Reading Club: Children’s Book | Off I Go - Εικόνα

The SNFCC’s Book Club for Children renews its appointment with young book lovers for May, facilitated by theater pedagogue Artemis Manou, and also available online!

The read of this month is Off I Go by Sakis Serefas

On Sunday, May 22, young readers will meet at the Book Castle to share impressions, feelings and thoughts, as well as to embark on an imaginary journey, sparked by the book of the month, into the fascinating worlds emerging from its pages. 

In addition, this month’s meeting will also take place online via Zoom, on Saturday, May 28. 

The book:
“Once upon a time there was a road.
A small road.
A very small road.
A very, very, very small road.
There it is:
.
As big as a full stop.”

This is the beginning of the book we will be reading this month. It is the story of a very, very small road that starts out its journey, its “life”, with high spirits, dreams, questions, changes, twists, surprises, and backflips. A road that meets new faces, loves, beefs, separations, celebrations, and great joys. A road that goes in and out of fairy tales! That makes friends, thinks, reflects, changes and, of course, grows. Just like any other living thing on the planet. Someone might protest: But it is a road! Well, sure... Of course...
So, let’s follow its story of adventure and knowledge and, above all, words. Words that are beautiful or strange or funny; words unfolding along this road, which grew and grew and grew to be many kilometers long—yes, that road that started out as a dot grew exponentially—before it finally became a— Full stop. I am putting a full stop before I tell you what happens in the end. But you can find out yourself by reading the book for May, a book that feels like it is like tickling our imagination, tingling our mind!
 

The author:
Sakis Serefas has published 70 books of poetry, prose, theater, essays about cities, places and poets, translations and anthologies, books for children. Plays of his have been staged at the National Theater of Greece, the National Theater of Northern Greece, the Athens Epidaurus Festival, the Philippi Festival of Kavala, the Art Theater Karolos Koun, the Experimental Stage “tis Technis", the Tristan Bates Theatre (London, in English translation), and elsewhere. His play Mam was honored with the “Karolos Koun 2007” award for Greek Theatrical Play by the Union of Greek Theatre Critics. His play Mission to Planet Earth was honored with the Ministry of Culture's Award, 2007. His book A Dinosaur on My Balcony was honored with the National Award for a Children's Educational Book, 2008. His book A Hole in the Water was honored with the "Penelope Maximou" Award by IBBY Greece in 2012. In 2015, he was honored with the National Award for a Children’s Literary Book for Δρόµο παίρνω, δρόµο αφήνω [Off I Go]. His play Hands was honored in the short theatrical play category at the Readers Theater International Festival 2021 competition themed: “200 Years of Revolution? Rewriting Ancient Myths Today.” 
 

The facilitator:
Artemis Manou holds a BA in Greek Language and Literature (Linguistics major) from the University of Athens and an MA in Teaching Greek as a Foreign/Second Language. In addition, she has graduated from the Drama School of Vassilis Diamantopoulos. After working for a few years in private education and as an actress, since 2009 she has been combining her love of theater and children, working as a motivational speaker and a theater director. She has co-operated with Onassis Stegi at the Youth Theater Festival, where she wrote theatrical plays and directed performances for teenagers, and at the experiential learning program “Contemporary Art: First you live... then you understand” that Onassis Stegi carried out in primary schools, where she organized workshops for creative expression on contemporary art stimuli together with Tzeni Argyriou, Andreas Kasapis and Myrto Tikof. Since 2017, she has been working at the National Theatre, facilitating workshops for children, teenagers and educators. She has authored a total of 15 plays for teens. A special place in her heart belongs to the National Theatre's program “Theater in Greek," with the participation of Greek and refugee teenagers. The theatrical play The Journey, which she co-authored with Vangelis Kyriakou, was included in the repertoire of the National Theatre Young People's Stage in 2018. She was born and lives in Athens. But she dreams of living in many other places too – together with her family. 
 

Activities for children before the Book Club meeting:

  1. Draw your favorite part of the road, whichever way you imagine it!
  2. “The road was left all alone. Not knowing where to go, as if it lost its way, it moved on to—”: think of a detour at this point in the book, and come up with something else that you think helped the road grow;
    Or,
    imagine your own road, the road you would like to follow growing up: what kind of a road is it, where does it go through, what does it meet along the way, and where does it end up? 

 

Sunday 22/05  | 17.00-18.15
MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN

Up to 22 participants | For children aged 7 to 10
Free participation by online pre-registration

 

Saturday 28/05 |17.00-18.15
ΖΟΟΜ

Up to 25 participants | For children aged 7 to 10
Free participation by online pre-registration

 

Pre-registrations starts on Monday 02/05, at 12.00

 

Moderator: Artemis Manou

Anyone reserving a seat at the Book Club is required to have read the book of the month.

Sakis Serefas’s book Off I Go is available from Metaichmio Publications.

 

Due to public health measures, there may be changes regarding either the staging of the event, or the maximum number of participants.

Children should always be accompanied by parents or adult chaperones, who should stay outside the activity area for as long as the activity lasts.

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