In a remarkable celebration of young talent and creative expression Beaumont Primary School officially launched its inaugural collection of learner-authored books on Monday 15 September.
The school hall buzzed with excitement as special guests and the school community gathered to celebrate the milestone achievement. The evening honoured the young writers and two of their published works through an interactive panel discussion and captivating excerpt readings.
In his opening address the school’s cultural head, Kobus Ferreira, welcomed friends and families to the celebratory launch of The Tree on the Hill and Lemons Make Lemonade.
“I can’t think of many schools that have established and published books before, let alone a primary school,” Ferreira proudly shared, before commending the learners for their remarkable creativity and exemplary courage in writing and publishing their own works.
CLUB TO PRINT
The books emerge from the Beaumont Writers’ Club, established by teacher and English head Gillian Bahlmann to use literature as a tool for inspiring, transforming, and healing children. Two years of dedicated creativity have produced the books, both carefully crafted for implementation in the classroom.
More than creative expression, the readers tackle meaningful themes such as bullying and hope, serving as educational tools, sources of healing, proof that age poses no barrier to meaningful contribution, and testament to what children can achieve when believed in.
Clinical psychologist Gerda Kriel moderated the discussion where Bahlmann described writing as a “beautifully messy process” such as sculpting, requiring great humility.
She said the young writers embraced the organic creative journey, allowing their stories to flourish through imagination, discipline, perseverance and collaborative spirit.
PICTURES MEET WORDS
Published author and illustrator Mariska le Grange described creating illustrations for children’s books as a “dance” between text and artwork, emphasising the crucial need to work closely with authors to ensure illustrations complement and enhance the written story.
“I wasn’t that much involved in the writing process, but I did receive the text. It’s such an inspiring story that it’s not difficult to start seeing those pictures.”
Le Grange further stressed that illustrators carry significant responsibility to ensure their artwork resonates with the story and effectively conveys its essence to readers.
MORE THAN A STORY
Young co-authors Lienka Blom, Amy Bahlmann, Jessica Buckland and Talitha Zunckel, all highschoolers now, discussing their collaborative book The Tree on the Hill, shared the inspiration behind its title; a solitary tree visible from their school.
Using the metaphor of a resilient tree surviving fire on a hill, with healing rain and joyful bird Pip, the book explores how hope and human connections help people overcome life’s greatest challenges. “It has been a very long process in the works but special to see it come together as it has, because I think it is so special and I really just hope it touched many hearts,” said Jessica.
Providing insight into collaborating with her mom, Amy shared: “It was an amazing process and she’s absolutely amazing.”
She described her mother as talented and energetic, noting how creating something meaningful together strengthened their relationship despite the challenges such as writer’s block for which Bahlmann’s quick fix was taking a breather or jelly beans as motivation.
CONFIDENCE BUILDING
Among the 16 co-authors who worked together on Lemons Make Lemonade, overcoming creative differences along the way, Linozuko Bobotyana, Izak Vos, Neil Boshoff and Carl Coetzee reflected on how writing freed them from academic constraints, built their confidence through creative expression and provided a safe space for talent development.
Asked about the book’s central story, Izak related that it follows Lemony, a lemon tree who is bullied and believes she is useless. However, when Bumble the bumblebee encourages her to believe in herself and discover her true worth, she finds happiness again.
Regarding his hopes for young readers he was emphatic: “I hope they figure out that words can change someone entirely. Encouraging words can change a person’s life, while negative words can hurt deeply.”
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