Lockdown poem written on napkin turned into a children's book

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As the nation stayed still during the first Covid lockdown, a brother and sister noticed one thing flourished - nature.

Now a poem written about just that on the back of a napkin has been turned into a new children's book.

"It was really my sister who created the book," said Devon author Tom Rivett-Carnac.

"This was a small piece of poetry I wrote down on the back of a napkin while doing the washing up one evening and she said 'I think this could be turned into a children's book and turned into something people could read and understand'.

"She worked so hard on the images and I think that is what brought it to life."

Bee Rivett-Carnac used watercolours to illustrate the book.

Tom's sister Bee used water colours to illustrate the book, which is called When We All Stopped and is published in partnership with the Jane Goodall Institute.

She said: "Even thought the pandemic was such an awful experience for so many people,  it was also a moment where the world went quiet and people started noticing nature.

I wanted to create that through the illustrations, that feeling of love towards nature and that feeling of connection.

Tom Rivett-Carnac wrote the poem on the back of a napkin during lockdown.

Tom, who lives near Totnes, worked as a senior strategy adviser for the UN on climate change while Bee works as a flower farmer near Bath.

Both say their inspiration comes from the natural world - something they wanted to pass on to the next generation.

Tom said: "I wanted to give a positive spin on what this moment in the pandemic and human history could be."

Bee added: "It was a really special time for nature and it felt like we should take that beyond the pandemic and just remember that it is possible to stop, and it doesn't take long before things do start to change and nature does start to come back."