A child psychologist, a children’s book author and a designer have decided to pool their skills to create a bilingual book for families in Madagascar. A totally innovative book in the existing offer of Malagasy children’s literature. By its theme, already, but also by its illustrations adapted to the diversity of young readers on the island.
With our correspondent in Antananarivo, Sarah Tetaud
Released on December 17 in bookstores, the book entitled, in French, Listening to my emotions was the next day out of stock. One hundred copies have already been pre-ordered. A plebiscite which surprised its authors and which says a lot about the interest and the change of mindset of parents vis-à-vis this theme.
” It starts from an observation where I realized that parents, culturally, do not talk about emotions “, explains Ashley Razafindrabe, psychologist. She co-signed the book. ” In many Malagasy families, we can speak of cultural bias. We are going to ask more people, whether adults or children, to silence their emotions. “Ah, don’t cry, you’re not a baby”, ‘”Don’t cry, it’ll pass”… We’re not going to listen to the person’s needs and I found that all the more so. more important to help Malagasy families put words to emotions “, she says.
” Express emotion without violent behavior »
In the book, eight emotions, described in children’s words, followed by an enumeration of different needs that could arise from the emotion in question, are expressed. ” Silencing the emotions, not letting them express themselves, is to run the risk of having an explosion, an excessive expression of this emotion. Giving children the words to be able to express themselves is showing them that we accept all emotions and we can then show how to express the emotion without violent behavior. “says Ms. Razafindrabe.
A book full of colors, where every Malagasy child, whether light or dark complexion, slanted eyes or not, frizzy or straight hair, whether able-bodied or in a wheelchair, can identify with it.