser Helene Eloff (helene@caxton.co.za).
