Sous le Château (Under the Castle) at the French Immersion School of Washington by Maëla Barçon.

A project inspired by family stories

I have known my grandfather for 27 years, and yet, it was only one year ago that I learned more about his time as a soldier in Algeria between 1958 and 1960. I recall, as a child, knowing that he had been to Algeria, but this was not something people discussed; not with children, not with adults, not with anyone. When my grandfather, Jean-Louis, asked for my help in writing his memories, I didn’t hesitate; he was ready to talk, and the world was ready to listen.

When I met Sylvie Joseph-Julien and Lucía Rosmarino in September 2024, whose families lived through the Spanish Civil War in the thirties and the dictatorship in Uruguay in the seventies, respectively, we reflected on the fact that wars and dictatorships are topics discussed with adults, but rarely with children.

That is how the project "War and Dictatorship – how to talk about it with the youngest?" got started.

Our project War and Dictatorship – how to talk about it with the youngest?

We worked online for several months; Sylvie from Maple Valley, Washington, USA, Lucía from Montevideo, Uruguay, and I from Hamburg, Germany, and finally met in Oliva, Spain, for an author residency in January 2025. Together, we wrote the children's book Sous le Château, inspired by our family stories to talk about the topics of war and dictatorship with the youngest in a pedagogical way.

After workshops in schools in France, Uruguay, and China, I was pleased to join Sylvie in Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver, around Veterans Day.

Workshops at the French Immersion School of Washington on the occasion of Veterans Day

I was warmly welcomed by FISW teachers Doriane and Christel, where Sylvie and I did workshops on the war and the dictatorship with fifth-grade and middle school students.

We introduced the subject through our family stories and two children’s books, Flon-Flon et Musette by Elzbieta and Sous le Château written by Lucía Rosmarino, Sylvie Joseph-Julien, and me. The students read the books in groups and shared the story, the characters, and their impressions with the rest of the class. After the presentations, we discussed these books and their family stories. Many students wanted to share their family stories with the group - how one of their grandparents was part of World War II or other wars, and how it had impacted their family.

The exchange time was rich, and I was impressed by the French level of the students and the quality of their contributions.

Our main objective with this workshop was to arouse students’ curiosity about this subject, the same curiosity I had when my grandfather started to talk about his time in Algeria. I believed it was a success; at the end of the workshop, we gave students time to write a postcard to one of the books’ characters. All the students wrote questions to the characters and shared a bit of their story with Flon-Flon, Musette, Paco, or Téré.

They only put down their pens when the Consul General of France in San Francisco, Florian Cardinaux, visiting the school, entered the classroom.

Build a world where children are listened to, protected, and informed.

I was often told that this is a difficult topic to discuss with children. I agree. However, I cannot ignore what I saw when I helped Ukrainian refugees at the beginning of the war in February 2022. Children of all ages were drawing pictures of the war. It hit me; we can hardly protect children from hearing about wars and conflicts, but we can help them by accompanying them. We, as parents, teachers, and adults, can talk about these topics with the youngest suitably and educationally. Youth literature is a powerful tool in this regard.

A big thank you to the FISW team for having me. Together, we made a step forward towards a world where children are listened to, protected, and informed!

Maëla Barçon.

Author and European Project Manager

Resources

Sous le Château by Maëla Barçon, Lucía Rosmarino, Sylvie Joseph-Julien

Bio of the authors: Maëla Barçon, Lucía Rosmarino, Sylvie Joseph-Julien

Suggested books in French on the topic – War and Dictatorship:

• Flon-Flon et Musette by Elzbieta

• Otto, Autobiographie d‘un ours en peluche by Tomi Ungerer

• Sauve-toi Élie ! by Élisabeth Brami & Bernard Jeunet

• La Rédaction by Antonio Skármeta

• Jules et Jim, frères d‘arme by Jacques Goldstyn

• Lettres à une disparue by Véronique Massenot

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