Jan Latta
Jan Latta - author and wildlife photographer
In 1994 Jan came face-to-face with a mountain gorilla in Rwanda and the experience changed her life. When her guide said there were fewer than 600 mountain gorillas left in the wild, she wanted to do something to help. She decided to publish books for children on endangered animals. But first she became a wildlife photographer so she could tell the animal's stories in pictures as well as words.
She went back to Africa to learn wildlife photography. She followed elephants, dangerous rhinos, prides of lions, gentle giraffes, and had a wonderful experience with two cheetahs. Then to the Wolong mountains in China for pandas, jungles of Borneo with orangutans, Sri Lanka for the elusive leopard and Uganda for Dr Jane Goodalls’ chimps. She has had some amazing adventures, and near-death experiences, following her dream to help the survival of endangered animals.
The ABC asked Jan to write the Diary of a Wildlife Photographer, a 102 page journal of her adventures in the wild with 300 stunning photographs.
Jan has been a guest speaker at schools and festivals for over 10 years. She has been invited to speak at the Literary Festivals in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka and Ubud and festivals and schools throughout New Zealand and Australia.
Media, radio and TV interviews can be seen on www.truetolifebooks.com.au
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Chimaka the Chimpanzee
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Chipper the Cheetah
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Elle the Elephant
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Gerry the Giraffe
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Kolah the Koala
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Lena the Lion
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Lennie the Leopard
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Mia the Meerkat
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Ollie the Orangutan
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Ping Ping the Panda
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Rufus the Rhinoceros
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Timba the Tiger
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Ziggy the Zebra
https://www.creativekidstales.com.au/authors-illustrators/ckts-emerging-illustrators/1496-jan-latta-illustrator#sigProId634ef242e2
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'Georgie and the team at Creative Kids Tales have a wonderful passion for children’s stories, and this site is a wonderful place to visit to find and share ideas!
'The long-distance marathon of writing, illustrating and publishing usually begins along a very foggy road, in the dark, shoeless. But wait! What's that light on the horizon? A glowing little cafe, full of a bunch other runners plotting out mud-maps on napkins and exchanging anecdotes, warning about ditches and praising short-cuts. Stop for a while, have a cup of tea, maybe even a shoe-fitting, then get yourself back on the road for the long slog to sunrise.' - 
'I stumbled on to Creative Kids Tales by accident. I thought it was kid's tails. I'd been doing some research about goats and how their tails were actually a fifth leg, a very long time ago. Or did I just dream that? In any case, I was bitterly disappointed at first to find not tails, but tales. However, while I was at the site I had a wander around, and soon discovered that it was even better than a goat's site - no kidding! This is a brilliant haven for writers, new and not so new; a place to showcase their work and to learn from others.' Well done, Georgie. You've done a fantastic job. - www.enterprisingwords.com.au
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Creative Kids Tales offers a brilliant platform for established and emerging creators to keep in touch and learn from each other. That is a great thing for this most isolated of all professions (apart from On-site Antarctic Penguin Imitators). - 
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'Congratulations to Georgie Donaghey for her hard work and enthusiasm in setting up a site that has been sorely needed to promote current Australian children's writing. Not just for the established, but for up and coming, Creative Kids Tales showcases talent and provides information essential for anyone in the industry.' - www.enterprisingwords.com.au
Writing can be a lonely profession. By necessity, you need to work alone much of the time. But it is wonderful to have a website which eases that by connecting creators with each other and with a wealth of information and resources.
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What a terrific, enthusiastic, informative and creative resource - of value and interest to so many people.
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'The thing I like about the Creative Kids Tales website is that the authors come across as real people who face the same problems that beginning writers do and that there’s plenty of practical advice.' - 
'What a wonderful website Creative Kids Tales is, supporting and helping Australian authors in their quest through the dark thorny forest of the publishing world. Georgie should be congratulated for all her hard work and fearless leadership!' - 
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