A book of fairy tales that invites readers into a world where a princess croaks and a rainbow fairy paints a drab world in color has been launched at the Haferland Festival in the highlands of Transylvania.
Haferland
Veronica Schmidt and her daughter Ann-Kathrin wrote ‘Cheep and Chirp – A Mother and Daughter’s World of Enchantment,’ a labor of love for children from disadvantaged families enrolled in the M&V Schmidt Foundatio after-school project in Crit, the village at the heart of the Haferland or Oat Country Festival.
The foundation helps dozens of youngsters and encourages them to keep on learning and also pursue what they enjoy and are good at.
The book launch took place on Saturday July 30 in the courtyard of Casa Kraus, the old parochial house– now a boutique hotel– which wouldn’t look out of place in a Transylvanian fairy tale.
Straw bales
At the launch, barefoot children dressed in white linen dresses and shirts sat on straw bales covered with embroidered cloths surrounded by sunflowers and listened to excerpts from the illustrated book which has five stories: the Land of Birds, the Flower Kingdom, the Rainbow Fairy, the Frig Princess and the Wheaten Princess.
The event was not open to the media so the children would feel relaxed and could enjoy themselves.
Afterwards, the little ones asked Veronica and Ann-Kathrin Schmidt about the magical universe described in the book and wondered out loud whether the stories could actually become reality.
The old-world atmosphere of Casa Kraus and the fortified Saxon church next door gave a special fairy tale atmosphere as children chatted and laughed in the courtyard in the warm summer sun, a press release said.
Universe
The book is in Romanian, with English and German editions and dedicated to children and their parents. It aims to encourage young readers as they explore the world, and opens up a universe full of possibilities and opportunities, as well as touching on trust.
A formal book launch follows in Bucharest in September with the publishers, Curtea Veche. Proceeds from the sale of the book will go to charity.
