Bay Harbour: March 13, 2024

NEWS 17
Book highlights impact of
Wednesday March 13 2024 Bay Harbour News
marine noise pollution
• By Dylan Smits
HEATHER McQuillan wants to bring
attention to the impacts of noise pollution
on marine life with her new children’s
book.
The Sumner author is a primary school
teacher turned writing tutor. She believes
connecting with children through stories
can help them better understand issues in
the world.
McQuillan says “you have to be in touch
with your inner child” when writing about
serious topics for young people.
“Of course many things have changed
from when I was young, but those
concepts of identity and belonging are still
very relevant.”
Her new book Avis and the Call of the
Kraken was released on March 1.
It is the sequel to her 2019 book Avis
and the Promise of Dragons, which won a
Storylines notable junior fiction award.
The plot follows 11-year-old Avis as she
learns how to grow up, care for her pet
dragon and help prevent harm to mythical
sea creatures near her coastal home.
McQuillan’s story was partly inspired by
living close to Sumner beach and hearing
the sound of ships travelling past.
“Some nights you could hear this thrum
of the engines as they were waiting to get
into port. I thought ‘gosh that noise is so
annoying to me’.”
The idea for her story was born,
imagining a kraken affected by noisy
human activity.
“That’s the issue at the heart of the story,
exploring the effect noise has on these
creatures.”
A 2015 study from the United States
based National Institutes of Health found
underwater noise pollution can cause
hearing loss for marine mammals and
interfere with their migration and breeding.
The most common causes of underwater
noise pollution are oil exploration, shipping
and military activity.
STORYTELLER:
Heather McQuillan
hopes young readers
will connect with
the setting and
environmental
theme of her new
children’s book, Avis
and the Call of the
Kraken.
“It’s got all sorts of implications for the
health of sea creatures but I wanted to
write that message in a way kids could
relate to.”
The setting is purposely vague but has
clear references to Sumner and Lyttelton
Harbour, which McQuillan said can
help children connect to the story’s
environmental theme.
“I wanted younger readers to be able
to say ‘this is something I recognise’. It’s
so important for them to be able to see
themselves in stories.”
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