The Secret Tunnel, a new children’s book by the founder of farm safety educational platform AgriKids, Alma Jordan, is due out in September.
Published by O’Brien Press, The Secret Tunnel is a follow up to ‘Blue the Brave’ and also One Stormy Night, which was a prequel to the series and featured as a World Book Day title in March. It is illustrated by Margaret Anne Suggs.
“The books have been so well received. One Stormy Night was in the children’s Irish bestseller charts for three weeks,” Alma said.
“I was the only Irish author to do so and peaked at number six. I was narrowly kept out of the top five by Joe Wicks, who sold 20 more copies of his book than me,” she said.
Having grown up on a beef and tillage farm in Celbridge, Co. Kildare, Alma now lives on a tillage farm in Co. Meath, keeping horses, with her husband, Mark, and son, Eamon.
The series has been not just been about telling a story that is based on a typical Irish farm, but also reconnecting farming and non-farming communities on the topic, according to Alma.
“Over the course of the year I have done so many author events and visits to urban areas, meeting children and hearing about their own connections to farms, whether it was cousins or grandparents,” she said.
“The degree of separation is so narrow and we must remember that, as the gap will only widen if we do not,” she said.
The Secret Tunnel
“In this story, the children are welcoming a new herd of calves to their farm as well as new neighbours to their village,” Alma explained.
“But it is one of these new arrivals that brings a whole load of trouble for the residents of Hazel Tree Farm.
“In this book I have had the chance to include more family names, including my older sister Louise, who unfortunately was lost to us at just three months old.
“Mentioning her and including her as a character in this story was poignant. In fact including my family in this process has been a source of comfort,” she said.
“Once we capture children’s imagination, they foster a love of reading. It’s important that the stories are relevant and credible and that they can relate to them.
“This is where I have seen the gap. So many children enjoy an AgriKids workshop to get more insight into farm life,” Alma contended.
“Those who come from a farming background love to share their own experiences and those who don’t are fascinated to learn more. Let’s encourage that natural learning process,” said The Secret Tunnel author.