FERMOMAG SPECIAL KIDS

• Editorial – Marta Santacatterina
• Stories are yellow like a blue cat – Elide La Vecchia
• Bruno Munari: Prelibri and the art game – Barbara Picci
• Cinema that is good for puppies – Lara Ferrari
• Melina and Pallino: design inspired by grandmothers’ games – Petra Cason
•  The discovery of small shadows – Marta Santacatterina
• Barbie. One of Us
• What a show up! What a sticker! – Salvo Taranto
• A Pixel with mustache – Cecilia Mistrali

Cover by Elisa Bertaglia

Editorial by Marta Santacatterina

This year we celebrate Christmas this way, by dedicating a fermomag issue to kids, to those puppies that are enchanted by decorations, who are dreaming of finding the best gift under the Christmas tree, who would like a hug from Santa Claus and play with his elves. We dedicate our magazine to that boy or girl that is inside of us to offer one caress and never forget them. However, even if you talk of small creatures, we did not want to offer an ordinary number, standardized. Too easy… And then we have gone over between our knowledge and skills with a fine tooth comb to offer our own perspective on how we would like childhood to be or how we would like it to be treated.

Before you begin to browse these pages, we let you observe – for as long as you like – Elisa Bertagliaís cover: Through her intensely lyrical works it seems to enter in childrenís dreams, with their little swimsuits and their swim cap.

Now about contents: we began from a book published two years ago by Fermoeditore and that is our idea. It is a children book ñ a ligature, apparently so fragile, but robust and specifically to bear the mistreatment of the game ñ it tells a story in three voices that can also be played and finally it is a design object that fascinates even adults. Giallo come un gatto blu (Whodunit, Blue Cat?) is not an ordinary book, it is an experience: live it with your kids, live rediscovering childhood.

It was not enough a single reference to book object: to hope for a bright future, we must strive to educate children to handle books, even before reading them. It is an indication suggested by all authorised personnel, but beyond a thousand words and theories, there was someone who has really done a step forward in publishing history with his Prelibri: Bruno Munari, in his absolute genius, in 1980 realized twelve little volumes, all in different materials, to let children touch them, explore them, learn the vital gesture of turning pages.

And then the sections: the film suggestions by Lara Ferrari lead us to discover films we must see to grow better, as for the design we found the creation ñ simple, as the games invented by grannies ñ by Valia Bariello, who invented Melina and Pallino matching the daily use of a placemat with originality and imagination.

Art could never do without childrenís tenderness: Valerio Berruti is conducting interesting research that result in light works, which with great delicacy make us guess the depth of thoughts and images that populate the little round heads, still innocent and free of entanglements from adult age.

We close this Fermomag with two articles dedicated to two icons that are on the border line between childhood and adolescence, two games from the long and evergreen history and iconic features, to which this year has been dedicated significant initiatives: Barbie and Panini stickers. Theyíre both in the box of memories of all of us. Then we invite you to open that box, and reliving every moments what we have been, maybe together with a little boy rummaging in our memory.