Promoting the pleasure of reading at school

This was the purpose of the event organised at the École des Arts at Thonon-les-Bains on Friday 21 October by Bolloré Thin Papers in the framework of its commitment towards the association Lire et faire lire.

The partnership between Bolloré Thin Papers and Lire et faire lire has entered into a new chapter. The paper manufacturer had already supported the “Sacs de pages 2011” project, which allowed volunteers working for the association to share their pleasure of reading with children aged between 3 to 12 years old in holiday camps.

This Autumn, Bolloré Thin Papers wanted to implement a new partnership which would demonstrate its commitment on a more local scale: in collaboration with Astronome Publishing House, the company organised a reading afternoon on 21st October on the theme of animals at the Ecole primaire des Arts at Thonon-les-Bains.

The seventy second-year primary school children present were able to listen to some classic children’s poetry such as excerpts from the Little Prince, Peter and the Wolf, as well as some fables by Jean de la Fontaine, which were performed and illustrated using slide shows and music. Our reading afternoon also allowed young performers to learn more about the various stages of book manufacture, in addition to information about other linked professions such as that of the publisher, printer, paper-manufacturer, illustrator, and of course the writers themselves. 

The event was concluded with a meal and each pupil was given a copy of the Michel Butor book Grey Wolf Blue Wolf. This will continue in school after the All Saint’s (Haloween) holiday with written activities where the pupils will be given free rein for  their imaginations to express what inspires them from usual language used to describe animals (a dog’s life, to have ants in your pants, to shed crocodile tears, etc.). Their written work will be compiled in a book which will be published in December by Astronome Publishing House. 

For further information about the association, please visit the following website: www.lireetfairelire.org