In a world of changing climate and fossil-fuel dependency, it’s crucial for our children to comprehend the value of protecting our planet. In industrialized cultures, children can grow up being used to seeing “developed” and destroyed land, but the motivation to save our environment comes from understanding the value on the great gifts of nature that are being lost. This is why Lone Mountain: A Story About Mountaintop Removal was created.
Lone Mountain is the first-ever children’s book about the national tragedy of mountaintop removal mining (or MTR). Set in central Appalachia, Lone Mountain tells the story of a mountain, its people, and what happens when mountain top removal threatens to destroy the balance of nature. Lush with beautiful illustrations of native plants and animals, this book focuses on the unique, renewable resources offered by the Appalachian Mountains and how anyone- big or small- can have an impact when it comes to saving the land they love.
The campaign to end the ecological crisis that is mountaintop removal has a more than 40-year history, and yet few resources exist for children to learn about this important topic. As the author and illustrator, I feel that it is imperative for our children to learn about the great gifts of Appalachian ecosystems so that they understand the impact of destruction wrought by this mining.
Lone Mountain began its creative journey in the summer of 2008, when I took an internship with United Mountain Defense, a non-profit based out of Knoxville, TN. As an intern, I proposed a project to create an illustrated story book that could help teach children about MTR. The project wasn’t completed that summer, but instead has been worked on over the years until its completion in early 2014. Along the way, I had a lot of input from coal-field activists and residents. I am so grateful for the insight and wisdom of my community as I’ve learned to write this story. This book has truly been a collective effort.
I and two other Lone Mountain project team members are now raising funds to print this book on crowd-funding platform Indiegogo. The fundraiser functions as a book ordering system, and will be active for just two more weeks. No book orders will be possible after that point. We appreciate all support for the project, and can’t wait to get this book into the hands of children across the country!
For our mountains,
Saro Lynch-Thomason
-Lone Mountain Book Project Website-
“A parable for the possible, Lone Mountain is a timely and important story for kids, their families and schools, about the challenges in protecting our natural homelands. The beautiful illustrations and moving story will inspire readers to climb their own mountains- and take a stand.” – Jeff Biggers, Author of The United States of Appalachia.
-Indiegogo crowd-funding campaign and book ordering.-
