Books are a gentle way to help kids make sense of some of life’s big issues. Deborah’s anger about inaction to climate change drove her to write a trilogy about kids living in a flooded city, led by a feisty, sword-wielding female hero. Studied widely in Australian schools, the series forms an entertaining literature base to springboard students to learn more about this global, important issue. Deb’s novel, Teresa A New Australian, was inspired by her dad’s survival during WW2 and journey to Australia as a refugee. The novel is often used in schools to delve into issues of migration, war and understanding what it is to be a refugee. Deb will discuss how the novel is used as the literary basis for students to create a virtual online museum, where they developed ‘exhibits’ based on research of a real or studied migrant. The results were not only fascinating for the school community and their families, but created an air of tolerance and empathy in what can be a highly volatile issue.