Wer ist eigentlich Lavinia BraniÈte? Und was mag/macht sie fĂŒr KinderbĂŒcher? Drei Fragen an die Autorin aus RumĂ€nien.

â How did you start to write books for children (and young people)?
I was translating childrenâs books for a living when I decided, in 2014, to take part in the annual manuscript contest organised by our biggest publisher for children, Arthur. They also give prize money, so it came partially from a financial need and partially from my curiosity to see if I can do it. It was a challenge (I had written two collections of short stories before, for adults) and I thought it would be a one time try. I never saw myself as an author for children up to that moment.
And then the jury liked the manuscript and they published the first Rostogol book, which became the first of a series â there are three titles so far. I started to enjoy writing for children a lot and I also enjoy meeting the readers, I like their pure joy when they like the book, their honesty when they donât like it and I love all the strange and funny questions that they ask.
Und dann gefiel der Jury das Manuskript und man veröffentlichte das erste âRostogolâ-Buch, das das erste einer Reihen von bisher drei Teilen ist. Ich fing an, das Schreiben fĂŒr Kinder sehr zu genieĂen und mir gefĂ€llt es, meine Leser zu treffen. Ich mag ihre pure Freude, wenn ihnen das Buch gefĂ€llt, ihre Ehrlichkeit, wenn es ihnen nicht gefĂ€llt und ich liebe die eigenartigen und lustigen Fragen, die sie stellen.
â Which of your books should everybody be familiar with (and why)?
Iâm not sure I have such fabulous books, but I think I would like people to read my book âMelcuÈorulâ (âThe Little Snailâ), published by Cartier, a publisher from ChiÈinÄu, Moldova, at the beginning of this year (2018). Itâs a picture book beautifully illustrated by the talented Veronica NeacÈu. It was the first book that I wrote by command, meaning that the publisher gave me the theme and asked if I woud like to write it. Itâs about parents who went away to work abroad and left the children and the grandparents behind. Itâs a huge problem that we have in our countries, both Romania and Moldova, and probably in others in Eastern Europe, too. Millions of people are leaving to find better jobs in other countries making Romania one the fastest depopulating countries in the world (apart from those at war). This is also my personal story and although I was 20 years old when my mother left, 15 years ago, it was still dramatic for our family. I had exploited the theme before in my writing and I was flattered when Cartier asked me to write this story for children.
Itâs about a little snail living in the apricot orchard with his grandpa, while his mother is across the road, working with the silk worms in the mulberry trees. Itâs his birthday and the present he wants the most is to see his mother. And the centipede, grandpaâs old friend who used to be a general in the army, had some really crazy ideas about how to send the little snail (and grandpa too!) across the road.
Es geht um eine kleine Schnecke, die in einem Aprikosengarten mit ihrem Opa lebt, wĂ€hrend ihre Mutter jenseits der StraĂe mit den Seidenraupen in den MaulbeerbĂ€umen arbeitet. Die kleine Schnecke hat Geburtstag und am meisten wĂŒnscht sie sich, ihre Mutter zu sehen. Daraufhin lĂ€sst sich der TausendfĂŒĂler, Opas alter Freund, der ein Armeegeneral gewesen ist, ein paar sehr verrĂŒckte Ideen einfallen, wie die kleine Schnecke (und auch der Opa!) ĂŒber die StraĂe zu kriegen sind.
â Which theme or motif would you love to work on in a childrenâs book some day?
I hope I will have the time to start working as soon as possible on a book about the relationship we have with the birds in the city. How we take care of them without actually knowing that our actions are not quite healthy for them.
The story is about a family of birds set to save a fat pigeon fed with bread, stranded in a balcony. But what I am really interested in this book is the image of the family. The âtraditional familyâ has been a hot topic of debate in the Romanian society this past year, as our government is preparing a referendum to call people to vote for the change of an article in the Constitution in order to define marriage as the union between a man and a woman (and not the union between spouses, as it is now), thus making it impossible for gay people to get married (which was already impossible for them due to the Civil Code). It was amazing and terrifying for me these past months to see how many people are advocates of the traditional family and what arguments they have. When the date was set, a few days ago, I felt ashamed, disappointed and even scared that I live in a society irreversibly damaged.
I would like to make it clear in my story that a family is made of people who love and respect one another, be it three parents, or a grandparent and an aunt, or maybe people who are not even related. The four birds in my story care about the pigeon so much that they will do really dangerous (and silly!) things to bring him back home.
Die Geschichte handelt von einer Vogelfamilie, die eine fette Taube retten soll: Sie wurde mit Brot gefĂŒttert und ist auf einem Balkon gestrandet. Was mich aber wirklich interessiert an diesem Buch ist das Bild der Familie. Die âtraditionelleâ Familie war in diesem Jahr ein heiĂ diskutiertes Thema in RumĂ€nien, da unsere Regierung ein Referendum vorbereitet, um die Menschen aufzurufen, fĂŒr die Ănderung eines Verfassungsartikels zu stimmen; dabei soll die Ehe als Verbindung eines Mannes und einer Frau definiert werden (und nicht die Verbindung zwischen Ehepartnern, wie es im Augenblick ist), was zur Folge hĂ€tte, dass homosexuelle Menschen nicht heiraten könnten (was fĂŒr sie sowieso unmöglich ist, aufgrund des bĂŒrgerlichen Gesetzbuches). In den letzten Monaten war es erstaunlich und furchteinflöĂend fĂŒr mich zu sehen, wie viele Menschen als AnwĂ€lte fĂŒr die traditionelle Familie auftreten und welche Argumente sie vorbringen. Als das Referendum gesetzt wurde, vor einigen Tagen (September 2018), war ich beschĂ€mt, enttĂ€uscht und sogar verstört, dass ich in einer Gesellschaft lebe, die irreversible SchĂ€den aufweist.
Ich möchte in meiner Geschichte deutlich machen, dass eine Familie aus Menschen besteht, die sich lieben und respektieren, seien es drei Elternteile, oder ein GroĂelternteil und eine Tante, oder Menschen, die nicht einmal verwandt sind. Die vier Vögel in meiner Geschichte kĂŒmmern sich so sehr um die Taube, dass sie ziemlich gefĂ€hrliche (und dumme) Dinge tun, um sie zurĂŒck nach Hause zu bringen.