This Thursday, November 28, 2024, “Tout Public” goes to the 40th edition of the Salon du Livre et de la Presse Jeunesse (SLPJ) in Montreuil, to meet the authors Emile Bravo, president of the SLPJ, and Marie Boisson, Pépite d’ gold 2024.
Published on 29/11/2024 15:43
Reading time: 4min
On the occasion of the 40e edition of the Book and Youth Press Fair, All Public relocates to the Palais des Congrès in Montreuil, which hosts the event. A unique event for children’s literature, as the president of the show, the author Emile Bravo, attests: “It’s quite a French particularity to have this type of youth fair with so many participants and so many audiences.”
Thursday, November 28, school groups are indeed swarming between the stands, where young and old, seasoned readers, and others who are more novices mix. Khalissa, 11 years old, is part of the first category, she who holds a 700-page fantasy novel in her hands, and who confides on the microphone of All Public not spending a day without reading, loving the fact that reading leads her to “go through several emotions”she explains.
All Public also meets the 2024 Golden Nugget, the author Marie Boisson for her comic strip Bianca and the Forest of Lost Parents. This story, which is that of the schoolgirl Bianca, crosses the fantastic and the intimate and family quest. Drawing on her training at Arts Déco in Strasbourg, Marie Boisson integrates decorative arts in all its forms into her story, where the works of Niki de Saint Phalle, Matisse and Hector Guimard intersect. “What interests me is to be as generous as possible in all areas”she shares. This generosity is indeed found in his book, where a mixture of “the different strata of reading”particularly on a graphic level, where the author “show as many things as possible, so that you never get bored”.
The specialty of children’s literature is to integrate different reading levels that will delight parents and children alike. “I try to make Books that are aimed at the whole family, intergenerational books to share, explains Emile Bravo. Sharing a book with adults when you’re a child really develops and builds a child.” The author refers to the comic book legend René Goscinny, “who wrote stories with several reading levels and which made both parents and children laugh”.
The transmission of reading also happens through school. Clémentine, a French teacher in a high school in Troyes, is taking her students to the SLPJ this year with the aim of giving them a taste for reading. This outing is part of a project that she is carrying out with her second grade students. “We try to offer them readings, without forcing them, by asking them to read a chapter and identify what they like or not, and then lead them to other readings”she explains on the microphone of All Public. At his side, his student Nina approves of this project, she who has “never completely stopped reading”however, this “made me want to read even more and start reading again”.
A program with the participation of Augustin Arrivé, journalist at franceinfo.
Books cited during the show (in order of broadcast):
- Guardians of the Lost CitiesShannon Messenger (Lumen),
- 3D book: JeanJambe and the mystery of the depths, Matthias Picard (2024 Eds),
- Gold nugget 2024: Bianca and the Forest of Lost ParentsMarie Boisson (Misma),
- latest book by Emile Bravo : The Big Bad Wolf: The 7 dwarf bears against the big bad wolf (Youth Threshold),
- recommendation from Emile Bravo: The incredible Miss Bang!, Yoon-Sun Park (Dupuis),
- recommendation from Marie Boisson: Kid and his friend Taigne, Luca Méthé (Dupuis),
- Clementine’s recommendation: Brexit Romance by Clémence Beauvais (Sarbacane),
- Nina’s recommendation: Maker of Tears, Claire Bertholet (Hachette Novels).
Until December 8, 2024, the Galerie Robillard in Paris is exhibiting 50 illustrators who evoke their childhood readings in drawings.
