The House of Stories, “an unprecedented reading experience” for children – Liberation

2023-06-14 15:30:38

This museum, which has just opened in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, offers 0-7 year olds a physical immersion in the world of children’s literature.

The visit starts with one request, the only one: drop off your shoes in the adorable café located at the back of the house of stories. Then it’s free time. Children aged 0 to 7 can explore this fantastic place, which has just opened behind the Chantelivre children’s bookstore, in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. A museum dedicated to children’s literature, where little visitors can touch, jump, explore, in short, remain children, without having their parents on their backs who are stressed and touch everything. “France is not rich in museums for children, notes Camille Kiejman, the director of the House of Stories, who was inspired by what is done in Scandinavia in the field. This place says “plunges into the imagination”. Children can be completely free, there is no need to explain. Everything is immediate, there is something intuitive.”

Nine universes are available to them, taken from children’s books, some great classics and others more recent, chosen «au feeling» in the abundant offer of L’Ecole des loisirs, partner of the place. And there’s something for everyone. The more adventurous can climb into the boat of the pirate dogs, by Clémentine Mélois and Rudy Spiessert, turn the helm and take a look through the telescope. Before going to wallow in Claude Ponti’s pool of chicks. Aspiring sorcerers can prepare a crappy soup in the pot of Cornebidouille, essential album by Pierre Bertrand and Magali Bonniol, throwing earthworms, eyes and other spiders into it. Unless they prefer to throw them in the famous toilets by which Cornebidouille disappears in the first volume.

Toddlers will find their happiness in the world of Big Book of Tiny, by Kimiko and Christine Davenier, where mirror, abacus and illustrated pages to turn are located at ground level. For those who like to stage stories, the universe of Jules and the Fox, by Joe Todd-Stanton, reaches out: Sylvanian figurines, these soft little animals, are just waiting to be moved from the kitchen to the bathroom, from the living room sofa to the bunk bed, installed in a reproduction of underground galleries. “We want the game to remain open, always. There is no right or wrong way to play.” says Camille Kiejman.

“It’s magic to get into your book like that”

After half an hour of exploration, music sounds. “Story tellers” start singing, bringing young and old together for a storytelling session. Some settle down on the ground, others in the truck. Hello fireman, by Michaël Escoffier and Matthieu Maudet, or on a sheet of the universe of Max et les Maximonstres, by Maurice Sendak. The trunk of stories refuses to open, the young audience must do everything to unlock it. Here they are clapping their hands, their feet, trying a magic formula, a song of gestures… Perseverance ends up paying off, the trunk opening. Then begins a bewitching sequence, where two actors bring the stories to life as if we were there, equipped with sound accessories and the guts they put into the story.

Two stories are read at each session – the House of Stories offers one-and-a-half-hour visit slots – with a rotation of around ten titles, renewed each month to make visitors want to come back. After twenty minutes of reading aloud, children are invited to return to play where and as they please in the 150 m² space, or to settle down with a book, dozens being available for self-service in the space. “The mission is to offer a unique reading experience to the child and to transmit to him the taste for reading”, praises Camille Kiejman. “It’s magic to go into your book like that, greets Christine Davenier, the illustrator of Large Tiny Book. We almost regret not being a child. “It just seems sumptuous to me, super successful, with all the necessary means. What I like is that everything is level,” praises Claude Ponti.

“A family third place”

The place has also been designed for parents, who can have a quiet drink under the glass roof, leaving their usual hypervigilance in the closet, while their little ones explore the house in safety. “We wanted it to be a family third place. There is no reason for parents to always be sacrificed, standing up to wear fifteen coats. When you have small children, you are tired,” notes Camille Kiejman, herself a mother.

Creative workshops, musical awakening in English and meetings with authors are and will also be offered. Like the suspended cafes, one euro is deducted from each entry and donated to the solidarity ticket office, which will make it possible to welcome audiences far from books.

The House of Stories, 11 rue de Sèvres, Paris 6th. Wednesday to Sunday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. €10 per child, €8 per adult (free for children under 18 months).