The bilingual graphic novel that will help your child discover their culture and write in their home language.

Listen to the reason why some of the backers of this project decided to support the creation of this book.

DOWNLOAD PREVIEW

Available on Amazon in:

NOTE: Get the book in the version of the community / school language. Your child can then personalise it with their home language and culture.

The Story

The project in a nutshell

(Kickstarter campaign video)

When Anna is mysteriously sent back in time, she quickly realises that her family's destiny is in her hands. Luckily she is accompanied by her grandpa and ... Wait... He is only 8-years-old, and they don't even speak the same language!
Can Anna really fulfill her destiny and save her great-great-grandma?

An original format that helps children explore their multilingual multicultural identity

In Search of a Lost Words is a book that can be personalised to any home language, culture and family. By completing the speech bubbles and parts of some illustrations the reader gets a chance to reflect on their own multilingual multicultural journey.

Write titles of famous tales in your home language.

Fruits you typically find at your grandparents' place

Sound of knife cutting vegetables on a cutting board.

Anna grew up bilingual but when we meet her at 14 years old, she only understand very little of her dad's language does not speak it. This setting is what enables the whole story to be so beneficial to the multilingual readers.

An invitation to write in the home language:

In this book, whenever a character speaks in that language, the speech bubbles are empty and accompanied by keywords that represent what Anna can understand. Based on the context, Anna and the reader work out what is being said, to complete them in the home language.

An exploration of the home culture:

A culture is made out of many tiny details (food, songs, popular stories, the scenery, etc) that our children might consciously or unconsciously notice. By needing to complete these illustrations, the reader is reminded of what is making up their home culture.

When our children grow up in a different country, they might not always be aware of all these details. This is the perfect opportunity for children and their parents/grandparents to talk about them.

Linguistic and cultural differences discussed in a fun way:

When there are children from several cultural backgrounds in a classroom, the aspects explained above can generate very interesting conversations around cultural and linguistic differences.

The onomatopoeia to add (such as the sound of a knife cutting vegetables in the example above) is another fun way to address this topic.

Available on Amazon in:

Author School Visit

Multiple versions available

This bilingual graphic novel is designed to be read in the school/community language and completed in the home language (with elements of the home culture).

There are currently six versions in production in the following languages: English, French, Italian, German, Dutch, and Japanese.

Here are a few examples to help you choose the right version:

Example 1:
A child living in Italy 🇮🇹 and going to an Italian school,and speaking French 🇫🇷 with his mum at home.
The mum wants him to write in French and talk with him about his French family and the French culture.
📘 the ITALIAN version is the one to choose.

Example 2:
A child living in the Netherlands 🇳🇱 going to an English school 🇬🇧, and speaking Italian 🇮🇹 and German 🇩🇪 at home.
📘 This child could either choose
the 🇳🇱DUTCH version
OR
the 🇬🇧 ENGLISH version
(to complete in one of the two home languages)

Example 3:
A child living in Malawi 🇲🇼 and who speaks Chichewa at home and going to a British International school 🇬🇧.
📘 If used in class, the ENGLISH version would allow the child to share the Chichewa language and Malawian culture with their teachers and other students.