For Bijal Vachharajani, one of the most dedicated voices in the field, the crucial move is to bring the crisis home. She came back to India with a master’s in environmental security and peace, and now writes children’s books that hold science, wonder and humour together. “For us in India, the environment is part of our everyday, and not seen as separate,” she says. “These are stories not of science fiction, but of the present.” Rather than remote imagery, she explains, “these stories talk about India, and her people, and the landscapes and habitat.” As an editor, she has built a catalogue of multilingual books for a range of ages, unpacking the crisis through habitat, species, livelihoods and inspirational lives, in titles such as ‘Go Wild!’ and ’10 Indian Champions Who Are Fighting to Save the Planet.’ Her conviction is unambiguous: “as a creator writing or illustrating a book today, the climate has to be very much part of your narrative because it impacts every part of our lives, and of the Earth’s denizens.”
