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Mother Earth Is My Friend

“Feel the heartbeat of the world.”

With Mia, Toto, Mother Earth and Sun Sparkle

Book art: Mother Earth with forests and flowers growing in her hair, the two children held close
The story

How the world was found

In a warm terracotta world the children lay down on the grass and felt happy for no reason at all. They walked barefoot. They noticed their bones were made of the same minerals as the rocks beneath them.

Then the ground itself woke up. Mother Earth, with flowers and whole forests growing in her hair, called the children close and told them the truth: you are made of me. The earth, the trees, the rocks, the leaves. Every living thing is part of you.

And she promised that she holds their hand forever and ever and ever. At night they lay on her back and looked up at the stars, and they were never alone.

A word from the author

“This one came from lying on the lawn with my daughter and feeling the ground warm under our backs. I wanted children to know that the earth is not a thing they live on, it is a friend who is holding them. When a child feels held, they stop feeling alone.”

Jaany

Draft for Jaany to replace in her own words: how this world came about, and what she hoped it would give a child.

Lines to keep

The words that do the work

“You are made of me.”

The earth speaking to the child. It turns the whole planet into family. A child who believes this treats the ground, the plants and the creatures as kin.

“Forever and ever and ever.”

Three evers, because one is not enough for a small child who needs to be sure. The promise never runs out.

“My bones are made of minerals, like rocks.”

A real fact, made into wonder. Children love that they are literally built from the same stuff as the hills.

What this story helps with

What it gives your child

  • Belonging that goes all the way down: the ground itself is a friend
  • Empathy, because every living thing is part of you
  • Grounded strength on wobbly days; lie down, feel the earth, breathe
  • Comfort at night, under the stars, never alone
  • A reason to go barefoot, lie on grass and notice the world is alive
Who you will meet

The characters of Mother Earth Is My Friend

Mother Earth in a scene from the book

Mother Earth

the living planet

A great, kind face in the soil with forests and flowers growing from her hair. She is the feeling of being held by something far bigger than you, and loved by it.

Mia in a scene from the book

Mia

the beloved

Here Mia learns that the belonging she found inside herself in the first world reaches all the way out, into the ground and the trees and the people beside her.

Toto in a scene from the book

Toto

the gift

Toto feels the earth through his feet and his bones. For him this world is about being sturdy: rooted, steady, part of the ground he stands on.