Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/761508
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 11 DECEMBER 2016 39 This Week Now that a proper autumn has returned with some decent rainfall, nature is set for a vigorous winter period. Most insects and reptiles would disagree and hide away, but the life-giving water will stimulate the growth of plants, which are the basis of all foodchains. And what better place to enjoy nature than in a nature reserve. Bordered by coastal development on one side and intensive agriculture on the other, BirdLife's nature reserve at Is-Simar in Xemxija is a green oasis that showcases how nature responds when given the chance and some tlme. Is-Simar is a mosaic of interconnected pools and canals, with swathes of reedbed and tamarisk groves. With careful habitat management the site attracts more than 140 species of birds in any given year. Most of these stay a few days to rest, but others spend all winter there, and some also nest and raise a family. Go visit, the place is open Sundays 10am to 4pm, and entrance is free. GREEN IDEA OF THE WEEK 439: FIND OUT MORE: More on the #NatureAlert campaign: http://www.naturealert.eu Visit Friends of the Earth's website for more information about our work, as well as for information about how to join us. You can also support us by sending us a donation - www.foemalta.org/donate Text Victor Falzon Photo BirdLife Malta 536. IS-SIMAR Nature dodges bullet: huge public campaign saves EU nature laws Azzopardi-Falzon picture book helps children deal with grief ONE day, when author Clare Azzo- pardi was at the playground with her young nephew, he turned to her and said: "If mamà dies, can I live with you?" That was the day that the author decided to write a book for children about the loss of a loved one; and that was how the story of Il-Qtates ta' max-Xatt was born. Now, a couple of years on, it has been given visual life by illustrator Lisa Falzon and is being published by Merlin Publishers. Azzopardi did not go about the tale of loss in a conventional way, rather, the stars of the book are the cats living in a public garden in what looks very much like Slie- ma. The highlight of the cat's day is the when they are visited by an elderly couple. Nannu and nanna open their tatty old suitcase and out come dishes of delicious food, for each and every cat. But one day, the old couple do not turn up. The cats whimper and whine, until they can mew no more. Days turn into weeks and the cats grow thin with hunger, but it is not the void of food that they miss… "Children think a lot about the possibility of losing a relative dear to them. Using cats as protagonists is a way of approaching the topic in- directly," said Azzopardi. Although the book talks about death, it is full of love. It is useful in helping chil- dren understand how death is an inevitable part of ageing, and how life continues after the sadness of bereavement. This is another ground-breaking Merlin Publishers picture book which tackles a sensitive issue, with the illustrations grounded in a very typical Maltese context for its Mal- tese readers. "I wanted to take away some of the things in our lives we are culturally bred to see as eyesores or problems of urban living. Things like high rises, cranes, electrical wires and air conditioners – and sadly yes, stray cats and the elderly – we tend to see them as issues to be fixed," said Lisa Falzon, who is now based in Berlin. In dreamy colours and the pastel- crayon style of digital art, she ele- vated all these "maligned elements" to the same level of "dreamscape beauty". Falzon describes the book as a big challenge but the one she is "most proud of". Il-Qtates ta' max-Xatt has no fixed target age. It is ideal both for read- ing to children when these are still very young, and eventually for read- ing by children themselves when they are slightly older. Apart from being an emotional story, perfect to nurture a love of reading, the play on words, alliterations, rhymes and rhythms makes it fun. Il-Qtates ta' max-Xatt is available from all leading bookshops or online from www.merlinpublishers.com