It is called “A Mia ea Magia do Arco-Íris” and, above all, it is a children's book that wants to convey a “message of hope” to children because “everything will be alright”. The story takes place during the period of confinement that forced us all to protect from an invisible virus that left so many marks. Therefore, this is a solidary work that will also help those who need it most.
The couple Pedro Águas and Inês Vargem, founder and CEO of the creative agency LCPA, respectively, are responsible for the book. The idea came to them during the time they too were at home.
«If for the adults it was not easy, for the younger ones it was even worse. We also have a little girl and we were able to understand this issue», begins by explaining Inês, to the Sul Informação.
The work was less, during times of confinement, which served as an incentive to make this dream come true.
«We don't like to sit idly by and Pedro started to think about what we, as a company, could do to help the community. He shared the idea with me, and I, in addition to being an educational psychologist, always dreamed of writing a book», she explains.
Business was combined with pleasure and that is how “A Mia ea Magia do Arco-Íris” was born, a small children's book, 32 pages, aimed at children aged 3 to 7 years.
The base was one of the most seen images during the confinement – the rainbows, many of them painted and placed in the windows of so many houses.
“As the kids were all painting rainbows, I thought of using that concept and turning it into a message of hope. We will never know if we will have to return to this quarantine situation or not», explains Inês Vargem.
The message the book wants to convey is very clear: hope. Hope that everything will be alright.
“We want to show the children how Mia was also in quarantine, but that the parents explained to her that it wasn't worth it to be scared because everything will pass”, says, smiling, the author of the texts in the book.
The part of the illustrations was in charge of Edgar, from Estúdio Onze, from Faro, in a challenge made by Pedro Águas and Inês Vargem to these partners of the LCPA agency. «We delivered the story and he, at a graphic level, worked autonomously», says Pedro Águas.
At a time when the consequences of Covid-19 continue to be felt, the book also has a solidarity aspect. In fact, "it couldn't be otherwise because we never had profit as our goal."
«We never thought of this as a profitable project and, therefore, we had to have this social concern contemplated here. Given the current situation, we thought of Refood because there are people going through great shortages even in terms of food. Thus, for each book sold, 1 euro goes to Refood», said Inês Vargem.
The work, which is now available for order here, will be on pre-sale at 9,90 euros. Afterwards, the value will rise to 12 euros. «For now, 200 units will be produced, but we want this to go so well that we have to produce more», says Pedro Águas.
For those who cannot buy, there will be a digital version, free and available for download, as well as a audiobook.
It is certain that the story of the book has already been tested and the children's acceptance was good. «In the course of the process, we also took in a number of people we knew to test the story with the youngest and the feedback it was quite positive, in terms of impact», says, proudly, Pedro Águas.
This adventure has just started, but the couple Pedro and Inês already have more stories up their sleeves.
“We thought of a project called “Stories that Teach” with the aim of making more books in the future that will be part of teaching important messages. We are talking, for example, about the issues of racism, food waste, drugs», advances Pedro Águas.
Because, he concluded, "all these issues can be difficult to explain" to children.
«What we always want, with this book and with those that come, is to give the community a working tool in the area of education».
Photos: Barbara Caetano | Sul Informação
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