Dear Colleagues,
The Department funded Pavee Point to develop a book pack of three books for Traveller children under 8 years. In the pack is:
- The Slug and Snail, written by Oein DeBhairduin and illustrated by Olya Anima and is best described as an Irish Traveller folktale for children.
- The Fairy Queen, written by Chrissy Donoghue Ward and illustrated by Monika Mitkute, a tale rooted in the oral story telling tradition of the Irish Traveller community.
- Sheila’s Busy Day, a book for young pre-schoolers written by Oein DeBhairduin, a wonderful real life telling of pre-schooler Sheila as she goes through her busy day.
The publication and distribution of culturally appropriate books is an action of the Traveller Roma Education Strategy. With this book pack we can be assured that young Traveller children have access to a number of high-quality Irish books supporting their culture and identity. The books are at the printers and ready to go out to Equal Start early learning and care services in the coming weeks. The expectation is that these packs will eventually be available to all partner services in the months ahead.
If you are an Equal Start setting and have not received your book pack by the end of October, can you please contact the Equal Start Team at EqualStart@dcde.gov.ie to let us know.
Kind regards,
The Equal Start Team