Recovery of oral tradition for children's books
In the process that I have followed and continue to use today for the recovery of oral tradition, interviews with people I know in my environment (usually older people) have been the first step. I think that it is necessary to make a previous research taking advantage of the nearby resources. As my roots are in a village, I am lucky that most of the people who live there are older and usually have a good memory. If I lived in the city, I would always try to ask older people I knew.
The second step I follow is to collect popular phrases, customs, lived or known traditions, gastronomy, games and, in general, I like to make a study of the way of life in the village in the near past. Normally, I carry out this whole process by means of notes that I collect, either on paper or digitally. Of course, I always try to remember to have paper and pen or mobile phone at hand so that, in any situation, in the street, shopping, at the market, at the doctor's and, in general, in everyday life, I can pay close attention to what is spoken and how it is spoken, what expressions are used, what the tone is like, if they are words that are no longer used, if everyone knows them or if they are only spoken in that way in a specific house or environment.
After gathering all the information, I start thinking about different themes and titles to choose from when I intend to write a book. For me, it is fundamental to decide what the story is going to be about and what audience it is going to be aimed at: children, young people, adults, for all audiences, etc.
I also think it is important to confirm the language to be used. If it is going to be a story in Spanish, Valencian, English... if it is going to be rhymed or not, what the font is going to be like, if it is going to be special for children to learn to read, if it is going to have a typology for all audiences. In order to do this, I am usually guided by sources of information about the language such as: Google Translator, dictionaries, the Internet... My opinion is that it is essential to keep the original language of the phrases and maintain them as much as possible, as popular phrases may not have the same meaning if we change the language, or they may not sound too good when pronounced. It is necessary to preserve the essence.
Presentations and workshops to pass on the tradition
Another essential part for me is the whole issue of presentations and workshops. Once the whole process of creating the book is finished, the only thing left for me to do is to disseminate the events related to it through my social networks, acquaintances and family. Dissemination is the key element for the process of recovering the oral tradition to be effective.
Finally, the workshops I do in relation to the book, when it is a children's book, are very useful for children to acquire a taste for books and reading in a fun way, expand their vocabulary, encourage their creativity, as well as sharing family time doing activities together. Of course, I adapt these workshops to audiences of any age, with the same benefits: learning and having fun!
Visit the pilot developed Autumn workshop "Reading and Ceramics"