Refugee children in Germany and Sweden welcomed with books especially for them from Bonnier Carlsen and Carlsen Verlag.
At children’s book publisher Carlsen Verlag in Germany, a handful of employees wondered how they could support refugees arriving into the country, thinking beyond fundraising campaigns and personal donations, and instead focusing on using their expertise as a children’s book publisher.
What they came up with was a special edition of one of Carlsen’s most beloved series, the Pixi books, published in the languages of many of the incoming refugees – Arabic, Serbian, Kurdish and Farsi. “We really wanted to demonstrate a gesture of comfort to people who had left everything behind,” says Franziska Dettke, part of the group behind the initiative. The story they chose focuses on friendship and taking care of one another, and the books include a vocabulary list of common words and phrases in German at the back.
A total of 30,000 copies were sent to 50 refugee camps in December 2015, plus the stories were published digitally on Carlsen’s website. Support has been strong, Dettke says, with thanks pouring in from volunteers, teachers and NGOs and employees are planning on visiting refugees’ homes in Hamburg to personally give out the books. “It seems as if the special edition of Pixi books has been only the beginning,” says Dettke.
Meanwhile, at Bonnier Carlsen, the Swedish children’s book publisher also used its expertise in a separate initiative to show how it could support children arriving in the country from countries torn by conflict. Working together with one of its star author-illustrators, Stina Wirsén and the book club Bonniers Bokklubb in a cooperation with Save the Children, the publisher put out a special coloring book featuring Wirsén’s popular Brokiga characters. The coloring books, published in six languages – Swedish, English, Arabic, Dari, French, Farsi and Somali – were distributed in 1,000 packets along with Wirsén’s book Titta! (Look!) by Save the Children to refugee families recently arrived in Sweden. Bonniers Bokklubb members were also given a chance to “buy” packages to be delivered by Save the Children.
As part of the initiative, Wirsén also worked in special reading and coloring workshops at refugee residences. “The idea is that the children can draw more with the pictures and story I’ve started,” says Wirsén. “They become co-creators of a story, a book they can read over and over again.”
The initiative is a long-term project, with plans to eventually include more books.
“It’s so incredibly important to show these kids that they are welcome here,” said Wirsén in an interview published on Bonnier Carlsen’s website. “Hopefully, they will stay here for a long time. They’re our future, the ones who will be doing surgery on our eyes and taking care of children in our kindergartens.”