"The objective is to offer the book in another setting, outside, collective and dynamic that involves the activity of the body," explains Sylvie Vassallo, director of the Children's Book and Press Fair. This Wednesday opened in La Courneuve the ninth edition of the Literary Amusement Park, an event organized every year for the children of Seine-Saint-Denis to apprehend reading in an original way.
Funded by the departmental council, the device is accessible in its fixed version at Georges-Valbon Park until July 5. It will then circulate in its itinerant version, from July 11 to 28, and will make 40 stops in Seine-Saint-Denis and Île-de-France.
In the middle of the site, you can witness a unique scene: children are seated in canoes on the grass and read an open book in front of them while paddling. "We surprise them, and that makes the book an object of laughter and exchange that makes it possible to desacralize it," says Sylvie Vassallo.
"We are not facing a book leaning on the table, and it makes you want to be more interested in it"
Children discover unusual ways of approaching literature: they can read a book on a jumping ball or by walking with flippers. They also attend readings given by actors or can, with helmets and deckchairs provided, discover the immersion of the audiobook, all in the open air of the park.
This setting differs greatly from that of the school. "That's what's great," explains Sabine, a CE1 teacher in La Courneuve. The workshops are fun. We are not facing a book leaning on the table, and it makes you want to be more interested in it. »
The children, once they have finished the course, receive a free book, offered by the collaborating publishers of the event. "The goal is to democratize access to reading in a department where it is a real issue," concludes Sylvie Vassallo. We know how important this is for the development of children. »