Mr Benjamin Portelli, a student in the current B.A. in Communications Studies and English programme offered by the University of Malta, has recently written and published a children’s book about the environment, with the name ‘The Land of Fairy Fails’, which has also been translated into Maltese, ‘Ħerba f'Art il-Ħrejjef’, by Martina Oliva.
The story was penned by Benjamin when he was 17 as part of his Systems of Knowledge project.
The book, aimed towards children aged seven to 11, follows Wizard Willy as he embarks on a journey to clear the seabed from the plastic suffocating marine life, plant trees for cleaner air, and ditch his aero/car/marine for a greener mode of transport — his magic broom — so that we can all see the stars once the traffic smog clears.
It is intended to encourage children to get lost in the world of reading and motivate them to use their powers and talents to protect planet Earth, while making them interested in the concept of creativity in an engaging way.
10,000 copies of the book (in both Maltese and English) will be distributed to primary schools across Malta and Gozo as part of the 7th national Readathon initiative, titled 'Any Time, Any Place', thanks to the National Literacy Agency, the Malta Trust Foundation and the Malta Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society.
On 11 April 2024, Education Minister, Hon. Clifton Grima, together with the Chairperson of the Malta Trust Foundation, President Emeritus, Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, attended the launch of the Readathon, where they commended Benjamin's creativity and encouraged school children to read more to boost their imagination.
The readathon — whose mascot is Ben il-Ballottra; the weasel is a fast disappearing species in Malta — will continue throughout schools until May.
After reading the book, parents and children are invited to send in their feedback on how they can drive the environmental change to this email address.
