by Katie Alston

kalston@thekmgroup.co.uk

THE mother of Hollywood heartthrob Orlando Bloom is preparing to roll out her second children’s book into shops across the country.
Woody the Woodlouse, the latest in Sonia Copeland Bloom’s series of tales and truths about mini-beasts, tells the story about a critter who forgot how to roll into a ball. It follows on from Basil the Beetle’s Scary Adventure.
The Canterbury author has been fascinated by mini-beasts from an early age and devised the series of books in a bid to inform and educate young children.
The books have already been welcomed by schools and Sonia has made a number of visits to local primary schools to raise awareness about the importance of mini-beasts and how to respect them.
Sonia says she was keen to teach both Orlando and his actress sister Samantha the importance of wildlife when they were small. She said: “The world relies heavily on the wonderful work of insects and mini-beasts of every variety and humans should tolerate them and preserve their habitats in the natural world as far as possible.
“I am hoping to open children’s eyes – and those of their parents – to the reality of the insect world and their importance to us all.
“I want to see children put on their gumboots for a dose of good old-fashioned fresh air and go out and find and fall in love with a beetle, a woodlouse, a slimy slug or a wiggly worm.”