Meeting Children at the TÜYAP Book Fair

Hello dear friends. In December I was at the 42nd International Istanbul Book Fair. While I was writing “A Year Full of Surprises in Şifa Köyü, 12 Months, 12 Adventures”, what I imagined most was meeting the children who would read it. The fair gave me that, and more.

At the signing

I signed books at the stand all day. A little girl came over with a yellow balloon and told me her favourite adventure: the pumpkin harvest. A mother said they read the books before bed and now every evening the question is “which month is it today?”. Hearing that was worth every month I spent writing.

The English edition was at the stand too. For families living abroad, reading the same story in two languages makes a lovely bridge.

The talk

In the fair’s talk room we spoke with children and their families. I told them about Şifa Köyü, heirloom seeds and how a seed turns into a vegetable. The children’s questions always land in the same place: “How long until the seed comes up?” And my answer is always the same: “If you look after it patiently, right on time.”

Thank you to everyone who came to the fair, read the books and wrote to me. You can find the whole set at the Şifa Köyü shop; see you at the next fair.

See the book set →

← All Articles