HEADLINER
Publisher
Talents Hauts
Publication Date
06 March 2014
Children's Books
DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF GIRLS
Since its inception in 2005, éditions Talents Hauts has made a name for itself in breaking gender stereotypes by including them and related issues in children's books. Its La Déclaration des droits des filles ("Declaration of the Rights of Girls") and La Déclaration des droits des garçons ("Declaration of the Rights of boys") have sold more than 35,000 copies in France and have been translated into more than 10 languages. Laurence Faron, Managing Director of Talents Hauts, reflects on the titles and their success.
Published in 2014, long before the #MeToo movement and the feminist wave that followed, the Déclarations des droits des filles et des garçons, for children aged 5-9, take the issues of gender and stereotypes head-on. Praised by the media and endorsed by teachers across France, these two books quickly seduced foreign publishers as well.
BIEF: Laurence Faron, the Déclarations break stereotypes and offer girls and boys the chance to live and have fun on equal footing. How were you, together with Élisabeth Brami and Estelle Billon-Spagnol, able to do this?
Laurence Faron: The hardest part was finding a format. The text, written by Elisabeth Brami, well-known author of a hundred children's books and former child psychologist, is modelled on the Declaration of Human Rights of 1789: "Article 1 - Girls and boys have the right to..." and so on for 15 Articles. In order not to make any mistakes and for it to draw children in, it was necessary to add some meat, for example, humor. This was Estelle Billon-Spagnol’s talent. She brought to life the many principles of each Article of the Déclarations through her very vivid sketches. The disparity between the seemingly austere text and the fantasy illustrations was the key.
BIEF: How did you get the idea to also publish La Déclaration des droits des garçons?
L.F.: Girls are not the only victims of sexism, and the education of tomorrow's men is very important for equality. Élisabeth Brami saw instigating buying the books together as a proactive approach, a way to raise awareness to the fact that sexism affects everyone and is not just a women's issue! The books were published in pairs: girls and boys, moms and dads. Some countries chose to group the four of them into a single "mixed" volume.
BIEF: What was the reaction to these books in France?
L.F.: In France it’s rare for the press to focus on children's literature, the Déclarations have, however, gotten a lot of coverage, including radio and television. Reactions have been very positive: "A book that all little girls should have on their shelves!" (France 2); "… Always funny, really humorous illustrations, and a message: boys have the right to cry, girls the right to not be princesses every day!" (France Info), to site only a few. Teachers immediately understood the educational value of these books and often use them in the classroom to get children to debate and reflect on the citizenship issues that are part of the primary school curriculum in France. Most importantly, it’s the children who are flooding us with drawings, posters and booklets in which they interpret other examples of the Articles with humor, anger and feeling - Illustrating how close to their realities these books come.
BIEF: Which countries have bought the rights?
L.F.: To date, English (for Ireland and the United Kingdom only), Latin America, mainland China, as well as Hong Kong and Taiwan, Korea, Turkey, Vietnam, Italy, Germany, Belarus... And there are others in the pipeline! The first sales were to Italy, China and Germany, probably in connection with the international fairs we attended. Latin America came after the Guadalajara Book Fair, and, of course, the English version of Little Island is bringing in more contacts.
BIEF: What attracts foreign publishers?
L.F.: The books speak for themselves! They are both essential to all mankind and accessible to everyone. You could say it’s easy! Furthermore, the alignment of substance and form seduced foreign publishers. Since 2017, everyone has been looking for titles about gender which made it even easier. But abroad, like in France, the truth is that stereotypes need to be properly addressed. We must challenge ourselves to expose them by denouncing them. I find it even more important to portray mothers that are not just thin and sexy and fathers who are bald, unemployed and frail, and not just perfect clichés. It’s important that children can identify with the representations.
BIEF: Did international editions need modifications?
L.F.: Article 15 of the four albums all say, "Girls/boys/moms/dads have the right to love who they want." This article is problematic in countries where individual freedoms are not yet assured. But for the rest, the situations represented are so varied that they relate to everyone and I am often surprised to see how many more things we actually have in common than those we have which separate us. At each fair I make new contacts and the most conservative countries are not the most resistant!
BIEF: Do you know how foreign publishers have promoted the Déclarationsin their countries?
L.F.: Many have asked for Amnesty International’s endorsement, which they have received. We are quite proud of this. We work regularly with Amnesty International, as they endorse many of our publications. Their commitment is in line with ours. Other publishers have presented the titles to government educational programs. Some plan to invite the author and illustrator to signings.
Interview by Katja Petrovic
October 2020
Since its inception in 2005, éditions Talents Hauts has made a name for itself in breaking gender stereotypes by including them and related issues in children's books. Its La Déclaration des droits des filles ("Declaration of the Rights of Girls") and La Déclaration des droits des garçons ("Declaration of the Rights of boys") have sold more than 35,000 copies in France and have been translated into more than 10 languages. Laurence Faron, Managing Director of Talents Hauts, reflects on the titles and their success.
Published in 2014, long before the #MeToo movement and the feminist wave that followed, the Déclarations des droits des filles et des garçons, for children aged 5-9, take the issues of gender and stereotypes head-on. Praised by the media and endorsed by teachers across France, these two books quickly seduced foreign publishers as well.
BIEF: Laurence Faron, the Déclarations break stereotypes and offer girls and boys the chance to live and have fun on equal footing. How were you, together with Élisabeth Brami and Estelle Billon-Spagnol, able to do this?
Laurence Faron: The hardest part was finding a format. The text, written by Elisabeth Brami, well-known author of a hundred children's books and former child psychologist, is modelled on the Declaration of Human Rights of 1789: "Article 1 - Girls and boys have the right to..." and so on for 15 Articles. In order not to make any mistakes and for it to draw children in, it was necessary to add some meat, for example, humor. This was Estelle Billon-Spagnol’s talent. She brought to life the many principles of each Article of the Déclarations through her very vivid sketches. The disparity between the seemingly austere text and the fantasy illustrations was the key.
BIEF: How did you get the idea to also publish La Déclaration des droits des garçons?
L.F.: Girls are not the only victims of sexism, and the education of tomorrow's men is very important for equality. Élisabeth Brami saw instigating buying the books together as a proactive approach, a way to raise awareness to the fact that sexism affects everyone and is not just a women's issue! The books were published in pairs: girls and boys, moms and dads. Some countries chose to group the four of them into a single "mixed" volume.
BIEF: What was the reaction to these books in France?
L.F.: In France it’s rare for the press to focus on children's literature, the Déclarations have, however, gotten a lot of coverage, including radio and television. Reactions have been very positive: "A book that all little girls should have on their shelves!" (France 2); "… Always funny, really humorous illustrations, and a message: boys have the right to cry, girls the right to not be princesses every day!" (France Info), to site only a few. Teachers immediately understood the educational value of these books and often use them in the classroom to get children to debate and reflect on the citizenship issues that are part of the primary school curriculum in France. Most importantly, it’s the children who are flooding us with drawings, posters and booklets in which they interpret other examples of the Articles with humor, anger and feeling - Illustrating how close to their realities these books come.
BIEF: Which countries have bought the rights?
L.F.: To date, English (for Ireland and the United Kingdom only), Latin America, mainland China, as well as Hong Kong and Taiwan, Korea, Turkey, Vietnam, Italy, Germany, Belarus... And there are others in the pipeline! The first sales were to Italy, China and Germany, probably in connection with the international fairs we attended. Latin America came after the Guadalajara Book Fair, and, of course, the English version of Little Island is bringing in more contacts.
BIEF: What attracts foreign publishers?
L.F.: The books speak for themselves! They are both essential to all mankind and accessible to everyone. You could say it’s easy! Furthermore, the alignment of substance and form seduced foreign publishers. Since 2017, everyone has been looking for titles about gender which made it even easier. But abroad, like in France, the truth is that stereotypes need to be properly addressed. We must challenge ourselves to expose them by denouncing them. I find it even more important to portray mothers that are not just thin and sexy and fathers who are bald, unemployed and frail, and not just perfect clichés. It’s important that children can identify with the representations.
BIEF: Did international editions need modifications?
L.F.: Article 15 of the four albums all say, "Girls/boys/moms/dads have the right to love who they want." This article is problematic in countries where individual freedoms are not yet assured. But for the rest, the situations represented are so varied that they relate to everyone and I am often surprised to see how many more things we actually have in common than those we have which separate us. At each fair I make new contacts and the most conservative countries are not the most resistant!
BIEF: Do you know how foreign publishers have promoted the Déclarationsin their countries?
L.F.: Many have asked for Amnesty International’s endorsement, which they have received. We are quite proud of this. We work regularly with Amnesty International, as they endorse many of our publications. Their commitment is in line with ours. Other publishers have presented the titles to government educational programs. Some plan to invite the author and illustrator to signings.
Interview by Katja Petrovic
October 2020