Ellie Ment And The Material Matter is aimed at cutting plastic use

Jennifer Saunders has narrated a new audiobook helping kids reduce their plastic use.

On her podcast with Dawn French, the comedian mentioned her goal for this year was to do more for the planet.

And when first-time British writer Bertie Stephens heard this, he wrote to Saunders asking of she would narrate the audiobook version of his title Ellie Ment And The Material Matter, aimed at readers aged from 9 to 14.

The text version was published in June with the audiobook out this week.

Saunders said: ‘I loved Ellie from page one. It’s funny and a bit mischievous, but it sneaks big ideas in too – how science works, what we owe the planet, and why asking questions matter.

‘If a good yarn can make kids curious enough to try an experiment or think twice about their plastic usage, that’s a win."

On her Titting About podcast with French, the Ab Fab creator had said:’[This year] I'm going to do more for the planet. That's my plan. I am trying to get rid of plastic in my life.

She added: ‘I don't have toothpaste anymore, I have little toothpaste pills. I just use soap. I don't use any big shower gel plasticky things, and I don't use plastic in my washing-up liquids. I don't use it in anything. So I'm just getting rid of plastic from our lives.’

The audiobook was released with a video trailer, where The Clean Planet Orchestra accompanied Jennifer’s reading with an original track composed by musician Joe Hogan.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The acclaimed STEM adventureEllie Ment and the Material Matter is now an audiobook, narrated by the legendary Jennifer Saunders. A game-changer for family listening.<a href="https://t.co/wclaEiOC2H">https://t.co/wclaEiOC2H</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EllieMent?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EllieMent</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/STEMkids?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#STEMkids</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ChildrensBooks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ChildrensBooks</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/JenniferSaunders?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#JenniferSaunders</a> <a href="https://t.co/en1hTGxP3i">pic.twitter.com/en1hTGxP3i</a></p>&mdash; Ellie Ment | Hapsie (@HapsieComic) <a href="https://twitter.com/HapsieComic/status/1978583467651744211?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 15, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Since its summer release, Ellie Ment and the Material Matter has been adopted by clubs and schools in the UK and USA as well as being the start-of-year reading for more than 1,000 pupils across seven states in the US.

The book has been published by the non-profit Clean Planet Foundation which said: ‘This STEM book gives more young people the chance to see that science can be every bit as magical as fantasy, and important for helping the environment around them.

‘Adding Jennifer’s incredible voice to the audiobook will help thousands more children discover Ellie’s story and the magic that already exists in the world around them.'

Published: 16 Oct 2025