During the 2023-2024 school year, the Youth in bookstore system in Île-de-France, supported by the DRAC Île-de-France, in collaboration with the Paris Librairies association and in partnership with the Ministry of National and youth education, allows support for 114 projects throughout the Ile-de-France region. For this new edition, the French Society for the Interests of Written Authors (SOFIA) has joined forces with the system.
14 of these projects take place within the Paris Academy.
At the Gustave Flaubert college in Paris, a rich project is taking place combining a journey of discovery of the book chain and an exploration of literary works on the theme of commitment and the fight for women’s rights. On this occasion, the students of 6e2 will study the book How many steps to the moon and will meet its author, Carol Trébor as well as other professionals from the book world.
In-depth research to understand the author’s work and learn more about the history of remarkable women
Since January, the class has been preparing for its meeting with Carol Trébor by carrying out documentary research at the college’s CDI in association with the reading of a work about a woman, living or not, fictional or real. Among their choices: Marie-Curie and Malala Yousafzai or even comic book heroines like Esther des Esther’s notebooks by Riad Sattouf. The objective is to create and present a living museum made up of different intellectual, artist, scientific and political women. Using the completed cards (see photo below), the students will present the biography of the woman they have chosen in the form of an audio capsule.
The project on Genially and the biographical files of two students on their heroines © Emilie Deniau
They will thus have an overview of what the research work carried out by authors can be when they write a biographical novel or one inspired by a real figure, as is the case in the book they will talk about with Carole Trébor. In order to consolidate this almost journalistic research work, the students write and publish, as the project progresses, articles relating their Young people in bookstore adventure in the high school newspaper, “Flaubert recounts”. The students’ work will be visible at the CDI and, for some, offered as decoration at the Jonas bookstore.
Meeting with professionals from the book world
Two lively meetings were held in different locations during which the students were able to ask their questions about the book profession to two of the project’s partner professionals: a media librarian from the Jean-Pierre Melville media library and the bookseller, Ms. Bertin, from the bookstore. Jonah. They were both warmly welcomed and the students were very curious. The meeting with the author is scheduled for May 6 and promises to be extremely rich because the two aspects of feminism and writing will be explored.
Meeting with the bookseller at the college’s CDI © Emilie Deniau
Exhibition of works at the college’s CDI © Emilie Deniau
Thanks to their research and the various meetings carried out, the students will be (almost) at least as expert on the subject as their speaker. Indeed, during this project, sessions on gender equality were conducted in class. Carol Trébor’s book, How many steps to the moon, deals with the fate of space engineer Katherine Johnson, an African-American woman born at the beginning of the 20th century and will be the occasion for extensive discussions.
Young people in bookstores 2023-2024 for the Paris Academy in figures
Young people in bookstores 2023-2024 for the Paris Academy it is:
Young people in bookstore projects are initiated by members of the educational community and book professionals, particularly booksellers, and take the form of at least two meetings:
The bookseller comes to class to present his profession, his bookstore and the other professions in the book chain,
A visit to the partner bookstore is organized, during which students use Lire vouchers in the amount of €25 per student, given by the Young People in Bookstores system, for individual and personal purchases.
