The Book Shop With Red Hair…
Every quarter we will be inviting a bookseller from across the world to tell our readers about their shop and the events and work they do with Tomi’s books. To start the series off I am delighted to share with you David Tolin’s words. David is one of the founders of the adorable Pel di Carota bookshop in Padua, Italy.
There is a small corner of Padua where since 2010, the Pel di Carota bookshop and Tomi Ungerer has always been present. The "red-haired" bookshop (even if none of the booksellers have ever had red hair... in fact, they are now turning grey!) was founded by Arianna, David and Maurizio, with the aim of creating a space for children, where beautiful books, stories, and images were set at the centre of everything. For this reason Tomi's books are always some of the first to be presented to readers young and old who visit the shop. In via Boccalerie 29, November the 28th has become a day of celebration: it all began in 2011, a year after the opening, with a matinee at the cinema, where many boys and girls came to enjoy a film from the most famous of Tomi's stories: "The Three Robbers"
Since that time, we have continued to host many events dedicated to Tomi. We often keep a small corner stacked with all his books. One year, we even tried to invite him to Padua, to introduce him and meet his readers: unfortunately we didn't succeed, as he was too busy at the time.Among the reading promotion projects that we bring to schools there is always one that has Tomi at the centre: on the most unusual animals (for the little ones), on his battles (for the older ones). His stories of friendship, love, independence, tolerance, struggle, sometimes funny, or melancholy or political. are vital storiesfor all of us, with their strong and direct texts combined with powerful images.
We still have many projects that link us to Tomi, and of course many ideas for the future. There are now many little Paduans, whose library will never be without a Rufus, a Zeralda, a Casimir, an Isidore, a Ferdinand and Félix (and our favourite among the four little brothers!) Nuvola Blu, Tremolo, Otto The Teddy Bear, and Zloty. So happy reading everyone! Long live good books! Long live Tomi Ungerer!
Contact details:
Pel di carota
via Boccalerie, 29
35139 - Padova
Italy
http://www.peldicarota.it/
