Anni, age 7

Amazing Mentor and Author Chip Royston is theauthor of Juji, a book promoting rainforests and their care, as well as a college professor.

AK: What inspired you to become an author? A college professor?
CR: When I first became a parent, I started to think differently about the world. I started to think more about what I was leaving behind for my children and my children’s children. I knew I had to make a bigger difference than I was already making. So I thought of ways that I could get a positive message of conservation to the most people and I thought of writing a children’s book that my best friend Ben could illustrate. Becoming a college professor was something that developed naturally after graduating as a student. My mentors recognized my passion for Anthropology, learning and people. It was my mentor’s suggestion that I teach and she hired me to teach one class about cultural diversity. In that class, I experienced the kind of difference that I could make as a teacher and I knew then that this was the best use of my talent and enthusiasm.


AK: What classes do you teach?
CR: I teach in two very different departments at California State University, Fullerton. In my Anthropology department, I teach a class called Culture & Education which looks at the relationship between our schools and everything else in our society and compares that to other parts of the world and other times in history. I also teach a course called Anthropology of Religion which looks at how humans all around the world have understood the supernatural over all time. In my Human Services department, I teach a Leadership course where I train students how to be leaders in their own life. I also teach a community project class where the students get together in groups and design, implement, and measure a service project. This class really makes a huge difference!


AK: What was your favorite book or books as a child?
CR: I have had many favorite books at many different times in my life. When I was really young, I loved Dr. Seuss and Shel Silverstein books. As I grew a little older, I loved Encyclopedia Brown and the SuperFudge series. Then when I was a teenager, I read the Narnia series, the Lord of the Rings series, and kept reading and reading and reading until now I have read more books than I can even count.


AK: What inspired you to write a book about the African rainforest?
CR: I love the Earth and nature. When I think about where we as humans should focus to make the greatest difference, I think about Africa. I had an opportunity to meet Dr. Jane Goodall and her work is primarily about Africa and chimpanzees. That had an impact on our choice of setting as well.


AK: Have you ever gone to Africa before? If so, what was it like?
CR: I have never been to Africa. Maybe that is why I wrote Emelia’s visit there as a dream sequence, because many of us in America may never get to see these places in person but we can imagine what it might be like and we can make a huge difference there.


AK: What were your inspirations for the characters of Juji? Chippo the Hippo? and Emelia?
CR: Dr. Jane Goodall has a practice of naming all the chimps she studies. She takes the first letter of the mother’s name and names all of her children with that letter. We wanted to name our chimpanzee after Jane so we started thinking of names that started with “J” and came up with Juji because it’s easy and fun to say. Chippo is actually the nickname that I’ve had since childhood. My middle name is Whippo so everyone calls me Chippo or Chippopotamus. And because the story was inspired by my daughter Sage Emily, we decided to name the human character after her middle name too. We tried different variations on Emily and liked Emelia best because it represents a multicultural United States.


AK: Could you tell us more about your work with Jane Goodall's Roots & Shoots organization? How can our readers get involved and how old do you have to be to join Roots & Shoots?
CR: When Dr. Jane Goodall left the forest to start her conservation activism, she was most inspired by the willingness of children to help. She founded Roots & Shoots to represent this natural enthusiasm of children to make a difference and here is a quote from their website: The Roots & Shoots program is about making positive change happen—for our communities, for animals and for the environment. With tens of thousands of young people in almost 100 countries, the Roots & Shoots network connects youth of all ages who share a desire to create a better world. Young people identify problems in their communities and take action. Through service projects, youth-led campaigns and an interactive website, Roots & Shoots members are making a difference across the globe. http://www.rootsandshoots.org/ And as for how your readers can get involved? There is no age requirement to make a difference! Your readers can check out this link to find out more about getting involved.


AK: Could you tell our readers about the illustrator for your book?
CR: Benjamin Ciccati is the most creative person I know. Everywhere he goes he adds an artistic touch. He sees the world with such imaginative eyes. He likes to paint things, mold clay, carve stone, and sketch pictures. He really likes to draw animals and many of his works of art seem to say “Nature is awesome, let’s keep it that way!” He uses his talent to promote leaving a better world for the future. He works and lives in Santa Barbara, CA with his wife Michelle and their young daughter Chloe Bee.


AK: Are you planning to write any more books?
CR: YES!!! I want to be a world famous children’s book author; known for writing inspiring books with purpose for a better future. I’m going to start using the name Chip O. Potamus as my alias like Theodore Geisel used Dr. Seuss. Your interview is the first place that I’ve announced this to the public. Right now Ben is working on drawings for Chippo: Every living thing has a purpose,” which is our second book in the series. I also finished the first draft of The First Butterfly, which is being illustrated by Jaime Becktel. Now I am working on writing my next book called, I’m a Rainbow, Too!. I think my friend Ariel Gimenez will be illustrating that one. (It takes much less time to write than it does to illustrate).


AK: What advice or message do you have for kids who want to make a difference in the world, and help our Earth?
CR: Everyone has unique talents; develop yours. Then picture the perfect world that you would like to create and then use your talent and take actions toward that vision. You are always happiest when you walk on the path toward your perfect future.

---

---

Back to Interviews