How many times, faced with the desire to try something new, do we just lack the push necessary to take the first step? The baby hippopotamus Bruno would like some friends, but his clumsiness makes him hesitate, at least until some good advice comes from Anna, a little bird who has traveled a lot and has learned something very important: «Sometimes you have to take a step towards others." Bruno then decides to take courage: this is how he meets Konny, a crocodile who is afraid of the dark, Lilli, a giraffe who speaks with a slightly funny "S", pronounced like an "F", Ingo, a flamingo a little revved up,” and other friends to sing, dance and have fun with.
The writer Dorothee König and the illustrator Emy Guerra with " Step by step " (Storiedichi edizioni, 2023, pp. 32, from five years old) give us a conciliatory and positive story that encourages us to overcome insecurities and make an effort to discover the beauty of everyone's uniqueness.
We ask the author, Dorothee König, how she came to write books for children:
«I was interested in reading and books from a very young age. I believe that well-written and illustrated stories are the best companions for children and prepare them for life. Stories can also be a refuge in an increasingly hectic daily life and give us the opportunity to travel in our imagination. Languages and their semantic subtleties have always fascinated me and that's why I studied philology. Writing has also always accompanied me, so much so that at a certain point the desire to write my own book arose. As a mother of three children with a passion for picture books, it was natural to put this idea into practice."
This is how Step by Step was born…
«I created the story of Bruno and his new friends a few years ago, when my children asked me to tell them a bedtime story. Usually I prefer to read to them rather than invent something, but on this autumn evening everything went without saying. For me it was important not only to come up with an engaging story, but also to convey a message to the children in terms of content. In German we say 'to take a step towards someone, to come towards someone', I took this expression as a starting point for the story. Together with the little ones, I discovered 'step by step' how wonderful it is to make new friends by approaching others in an open and without prejudice way."
In your opinion, what can help little ones make friends and get closer to others?
«Fortunately, in my opinion, children have a natural and non-judgmental way of approaching others. Prejudices against strangers and others usually only develop in the course of socialization, where everything is filtered more and more. Children are naturally curious about new things and are less afraid of the unknown and different than adults. However, it may happen that younger children find it difficult to get closer to other peers and make new friends. This may be due to the fact that they are more shy or reserved in nature, or because they feel uncomfortable in a particular situation. Furthermore, the fact that today's children have fewer siblings than in the past and the opportunities for 'free' play in spontaneously forming groups of peers, for example in the park, on the playground or in the squares, are becoming increasingly rare. Our children are more often alone or communicate on other media and digital networks."
How can we help them not feel too alone?
«To support children in creating friendships, you must first give them the space and time to do it! Children are very good at organizing themselves and integrating into a group without the disruptive intervention of adults. The younger generation should be taught the values of mutual respect, tolerance, helpfulness and open-mindedness towards others from an early age. This is the task and responsibility of all of us."
What role do Emy Guerra's illustrations have in the book?
«Emy Guerra's wonderful illustrations were and are decisive for the success of our illustrated book. With her unique talent and intuition and empathy, she was able to bring to the page the images created in my imagination as I told the story. Emy and I have been friends for many years and share the same values. This contributed to the fluid and harmonious way in which we worked together and led to this great result. The fact that all the drawings and illustrations were made by hand, without the aid of digital tools, underlines the value of this work. Emy Guerra's illustrations are authentic, honest, warm and reach straight to the hearts of readers young and old!