Eating with a Friend

Maggie Dunkle has been involved with children and their books all her adult life; as a parent, writer, bookseller, and especially as a children’s librarian, where over many years she helped hundreds of young people find the books they would enjoy trying to read.

Moving to Bali, she was shocked to discover that Balinese children have no books they can call their own—no books with large print or pictures set in their own lovely island, with familiar scenery, familiar faces, and similar life experiences. So she decided to do something about it.

Together with a group of friends, and Saritaksu Editions, she initiated the ‘Clean Bali’ Series of large format, full-colour, bilingual picture books which focus on the problems of pollution—especially plastic—and what children can do about it. Nearly six thousand copies in this series have already been donated to schools across the island.

Now Maggie has embarked on a new project; books specially written for young beginner readers. The Nature Series are affordable paperbacks in a smaller, easily handled format, with large print, lively illustrations at every opening, and a bilingual (Indonesian/English) text which makes them suitable for young people learning to read either English or Bahasa Indonesia. This second title in the series, EATING WITH A FRIEND, about a Balinese dog and his little friend, is due to be launched before the end of 2011.

I Made Dompo lives in the village of Kutuh, near Ubud. Painting is a strong tradition in his family. He starts his day every day with a meditation at dawn, and then paints before he does his other work of the day. His large traditional style paintings of village life are eagerly sought after by both local galleries and international clients. These are his first illustrations for a children’s book.