When I first heard about this new book by Elisavet Arkolaki, it
immediately intrigued me, as the title reminded me about one of my favourite
paintings by French post-Impressionist artist, Paul Gauguin. The painting I’m
referring to is; Where Do
We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?
Elisavet Arkolaki is a mother, a professional
writer, and also runs www.maltamum.com which is the top parenting blog in Malta.
Where am I from? is a
new children's book featuring 12 illustrations-murals, 1 mural for the book
cover, and a wonderful message. To put it simply, it wants to bring a message
of peace & unity while teaching children about different countries, and the
beauty of street art & graffiti. In fact, the artist will paint on walls,
and then proceed with taking high resolution pictures with a professional
camera. The murals will be painted in Athens by Platon, a most well-known street
artist in Greece, and his pictures will accompany the story. This is the very first time, that a
children’s book will be illustrated entirely with street art.
There’s even a sweet story behind
how the author decided to collaborate with this particular artist, who will
bring her idea to life. “Because we are good friends. I know him since we were
in our early 20s, and he has evolved into an amazing artist through the years.
He’s also a father of a young child, so we could share the same vision about
this book,” author Elisavet Arkolaki said.
The book portrays a total number
of 9 kids from around the world, with different racial backgrounds. These kids gather
together to try to find a universal answer to the question: Where am I from?
It will take these young ones on a quest in search of common origins. There’s a
lot of travelling in the story, and the kids push forward their own points of
view, so that they may arrive at a rational conclusion and solve the riddle.
It’s a picture book packed with a
universal positive message and jaw-droppingly beautiful street art. Like all
picture books, it’s meant to be read to a child, and gives the adult reader the
opportunity to fill in as much detail as they would like. Parents
can use reading time as bonding time. As time when no phones are being checked.
When the distractions of the world are put aside.
To fund this innovative book
project, a total of €10,500 needs to be raised by Wednesday, August
15th. A crowdfunding campaign is now live on Kickstarter with lots of
rewards up for grabs. Backers can choose anything in between eBooks
and hardcover books, all the way up to the possibility of sponsoring a mural
and having a book character painted after their child.
Provided the campaign is fully
funded, Faraxa will be publishing this book, which is mainly targeting children
from pre-school to 8-year-olds. The artist will complete the murals by end of
May 2019. Faraxa will be finalising the book production by end of July 2019,
and finally, in August 2019, the books and e-books will be released. Where am I from? will be available for
purchase on the Faraxa Publishing's website, while more updates can be found on
the Malta Mum Facebook Page in the coming months.
This article was originally published last Wednesday 18 July on MaltaToday.
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