Children’s book explores the solar system

A newly-published children’s book by Somerset West’s assistant librarian Karen Ellis will take readers on a trip through the solar system.

Ray’s Journey is the story of a ray of sunlight that decides to go explore. His journey takes him through our entire solar system and past the planets. 

The book aims to present the solar system in a fun and easily informative way, and it was published last month, according to Ms Ellis.

She said she used to make up stories for her nephews and nieces when they were still small, and even for children she would come across, the work-related storytelling journeys. 

During the lockdown period in 2020, when a limited number of people were allowed in the library, she said they had to find creative ways of storytelling, one of which was creating little videos, reading stories on social media.

Ms Ellis said the idea of the book came about when there was a theme about space in one of the library plans.

“I started to ask myself why I did not try publishing some of my children’s stories. As Ray’s Journey was already illustrated, I decided it would be a good teething project. I ended up redoing many of the images, as I decided I wanted to illustrate the planets and solar bodies myself,” Ms Ellis said.

The Somerset West library has been hosting regular book launches in the past years, and many of those were by self-published authors, she said. 

She said she has been writing in different formats and genres for as long as she can remember. 

“I have also been interested in art and crafts. Therefore, it is no surprise that children’s books have always had a soft spot in my heart,” she said. 

This self-published book is available for R95 from Ms Ellis at Kalli.is.Kreative@gmail.com  or by contacting her on Instagram.