A morning in the library with ‘Letture al Settimo Cielo’ (Readings in Seventh Heaven) for the whole family
Last Saturday, 5th April, about twenty families happily ‘colonised’ the colourful and welcoming space of the Casa dei Bimbi Library in the VII Municipality, in Rome, for the second event of the small exhibition ‘Letture al VII Cielo’ (Readings in Heaven), as part of the Peer Sharing project. Two spaces, set up for the different needs of children from zero to three years and from three to six years, welcomed young readers from the neighbourhood and other areas of the capital. In the Rome Library system, Casa dei Bimbi is considered the place to go for children's literature, a special place for socialising through reading thanks to its rich programme of events dedicated to children. A place created to introduce children to the magic of reading from a very young age, immersed in a park designed for play.
The trainers of the Cartastraccia association engage their young listeners with illustrated books, animated narrations and readings aloud, welcoming all the children's suggestions and proposals to provide an engaging and stimulating experience. ‘The aim was to introduce a place that is significant for the 7th municipality to those who had never borrowed a book before, but also to enrich the relationship between parents and children. How? By winking at the variety library and therefore presenting big books, small books, books without words. There was also a very deep exchange with the adults, who asked us questions about the use of books in the family’, said Orsola Longhini, of the Cartastraccia association, created to bring young people and children closer to reading and the use of libraries, and to spread the knowledge and pleasure of artistic, craft and multimedia activities.
The initiative, also organised by Nuovi Legami and the Lazio section of the National Library Association (AIB Lazio), is a proposal of the Peer Sharing project, coordinated by ForumSad (leader), to create an educating community together. Maddalena Battaggia, president of the Italian Library Association (AIB) Lazio, commented: ‘Reading is, throughout life (and especially for children), fundamental for developing emotions, increasing vocabulary and nurturing curiosity about the world. We have connected local institutions, such as the library, with families, towards an increasingly cohesive and united society, which grows together through words’.
Peer Sharing is a project selected by Impresa sociale Con i bambini as part of the Fund for Combating Child Educational Poverty.
By Onelia Onorati, press office
