Elephant tale adds to author's growing 'Bodhi' of work

A new children’s book produced through a unique collaboration between Shellharbour children’s author Karen Hendriks and Illawarra’s Nan Tien Temple aims to help young ones lead a more fulfilling life. 

While Seeking Treasure with Bodhi is the first for the temple, Karen chose to write the story on the back of her range of successful children’s books including the popular Our Shellharbour. Emma Stuart, who created the illustrations for Our Shellharbour, has again brought Karen’s story to life with spectacular images. 

The tale revolves around the adventures of two children – Sila and Chan – and a wise elephant called Bodhi, who helps them find their own inner treasure – themselves – as they learn to develop life skills such as mindfulness, calmness, emotional resilience and kindness.

Naturally, the book incorporates Buddhist teachings, with learnings about peacefulness, breathing and 12 meditations immersed throughout.

Seeking Treasure with Bodhi is aimed at primary school children as part of the Nan Tien Temple’s new classroom-based initiative – a teacher-led children’s wellbeing and mindfulness program. 

The aim is to support student wellbeing through weekly practices that develop emotional regulation, focus, resilience and positive learning habits. The book comes with a meditation cushion, a mindfulness companion (a plush toy elephant) and guided audio meditations.

Karen was an excellent choice as the author as she had many years’ experience as a school teacher before concentrating on writing children’s books. She worked on the Nan Tien Temple’s publishing team alongside Venerable Zhi Li for 12 months.

“It was a very collaborative process with a focus on the story and how to seamlessly weave Buddhist principles into it,” she said. “We were very appreciative of each other’s talents.

“We would usually meet for three or four hours at a time. We would read over the story and then work on the sticking points.

“At times, I wrote a sentence on a whiteboard that we were working on and try different ways of expressing that sentence until we got it right. One sentence would sometimes take hours.”

Karen says she likes to write “heart-driven, imaginative children’s books that softly whisper to little hearts, empowering children to believe in themselves and shine in their own unique way. My stories blend heart with adventure and curiosity.”

Karen has carved a successful career as a children’s author, and her work has been recognised most recently on the global stage at the Women Changing the World Awards, where she received a bronze award in the woman in literature category. The Women Changing the World Awards is a global program that honours inspiring women making a positive impact across industries such as business, sustainability, leadership, health, education, innovation and technology. 

For further information head to www.karenhendriks.com