“It was good,” summarizes the 7-year-old boy who has just received on Thursday November 14, in the premises of the Lez'Arts dans les Murs association, in Montreuil (Seine-Saint-Denis), one of the 3 500 “Literary magic boxes” that the Seine-Saint-Denis Family Allowance Fund distributes in partnership with the Book and Youth Press Fair (SLPJ). “I like to read a little”, entrusts the child who benefits from the schooling assistance program “L’école supérieur” of the Montreuilloise association, while emphasizing that he “loves mom’s stories”. “It’s great,” affirms the latter when speaking of this “Box” imagined by the SLPJ. “Elle brings us new Books”she continues. “It’s a help for us, parents, because we don’t always have time to take the children to the library”explains another mother whose children aged 9 and 6 are registered for homework help offered to primary schools by Lez'Arts. And then, she continues, “we can maybe buy one or two books, but not all the books.”
The Youth Book and Press Fair is a one-off event which is part of a broader vision summarized by Pascaline Mangin, in charge of the Publics and mediations division: “Ensuring equal access to children’s literature for all.” “Ensure that everyone can discover their wealth”, she continues, accompanying “not only children and adolescents, but also by making parents allies on this path to reading”. The Salon de Montreuil thus has two flagship programs in this direction: the “Literary Magic Box”, which concerns the department of Seine-Saint-Denis, and “Des Livres à soi” carried out at the national level.
Distributed from mid-October to early November 2024 to 350 families in 32 towns in the Seine-Saint-Denis department, the “Boxes” contain a pretty reading kit created by the artists Eva Offredo and Alex Cousseau. Games and books around dreams, the theme of the 40th edition book, as well as a reading-writing kit make it up. “Four beautiful new books purchased from around twenty bookstores in Seine-Saint-Denis, which helps support them”, notes Pascaline Mangin.
3D comics, JeanJambe and the mystery of the depths (Editions 2024), delivered with glasses to read it has much more to the little beneficiaries on November 14. Like Rose, 8 years old, accompanied by her dad. This is the third time she has received a “Box”. She is not the only one among her siblings to have benefited from it, confides her father who mentions his elders. For Rose, this is the opportunity to continue reading again “many at (elle)“.
“The operation was launched in 2020, at the time of Covid, in order to put books back in the heart of the home, to create an action to support parenthood and to allow children to get used to books,” recalls Aminarta Maïga, the deputy general director of the CAF of Seine-Saint-Denis. A thousand “Boxes” were then distributed as part of the program called CLAS (Local Schooling Support Contract) for social centers and associations “who accompany young people and families in the territory”, specifies Pascaline Mangin.
The “first year success” showed “that there was a need that had not been identified before, that of having mediation tools at home”in addition to others. With the CAF, an action is also intended for middle and high school students who also benefit from academic support. “They receive lira checks to buy books and can carry out radio interviews with artists in a real studio as part of the “In the living room as at home” operation.
“When it comes to reading for children, it is not an individual question, but a social question because this reading is done in the family, at school, in the library… It is done by including social relationships and this social dimension of reading is absolutely essential”, underlines Sylvie Vassalo, the director of the Children's Book Fair. “The time spent together, the emotions built together are what constitute us as a social being. And the book is a determining object in this process.”
Promoting this literary and social moment is also the vocation of “Books for Oneself”, a program which gives pride of place to parents, at least in their ability to transmit the reading reflex to their offspring. It is currently being carried out in 138 cities in 63 departments in 18 regions in France. “It is a device to restore confidence to parents in their ability to tell stories to their children regardless of their reading skills and even if they do not have access to the written word“, explains Pascaline Mangin. “The idea is to support them so that they can develop their own expertise and become facilitators for their children.” To do this, the SLPJ trains professionals in each of these territories and since then, some parents have become trainers themselves. “More than 3,000 professionals” have been trained in this way since the birth of the project in 2018.
“We are first and foremost a literary mediation engineering association”insists Sylvie Vassalo to make it clear why its structure relies on the actors who are on the ground. “We have a lot of close contact with those who work with children so that they can use the book on a daily basis in their actions. This is our mode of action and this is where, for us, effectiveness lies.”
“There are 13 million people who have reading difficulties in France, combining reasons linked to disability situations, illiteracy, social and symbolic issues. This shows that the question of the ambition of reading remains a horizon to conquer”, adds Sylvie Vassalo, provided that “work on the specific areas that are affected, including the issue of disability.”
“This is why we are so determined on the subject,” she continues, “but there is still a lot of work to be done so that this public has the same access to works as everyone else”. Based on this observation, the Children's Book Fair has innovated to celebrate its four decades of existence by developing “universal accessibility”. In other words, design the show so that it is truly accessible to everyone through several devices.
Likewise, this year's exhibition, called “In all directions” East “a translation in the five senses of the children's literature albums that we love”. For example, specifies Sylvie Vassalo, “we will smell odors which are odors that this story has evoked for us, we will touch the objects or even hear a soundtrack which will put us in the mood”.
Beneficiaries of all SLPJ programs meet at the show. “The show is both a concrete action and a showcase of our cultural ambitions”summarizes its director. “We are a show committed to cultural democracy” for which access to books is essential, according to her. She's not the only one who thinks so. “On adore (the “Literary magic boxes” operation) and we go to the book fair“, confirms Laura Pfohl, head of CLAS at Lez'Arts.
“Pendant its entire duration, says Pascaline Mangin, we welcome 1,200 groups including schools, groups from leisure centers, social centers, associations, medico-social structures and family groups.” Invitations are given to all children and young people in order to “let them bring back their parents”, especially on weekends, “even if the show is 100% free this year”. A gesture “symbolic” in the service of an ambition reiterated by Pascaline Mangin: “May the best of children’s literature reach all audiences.”
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