TOLU OKUDOLO
Inspired by a lifelong passion for nature, I write children’s stories that share the discoveries I’ve made through years of observing the natural world and its impact on the character of children. My hope is that these stories help children understand the importance of nature, and along the way, enhance their creativity and help them build uplifting connections with the world around them.
“A child at heart with a passion for the natural world.”
I’m an educator and a mother of three, with a rich tapestry of multicultural experience from living in Africa, Europe, and North America. Alongside my writing, I run Magnifying Children’s Horizons — a program that helps parents, teachers, and guardians bring the wisdom of nature into the everyday work of raising children.
Conversation
On writing, on nature, on children
What inspired you to begin writing your books?
My love for nature and children. I have a conviction that the missing link in helping children develop character is a connection with nature and a discovery of its laws. I draw from personal experience too.
Do you have a writing routine?
I know many writers do, but I do not. Usually, something pops into my head and I see pictures. Sometimes I wake up and start writing. The words just flow out of me at that point.
When a parent reads your books to their child, how do you want the child to feel?
Secure. Secure in the knowledge that they can discover the importance of nature at a deeper level, and filled with a compelling desire to explore, discover, and find their own connection with the world.
What is the most important message your books carry about nature?
That nature plays a role in the development of spirituality and character in children, and that nature should be a child’s first classroom. Just as a child learns the language of their parents to live in the world, a child must also learn the language of nature to live in harmony with it and themselves.
Which aspects of the writing process come most naturally to you?
Putting together the pictures I see in my mind’s eye and apportioning dialogue to them. It’s also quite fun.
Character with Nature™
The books are one part of a wider body of work. Alongside them, I’m building Character with Nature, a program that helps parents, teachers, and guardians bring the wisdom of nature into the everyday work of raising children. Two parts of the same conviction.