Saturday 17 February 2024 17:30
In February, the Children’s Reading Club for young booklovers aged 9 to 12 continues its meetings, facilitated by author Angeliki Darlasi. Angeliki Darlasi is a writer of prose and theatrical plays, while she has also engaged with television and cinema. Among her awarded works are: The Boy in the Royal Box, Badboy, When We Hid an Angel, and Dream Guardians.
The Reading Club meeting will be held in the presence of the author, Eleni Katsama.
The book Young Aisa from the coast of Africa has traveled on a pirate ship all the way to Crete, where he is sold as a slave to the palace of Knossos. He will live hidden in the galleys, often going unnoticed. Which is perhaps why he will find out the truth about King Minos, who turns out to be not so terrible after all, but rather a toothless old man. Aisa will also find out the truth about the entire royal family. He will hang out with Eos and Agatha. With them he will wander through secret rooms and basements, through the streets of the castle town, but also outside the city walls. He will dream of the stars, but will once again find war, fear and darkness. And in the end, he will face the wrath of nature. How will this wrath affect the Minoan civilization?
If you are a fan of brave children that stand out, if you like space-time travel and stories with (many different) kings and witches, then read this book and join us to talk about distant and yet so close civilizations, about the living conditions of children in different times and places, and much, much more...
The author Eleni Katsama was born in late July 1973. She enjoyed observing the world around her and coming up with stories about this or that. Growing up, she began to publish her stories, at times taking her cues from the lives of children and adolescents around the world, at other times from her own childhood, and at yet other times from the history of her beloved Crete. Books of hers have been awarded with the State Prize, the Greek IBBY prize, the prize of Anagnostis magazine, and some have also been listed in White Ravens. The adult novel “The Life and Deaths of Alexandra Delli” (Patakis Publishers, 2021) is her latest book. She has been working as chief editor in the publishing sector since 2004.
The facilitator A writer of literature for children and young adults, playwright and teacher of creative writing and theater.
Works and books of hers have been translated into English, Turkish, Korean, Spanish, and French. Her books have been adapted for theater (most recently, The Boy in the Royal Box, by the National Theater of Greece, 2021-2022) and puppetry performances, while some are in the pre-production stage to be adapted into films (on screenplays by the author herself), in Greece and abroad.
She has participated as co-author in productions of the State Theaters of Karlsruhe and Uppsala and the National Theater of Luxembourg (2021 & 2022), and the Union des Théâtres del'Europe (2018). Several plays of hers have been staged in Athens: Lighthouse–SNFCC, Athens Concert Hall, Art Theatre Readers’ Theatre Festival, Olympia International Film Festival for Children and Young People, Alkmini Theater, Amore Theater–stage B, et al. She has been repeatedly awarded and distinguished for her work (both prose and theatre).
Since 2006, she has been teaching Creative Writing and/or Theater to adults and children-teenagers, working with both public and private organizations (e.g. The Department of Theatre Studies of the University of Peloponnese, public and private post-secondary vocational schools, Metaichmio Publications, etc.). She is a motivational speaker and facilitator of activities for children and adolescents (creative writing, theater, arts and education, love of reading, etc.).
She holds degrees from the Athens University Department of Theatre Studies and the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (MA in Performance Studies).
Activities for children before the meeting The story of the book is set in the time of the Minoan civilization. Do you know anything about it?
– As you read the book, how different (or not) did you find the description of that period in relation to if you were reading about it in a history book? – Did you locate any similarities between that time and the present day? – What are the differences or similarities between the life of Aisa and that of a modern-day kid? Do you think there are currently children who live in conditions similar to his? – If you could ask the author, what would you like to find out about the story of this book?
Saturday 17/02, 17.30-19.00
Kids Lab, National Library of Greece Up to 22 participants, for children aged 9 to 12 Free admission; online preregistration required
Preregistration starts on 01/02, 12:00 noon.
Anyone reserving a seat at the Book Club is required to have read the book of the month. (ALSO, it is recommended that children have the book with them.)
All children must be accompanied by parents or adult attendants at all times, and accompanying adults must remain near the outdoors site of the activity at all times.
Eleni Katsama’s book The Young Slave of Knossos is available (in Greek) from Patakis Publishers.
As part of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center’s collaboration with the National Library of Greece (NLG), the book of the month has been chosen by NLG staff.
