To celebrate its ten-year anniversary Bubble has produced three books to stimulate children’s curiosity, teach them to respect others, make them smile, offer them support and extend the Bubble experience.
For ten years Bubble has been a voice for positive parenting, inspiring parents and children through several media: a free, forward-thinking magazine, a website, a newsletter, events and now books.
Three new publications
- The Bubble Family Guide
The guide is aimed at parents who want to use positive parenting tools to educate their children. The activities help young children to develop in an environment conducive to personal fulfilment and independence all year round. Along with ideas for improving comprehension, communication and organization, the guide contains seasonal inspiration to help parents develop fulfilling relationships with their children.
Ideas for outings, original craft projects, green and socially aware initiatives, and film and book suggestions all help to foster children’s curiosity and encourage special family time.
Watch the video
- My Bubble 2018 Calendar
The perfect tear-off calendar for a year filled with curiosity, openness to others, creativity and inspiration. Every day brings a new discovery, including sayings, customs of the world, DIY ideas, family activities, cookery projects, philanthropic challenges, charades and riddles.
- My Big Book of Manners
Featuring 15 comic book-inspired pages and humorous writing, this publication encourages children (and adults) to pay more attention to their fellows, respect their environment, live together harmoniously and learn all the little words that make life more pleasant. Marie Paruit’s illustrations fill the guide with humour and charm.
xThese three publications will inspire parents and children to see the world differently, build a future, rejoice in life, rediscover optimism, and quite simply grow! Available at all good bookshops and www.oxybul.com from the beginning of September.
Anne Laure Troublé, editor-in-chief of Bubble Mag, offers us a look behind the scenes.
- Bubble is 10 years old this year. How did it all start? What were the milestones? Eleven years ago when I was pregnant, one of my friends launched a free bilingual weekly magazine. That gave me the idea and a confidence boost. I said to myself “Why not me?” As a soon-to-be mum, I was inundated with parenting guides that I couldn’t identify with. So I came up with a more “modern” magazine, less focused on babycare and more receptive to culture, differences, positive initiatives and enthusiasm. I soon joined forces with Aude Chabrier who was graduating from business school. Our complementary approaches were key to the project’s success. We used our own savings to launch the first four issues in 2007 before finding some investors. Then we joined ÏDKIDS in 2011. For our 10-year anniversary we decided to start giving each issue a theme. For 2017 we chose travel, nature, positive education and the importance of being with others. This reflects our values of openness to the world, ecology, education and sharing.
- Where did you get the ideas for your new publications? The idea for The Big Book of Manners came from reader demand. The Good Manners section in Bubble Mag was a great success and turning it into an illustrated book came very naturally. As for the calendar, we wanted to offer a fun tool with interesting, creative content. Lastly, the Bubble Family Guide has become a sort of “Best of Bubble” featuring our top content of the last five years.
- What are the main messages Bubble would like to convey with these three publications? The Big Book of Manners emphasizes the importance of spending time reading with your children and teaching them to respect others. The calendar adds a bit of interest and creativity to your daily routine. And the Bubble Family Guide helps families learn how to be happy and genuinely support their children.
- And in future? Are there already new projects in the pipeline? We’d like to add board games to our stable of publications. Watch this space!
Illustrations are an important part of what makes such works so attractive. Marie Paruit, who illustrated the calendar and the Big Book of Manners, talks about her involvement.
- How long have you been working with Bubble? I started by approaching Bubble Mag and offering to illustrate an article free of charge to get some magazine experience. I had none at that point. That must have been in 2005. Anne Laure accepted immediately and so we started working together. Soon I joined the office and the two of us launched the Big Book of Manners project. We complement each other: Anne Laure writes creatively and with close attention to detail, and I choose the best possible characters to match. We both agreed that a pared-down approach was the most effective: fewer words for more impact and simpler illustrations for greater effect. I was also responsible for the Bubble Mag covers, a real boost in my line of work! From a personal point of view, I love mixing with my “Bubblette” colleagues who are all adorable.
- What part of this project were you most excited about? The Big Book of Manners was something completely different for me. It was an excellent idea to make a “best of” compilation complete with rhyming stories to create a thread and give a different perspective. The calendar was more playful. It’s a light-hearted and cheerful way to brighten up your day. Creating the illustrations was a real treat! I was working regularly with Gründ Publishers and we had all arranged a meeting together. The next thing I knew, the project had the green light!
- What messages do you want to convey with your illustrations? My joy as an illustrator is sending playful little messages by putting my funny creatures in human situations. I love making people smile, and I’m so lucky to be able to do it. Now Bubble’s graphic identity is evolving, but our successful collaboration brought me to a place where my work is enriched every day by new encounters and new partnerships!
