Bilingual Stories and Creative Recycling: New Children’s Workshops Kick Off with Fondazione Tangorra

There is a green thread that connects love for the environment, the magic of stories, and the discovery of new cultures. We experienced it firsthand on September 5 during the Open Green Days organized by Fondazione Lucrezia Tangorra in Novara. Participating in this day of celebration and sharing marked a special return for us at LiLi Community.

During the event, Fondazione Tangorra presented a rich program of cultural activities for the coming months, and we at LiLi Community are thrilled to be an active part of it. We believe that love for the environment and openness to new languages are born precisely through play and storytelling in early childhood. For this reason, during the event, we launched a special series of four creative workshops for children, designed to combine the magic of bilingual stories with the value of recycling.

The Workshop Experience 

Each meeting will unfold as a journey of about an hour and a half, divided into two parts. The event will open reading a bilingual picture book, aiming to stimulate imagination and linguistic curiosity. Following that, the children will dedicate themselves to a creative recycling workshop where they will give new life to salvaged materials, building an object inspired by the story they have just heard.

For the entire duration of each initiative, a bookstand will also be set up, where parents will have the opportunity to purchase copies of the featured books and explore a wide selection of picture books in Italian, Arabic, and English.

All meetings will take place at the premises of Fondazione Tangorra, located at via Buonarroti 26 in Novara.

The Schedule of the Four Events

1. The story train
   Saturday, October 17, from 3:30 PM to 5:30 PM | 8 to 10 years old
   We will read together the Italian and Arabic bilingual picture book Il treno by Salah El Mur (Edizioni Mesogea) and then bring to life a creative recycling workshop. Each participant will build their own personalized train car and connect it to those of their companions, creating a single large train.
   Please bring an empty 6-egg cardboard carton and four plastic caps from home.
   
   

2. Little scientists growing up
   Saturday, October 31, from 3:30 PM to 5:30 PM | 8 to 10 years old
   The aloud reading of the Italian and Arabic bilingual picture book Avicenna by Fatima Sharafeddine (Edizioni Gallucci) will transport participants on a journey into Middle Ages natural medicine. In the practical workshop that follows, children will analyze aromatic herbs and create an ancient medical papyrus, decorating it with the letters of the Arabic alphabet.
   Please bring a finished paper towel tube from home.
   
   

3. A jar of friendship
   Saturday, November 14, from 3:30 PM to 5:30 PM | 6 to 8 years old
   In this meeting, we will read together La zuppiera di Marzuk by Graziella Favaro (Carthusia Edizioni), a splendid bilingual book in Italian and Arabic focused on the themes of welcome, travel, and sharing. During the "Friendship Recipe" workshop, children will transform a simple transparent container into a special jar to keep emotions, memories, and stories.
   Please bring an empty and clean transparent glass or plastic jar from home.
   
   

4. My house of bread: A Brick of Dreams
   Saturday, November 28, from 3:30 PM to 5:30 PM | 6 to 8 years old
   The Italian and English bilingual picture book La casa del pane by Paola Zannoner (Carthusia Edizioni) will guide the little ones to discover the themes of integration and shared dreams. Afterwards, manual skills will join imagination to build together a collaborative village made of recycled materials. Please bring a well-cleaned milk or juice carton from home.

How to Register and Explore the Books

All workshops are free of charge, but reservation is mandatory and must be made on the official website of Fondazione Tangorra. All other decoration and assembly materials necessary for the manual activities will be provided on-site by the organizers.

Furthermore, if you wish to preview the details of the readings or want to explore our selection of bilingual picture books for children, we invite you to visit the LiLi Community website.