ROCKING THE RIVER FOR INSPIRATION. In her new book, writer Sandia Kosmo wanted to cover the deterioration of our environment and wildlife extinction.

Sandia Kosmo has always been a writer. Even in high school, she wrote articles for the St. Paul Pioneer Press, and several of her family members have become writers and editors, too. From getting her B.A. in English and Journalism at UW-Eau Claire to later teaching in both subjects, writing has been a huge part of her life. Now, in her retirement, she has gotten the chance to tell a story that she believes is of the utmost importance: The story of whooping cranes in a book called Wakanda Whooper: The Curious Cinnamon Crane.

In her dreams of being an author, it never occurred to Kosmo that writing children’s books might be in her future. She wanted to spread the message about the deterioration of our environment and the continued extinction of so many species. To accomplish this, she had to decide how to best share these wildlife facts in order to elicit an effective response from her readers. She figured that most adults are generally set in their ways and opinions, while children are extremely inquisitive and open to new ideas, so she decided to aim her story toward older children ages eight to 12.

During the research process for this book, Kosmo realized that this age group seems to be a forgotten one, in terms of what types of books are available to kids. There were young adult books and younger children’s books that talked about whooping cranes, but none for this specific age group or that had very many details about the cranes.

The story opens with little Wakanda “Wandy” Whooper hatching at Necedah National Wildlife Refuge, where Kosmo spoke with workers about the refuge and the cranes that come through the park. Other parks, such as the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, Wis. also helped greatly during the research process and taught Kosmo a lot about what has been and is being done to help the cranes, whose population managed to bounce back from the brink of extinction.

“Humans were the problem, but also the solution,” Kosmo explained. Unregulated hunting and loss of habitat made the crane population dip under 20 in the 1940s, but due to human intervention, the population is now between 300-400. The species is still endangered, and several other animals get closer to extinction every single day, which is why Kosmo believes that hearing stories like this one and educating people about wildlife is so important.

The majority of Kosmo’s interviews and research took place during the spring of 2015, and Wakanda Whooper came out earlier this year. She worked closely with Beaver’s Pond Press to help make this story happen, who helped push Kosmo to include pronunciation guides, a glossary, and crane trivia in the back pages, allowing the book to become even more informative and accessible to readers.

Like most children’s books, the initial hook for the story is the illustrations, which is where Lisa Kosmo, Sandia’s niece, comes in. Lisa painted 18 original illustrations for the book, and she has also heavily researched the cranes and their habitat in order to accurately portray them.

Kosmo’s current goal is to get Wakanda Whooper out and into grade schools so that more people can learn the whooping cranes’ story. She also wants to expand the market for the book and have it read in classrooms across the nation. Once she gets to that point, Kosmo does have other storylines in mind about Canada geese and trumpeter swans. Since animals cannot speak for themselves, Kosmo feels passionate about giving them a voice and making a difference in the lives of her readers, who will hopefully go on to be more conscious of the natural world and help in whatever way that they can to make it better.

BELOW: Illustrations from Wakanda Whooper by Kosmo’s niece Lisa Kosmo ...

Kosmo has two local book signings this month. The first will be held at North Presbyterian Church from 1 to 3pm on April 10, and she will give a presentation about endangered species. The other on April 23 – geared more toward children – will be held in the Volume One Gallery from 1 to 3pm, and includes activities and crafts for kids.