What is 35 million years old and still enticingly fresh and interesting? Admittedly, it is our very own Maltese history, so ancient and variegated, powerful, tragic and invincible. Most history buffs develop an interest in the subject thanks to inspirational teachers, but children tend to be disenchanted by what happened so many thousands of years ago, and scarcely interested because it all seems so very boring.
An archaeologist and scriptwriter with a penchant for creative writing, has adopted a storytelling angle to translate Malta's historic episodes into readable fun. Vanessa Ciantar is a senior executive within Heritage Malta's Education Division and has drawn upon her diverse skills to create some historic literature.
The making of 'L-Ewwel 35,000,000 Sena ta' Hajti', published in 2014, came about in a bid to reflect the recent Heritage Malta exhibition held at the National Museum of Archaeology in Valletta. 'Malta - The great story of a small island nation through 100 objects' used the picture book which depicts 'is-Sinjorina Malta', to target children aged up to 12. Written in Maltese, the book is richly illustrated by Martin Spiteri in comic cartoon imagery that elicits interest and curiousity, not only from children.
Ciantar's second history book for children is entitled 'A Bird's Eye View of the Great Siege'. Published in 2015, always by Heritage Malta, this time in collaboration with the Ministry for Education and Employment, this book is aimed at a slightly older junior audience and comes in the form of a workbook. "We firmly believe that picture books are of immense help in teaching history to children. This book has Maltese and English versions and is being distributed free to year six students,"Vanessa explains. She tells me how, "The first book was a bigger challenge for me, although I found it easier to narrate. Personally I love the period of the Roman era of Malta and so I was intensely versed in this slice of history. The following eras, namely the Byzantine and Arab periods are scantily documented in Malta and whilst it was difficult to write about these times due to very meagre documents being available concerning this period, it was important for me to be factual, whilst writing fiction."
Vanessa admits that it can be very challenging to write historic context for children. "In the first book I used a first person account which depicts Malta as a young woman. The second book is different and there are voices to several people, all men, all recounting and explaining different contexts of their experiences throughout history. I had to give a voice to each man as they explain warring experiences and political strategies. The second book involved teamwork between a number of people, including Jennifer Rose Bugeja, who contributed to the narrative text."
With another book in the pipeline, being prepared for 2016, Vanessa continues to aim for child friendly history that can be read, enjoyed, and ultimately understood.

'L-Ewwel 35,000,000 Sena ta' Hajti' & 'A Bird's Eye View of the Great Siege' by Vanessa Ciantar are Heritage Malta publications available at leading book sellers and Heritage Malta museums