Minister for Education and Employment Owen Bonnici was presented with the book ‘The Thousand Questions of Dino Ricciolino about the Coronavirus’. This publication was made possible thanks to the National Literacy Agency and is aimed at children aged three to ten years old.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many families around the world saw their daily habits change drastically from one day to the next. The aim of this book is to answer with clarity and simplicity, but at the same time with scientific accuracy, the thousand questions that crowd the minds of the little ones.
Minister Bonnici said that, “knowledge is always the first step towards understanding the world around us. With this guidebook, we want to equip children with information they require to face reality, but also increase their sense of responsibility. This publication is also an aid for families to answer their children's questions clearly.”
“The decision for a bilingual book, in both Maltese and English, reflects our wish to reach all the children in Malta and Gozo. We will also be giving the Maltese and English eBook free of charge to students,” continued Minister Bonnici
The publisher explained how, “Chiara Battistelli, the author, sent me this manuscript last March. Coupled with the illustrations by Onda S. it was evident that it had the potential to become a fantastic educational publication, so I accepted it. Thanks to the Maltese translation of ‘The Thousand Questions of Dino Ricciolino about the Coronavirus’, I would also like to showcase the beauty of our language when it faces challenges for adequate terminology which can be used in everyday language.”
They thanked everyone who has contributed towards the production of this publication especially Mr David Muscat at the National Literacy Agency because he always supports such projects.
The Italian author of this book is Chiara Battistelli and the colourful illustrations were drawn by Onda S. The Maltese translation was done by Joanne Micallef, edited by Toni Aquilina and proofread by the Maltese Literacy Agency. The editing and English language proofreading were done by Proofreading Malta. The book design was done by Naomi Gatt.