Happy Birthday, Mr Galt! Tomorrow you will be 89 years young, and I just had to write to tell you how grateful we all are to have you in our lives. I speak on behalf of myself, all the children's writers in T&T and all the children who adore your two novels, Boldly, the Trips and Mysteriously, the Trips. They are exciting books filled with plot-driven action and themes that resonate with children. They are books about friendship, loyalty and choices. They are about bonding together and solving problems; fighting evil and avoiding the pitfalls of this crime-ridden society. You have managed to provide young readers with many invaluable lessons while never being didactic or preachy. You have given them exciting reading that feels fresh and new even while your stories are rooted in the tradition of a good, old-fashioned story.
Like a pied piper, you have mesmerised children, causing them to abandon their passive lives in front of their computers and encouraging them to explore the great outdoors for adventure. That is something that so many children can't do in these dangerous times so it is nice to have stories of boys exploring and engaging in nail-biting adventure. It makes us feel safe and part of the environment we live in. I am amazed at your energy and your writing talent. While many people your age struggle just to survive, you have found the time and energy to paint and write books. You once told me in a telephone conversation that at your age, you don't have time to wait for a publisher to decide on whether or not to publish your books. You were brave enough to know that you had wonderful stories worthy of publication and you didn't need some big, fancy publishing house in England or the US to pass judgment on your novels.
I'm so glad, Mr Galt, that you were so committed to our young readers. I'm so glad you were brave enough to make that decision because it would have been very, very sad if we did not your books in our lives.
As you and I both know, those who write children's novels are often classed as second-class citizens in the writing world. I never understood this. Writing a children's novel brings all the challenges of writing an adult novel, but in many ways children's novels are even more important. We give children a voice, a reason to believe in their country when adults let them down or don't listen to them. We give them a vision of themselves in their own environment, and this is a vital part of growing up. How do you grow up proud and confident of who you are, proud and confident of your country if you don't see yourself reflected in the literature that you read?
We know that children need to see themselves beyond the themes of the stories that they read. They need to see themselves in their actual setting-the place where they grow up. We know this and so we keep writing and hoping that more children will read and more parents will encourage reading. I don't know if you have always been able to remain optimistic about the challenges we face as children's writers but I know I worry all the time that children don't have enough good, local literature to read. It has improved, but we still have a long way to go. In the meantime, there are a handful of great books to read-enough to make a very impressive foundation for Trinidad children's fiction. I am especially glad that your books have such a strong appeal for boys. Girls will like them too because they are exciting-and the boys are cool. It's so important for our boys to feel that bond that boys once had when they explored the great outdoors and bonded in friendships that promoted good fun. Boys need a model of how to have fun and behave and not go astray and you certainly have provided that.
I hope that you have another instalment in the story of the Trips coming our way because, as you know, children these days love series. They'd rather read a series than take a chance on a new book. This in itself is important because it gives children something else that is missing in this world: commitment. When children become attached to a series, they form an unspoken, ongoing bond with the author and the characters in the book. That's important in this push-button age. Well, Mr Galt, I could go on and on about how much I love your books, and still no words can convey my gratitude. You have been a wonderful influence on children in this country, a grandfather figure that all children need. T&T would be a much better place if all children had a grandfather figure like you in their lives. All children need the wisdom of your years. Thank you and happy birthday! You have given us great presents, Mr Galt.