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Adam SteinbergNov 27 20222

Stories are powerful things. I know it is just anecdotal, but I would wager The Lorax and possibly other books (The Giving Tree comes to mind in this moment) boosted my interest in environmental protection. Though it may be I was already tending in that direction as a child and they just fit my sensibilities. I mean, I was also reading Konrad Lorenz pretty young...

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An EA storybook for kids

by Simon Newstead

Nov 27 20221 min read 15

72

Building effective altruismCommunityEffective altruism art and fictionParenting

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Hi folks,

Sharing a new EA storybook for kids, designed to help introduce EA concepts to kids in a fun and age-appropriate way.

Althea and the Generation Tree tells the story of a free-spirited girl and her trusty sidekick Hamster, who together make a fateful discovery from the distant past.

The goal of the project is to help inspire kindness and thoughtfulness in future generations. It's a non-profit project, the e-book will be free and any proceeds from a future hardcopy version will be donated to charity.

We'd like the book to be created in a collaborative way, and we're calling for beta readers from the community: https://eaforkids.org

ps - if you have any feedback on the concept or ideas or tips, feel free to share

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Devon Fritz 🔸Nov 27 20227

Hi Simon, love the initiative and have been working on an illustrated philosophy book for kids as well (and by 'working on' I mean 'made it 5 years ago and have to get back to it when I find the time with an outstanding promise to finish it before my daughter turns 6').

Will definitely sign up for the beta and provide feedback. Looking forward to reading it!

Simon NewsteadNov 27 20222

Thanks Devon, looking forward to the feedback.

The illustrated philosophy book for older kids sounds like a great idea, and could be helpful for parents as well who can learn new things while reading with the child. Nice you have a "deadline" for it :)

[anonymous]Nov 27 20227

First <3

Just making sure on how to give you feedback:

Are you looking for feedback rather from parents than"the average EA forum reader". I'm not a parent myself, but I could share it with friends of mine who are parents.
What kind of feedback would be most helpful? e.g.
- I gave it to my son (who is x y/o) and he loved it.
- I read it myself and would like to see more of xzy...
What channel would you prefer for receiving feedback? (via eaforkids@gmail.com?)

Simon NewsteadNov 27 20222

Thank you!

For the book, looking for feedback from any interested folks, both parents (and their kids) and those who may not be, but have an interest or expertise. And yes, sharing with non-EA parents would be helpful too. Longer term I hope the book could engage a wider community, though it's initially targeting EA parents.

Type of feedback that's most useful would be:
- help deciding on art style/s, characters and story elements (will distribute a few polls and works in progress as we go), through both parent and kid reactions (both are important audiences)
- Then the book as a whole, the complete reading experience

Channel - any!

I'll be sending via email to the beta readers via eaforkids@gmail.com (14 as the time of writing this) but happy to chat more on any channel, whether email, Slack etc.

Appreciate the interest...

phgubbinsNov 28 20225

Hi! AE Studio is working on some (Dr. Seuss-inspired) children's books to also share EA and EA-adjacent ideas, here's one we've been working on (happy to receive feedback too):

https://www.yourlivingandgiving.com/

We are currently in steps to publish our first book like this, one on personal finance, and we have written the script for another inspired by Peter Singer's pond illustration.

I have recently been learning how to publish (through IngramSpark) and may be able to help a little bit with that sort of stuff too if you'd like! Would generally be excited to connect!

Simon NewsteadNov 28 20222

Hey, great to hear that and sure, let's swap notes and help each other out as we go!

phgubbinsNov 28 20222

Here’s the most Dr. Seuss version that we are putting together for publication: https://www.thecashthatyoustash.com/

LarksNov 28 20224

Cool idea! For us at least a dead tree book would be massively preferred over an ebook; I think many parents are willing to allow their kids near-unlimited physical book time but tightly curtail screen time.

Simon NewsteadNov 28 20221

Agreed, physical is the real end target, though it's nice to be able to test/refine on ebook before committing to printing costs. Thanks!

SanjayNov 27 20224

I've signed up, and I like the idea of having an EA-inspired storybook for my daughter.

This would be more exciting if there were evidence that the values underlying the storybooks that children read influence their attitudes in adulthood. My prior, based on the fact that I remember nothing of the books I read with my parents as a toddler, is that it has minimal impact. I'd also be surprised if evidence of high enough quality existed (i.e. evidence which successfully disentangled the fact that parents who want to read their children books which promote certain values also probably have those values and promote those values in other ways).

Having said that, it didn't stop me from signing up, so I hope you produce lovely books!

Simon NewsteadNov 27 20226

Thanks Sanjay, similarly this was sparked by wanting an a EA storybook for our kid as well.

There are some wonderful kindness and empathy books (eg- "We are all kind" by P. Crumble and Jonathan Bentley) but would be great to have some more aligned with EA principles and ideas.

As for evidence, agreed.

I aim to do a more deep dive during the book creation process, but the initial skim of the literature seems encouraging, with some research showing potential transfer effects of morals/cultural attitudes to kids through storybooks, particularly at younger ages.

A nice summary article is here: https://theconversation.com/why-stories-matter-for-childrens-learning-52135

That said, I'll share a more structured post once I've gone into the primary sources, before the ebook launch.

If such evidence is strong, agree that makes the project more impactful (and vice versa) - that is, beyond simply satisfying the desire for such a book from fellow EA parents

Appreciate you joining, and looking forward to the feedback...

Adam SteinbergNov 27 20222

Simon NewsteadNov 27 20221

Agreed stories are powerful, and the sentimental value can also remain strong over years.

If someone is thinking what book to give to a niece, or friend's kid, or their own kid in the future, they might think of those classics like The Giving Tree they resonated with years back...

(I'm imagining all those millions of young parents starting to read Harry Potter to their own kids now...)

MathiasKB🔸Nov 27 20223

What age range are you intending for the book to be for? I look forward to reading it with my niece when she is old enough :)

Simon NewsteadNov 27 20221

Still figuring it out, but most likely in 2-5 year old range where kids are just old enough to grasp concepts, but still enjoy getting lost with their parents in a tale that sparks their imagination.

Looking forward to your and your niece's feedback later!