Stories for Isabella

There are never enough good stories in the world that take you to a parallel world, to mysterious places where different rules apply and where problems are solved in a different way, but still close enough for us to easily empathize with the story and map it into ours. context.

But this is not just an ordinary picture book, it is a bilingual book that contains translations of difficult words in both languages on each page and questions that involve the reader even more in the story itself. We have also prepared an audio book , which is read in English by the author of the fairy tale Robert Riley and in Slovene by his daughter Isabella Clara Riley. The book has a suitable background, font and spacing between words and text to make it suitable even for readers who have difficulty reading due to dyslexia or scotopic syndrome .

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Who is the book suitable for?

- moms and dads reading fairy tales,

- educators,

- for children aged 8-10 who read lowercase letters in Slovene on their own,

- for children aged 11-18 studying English at school,

- for adults aged 19-80, as they may experience the book differently in the light of today's times,

- for grandparents who cannot find reading glasses at close range at that time (as the letters are larger),

- for readers who have difficulty reading

- for the visually impaired, as they can listen to an audio book in both languages

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We have prepared a bilingual book in English and Slovene so that readers can stay in touch with the language in a different, even more authentic way.

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Who was Isabella  small and still living with her family in England, she received a fairy tale from her father for each birthday, which he himself wrote on his hands and read over the birthday cake.

There have been quite a few of these fairy tales over the years and it would be a shame if they stayed in a drawer.

Isabella was finishing art pedagogy and for the final task she decided to illustrate one fairy tale. So she rolled up her sleeves and started painting in their academic studio. A fairy tale of Giant Winter and the Spring Princess  / The Giant Winter and the Princess of Spring then translated into Slovene, we highlighted the more difficult words in both languages and translated them into the opposite language. In order to make the book even more interesting for readers, Robert and I recorded an audio book in English and Isabella in Slovene, so that readers of the book can access the website, where they can play it audio or chapter by chapter or even all at once.

Editor Bojana also met two ladies, Darja Pretnar and Leo Novak, who told her how to prepare the material so that it would be easier for readers with dyslexia or scotopic syndrome to read.  We also followed these recommendations and expanded the circle of readers. Of course, reading deficits are different, so it may be difficult for someone to read, but hopefully it will still be easier than regular books.

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SOME WORDS OF THE AUTHOR:

This is one of the stories I wrote for Isabella when we were still living in England to be read
each year at her birthday party.

Although that was 14 years ago the story of Giant Winter and the Spring Princess has a
particular resonance today. With the country in the grip of Covid-19 we are facing a long
winter, fearful for what the future may hold. This is a story of hope, that however cold and
dark the night the Spring Princess will return.

This is much more than just a good story, it is a dual text with the story in both English and Slovene. As a learning aid each chapter has key words and their translations, and questions to aid comprehension. It has also been designed to be appropriate for a reader who find reading more difficult because of dyslexia or scotopic sensitivity syndrome.

The story has also been specially recorded as an audiobook, read by Isabella and myself in Slovene and English.

With Isabella's colorful illustrations the story comes to life for readers of all ages, for
anyone who enjoys reading or telling a story, for teaching or learning a new language, or for simply sitting back and listening to the story unfold.
We hope you will enjoy the book as much as we have enjoyed bringing it to you.

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Robert Riley, the Author