The idea behind the boardbook collection was to attract even the youngest readers (from as young as 3 years old); to encourage them to discover subjects and areas that interest them (nature, animals, shapes, etc.) and to help them classify the things that surround them. The series is comprised of ten little books. Two are instructive, teaching shapes and numbers; five are exploratory and describe settings that are fun to discover (farm animals, wild animals, the backyard and its insects, the vegetable garden) and three are short stories about the experience of birth in nature (the birth of a little bird, of a butterfly and of a flower). Narration becomes the background for the text since touching and picture reading are the primary means of interpretation. A guiding character accompanies the child throughout each developing story until the end, where there is a summary of all the characters introduced in the book. Consistent with the Montessori approach, the child is encouraged to interact independently with his or her book. For example, in some cases, the child is asked to use a finger to trace the outline of a shape and notice its characteristics (round, sharp-edged, jagged, etc.). In others, he or she is asked to use a finger to follow a path in order to discover hidden characters and learn to associate them with their most distinctive features (the lion’s tail, the rabbit’s ears, the colours of vegetables, etc.). AGES: 3 plus AUTHORS: Chiara Piroddi is a psychologist and expert in Neuropsychology, specialising in Cognitive-Evolutionary Psychotherapy. She graduated in Psychology at the University of Pavia in 2007 and continued as a teaching assistant for the Chair of Physiological Psychology, and as a lecturer in Practical Neuropsychology Training at the same academic institution. She completed her practical training at the Niguarda Ca’ Granda Hospital in Milan, where she has worked since 2008, acquiring clinical experience in children with serious mental and physical disabilities of all ages. Agnese Baruzzi graduated in Graphic Design at ISIA (Istituto Superiore per le Industrie Artistiche) in Urbino. She has worked as an illustrator and author since 2001, writing more than 40 children’s books that have been published in Italy, the UK, Japan, Portugal, the US, France and South Korea.
