UNE capstone project by alum Sarah Frankel blooms into published children’s book
Sarah Frankel ’09 recently published a children’s book, titled Half Acre, which was born out of her capstone project during her senior year at UNE.
An environmental science major, Frankel sought to create a capstone project that would encourage children and adults to explore the natural world and not to take the environment for granted. The result of her efforts was a children’s book, titled The Hideout. According to Frankel, the story is about a landowner who intended to clear-cut his family’s forested property for profit. The morning before harvesting is to take place, the land owner discovers an old fort on the property that contains a journal kept by his late father. The journal entries detail the joy that his father found in exploring the woods, and the landowner, consequently, decides to preserve the forest.
The desire in Frankel, now a mother, to ignite a passion for nature in children continued to burn even after graduation, and, building on her experience with her capstone project, she produced another children’s book, also focused on helping children and families build stronger connections with the natural world.
Half-Acre was published last month by LifeRich Publishing. Frankel, who also illustrated the book, says that the story “takes readers soaring, crawling and exploring a wide range of plants and animals that can be found in a New England backyard.”
“The colorful images and lively passages are meant to pique the interest of young, old and all readers in between,” she stated.
Frankel feels that now, more than ever, adults have a responsibility to guide their children to care and have curiosity about nature. “In a world where technology and screens can so easily captivate our children’s attention and devour their free time, it is imperative for parents and guardians to introduce children to the myriad of wonders that make up the natural world,” she explained. “The future of our planet and our children’s lives depend on the health of the environment. Children who grow up lacking emotional connections to the natural world become decision makers who fail to understand our dependence on the health of our environment.”
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