French Books for Mental Health: FBMH

Programme(s): Creative Europe Programme (CREA)
Topic: CREA-CULT-2024-LIT
Type of action: CREA Lump Sum Grants
Project ID: 101191900

Objective: The full-scale war in Ukraine has been going on for the third year. Many families were separated, many people moved from their homes and still have not returned. The prolonged crisis has taken a toll on the mental well-being of children, underscoring the urgent need for intervention and support. My Bookshelf Publishing House wants to provide support for Ukrainian children with the help of funny, a little silly, but fascinating stories. The aim of this project is to translate 25 books from French to Ukrainian and then create professional audiobooks for each chosen title. 25 chosen books are originally published by different French publishers. We chose these books focusing on a broad age group- from 3 to 8 years old which helps to optimize the project and make the final product suitable for more customers. Books can be divided by topic into three groups: 1) silly and funny books to make children laugh; 2) books that encourage reading; 3) books to get emotional. Thus, with the help of these works, we will help to close the various emotional needs of children and distract them from the sad circumstances of today. Audiobooks are a big part of this project because they will allow children who cannot read yet, as well as people with visual impairments, to get acquainted with the stories. Moreover, repetition of the actions, in this case, listening to familiar stories, calms and grounds children in stressful situations. An additional motivation for this project is the acquaintance of Ukrainian children with French culture. Joint thematic readings and cultural events are planned in Ukraine. Also, with the support of PLAST organizations and the Ukrainian Cultural Center in France, events are planned in France aimed at the integration of Ukrainian children into French society, which is still relevant for refugee children from Ukraine.