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ERIKA PUSKÁS
teacher

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Receiving these books

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meant a lot to the children.

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Some of them knew it was published,

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some have seen the complimentary copies
their parents received.

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But this was the first time,

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in the class we are going to see,
that they held it in their own hands.

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It has been a long time since
I have seen them so interested,

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motivated, happy, and proud.

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This is unsurprising as they were
also involved in illustrating the tales,

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and their drawings featured in the book.

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Some have also taken part in the writing.

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The tales were written
in their own language.

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Their parents and relatives took part
in translating and writing the tales,

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and their portrait photos and names
were clearly visible on the book’s cover.

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For the pupils, this was miracle itself!

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These books are amazing.
I am not going to say anything.

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Please pass them on to each other.

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Teacher, won't we get any?

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Let me take it out.

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Each group will get their own.

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Upon receiving the books,

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everyone started looking for their own
or their friend’s contribution.

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Once they found it,
they were bursting with joy.

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They recalled the happy summer moments

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when they created the drawings and texts.

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The image is not the same.

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There are things which are the same
 across the volumes but others are not.

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Miss! My drawing is included in every book!

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They started reading
passages from the texts

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that belong to the illustrations they drew.

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This also made them very happy,

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as texts were written
 in their own home dialects.

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Neither their parents nor the children
have ever come across anything like this.

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Let us read one aloud.
Who is going to do it?

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Everyone?!
You then.

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THEY CAME TO AN AGREEMENT

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AND PUT THE DEAL IN WRITING,
SO THE OLD GYPSY MAN BOUGHT THE HORSE.

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AS HE WAS LEADING IT HOME,

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ALL AT ONCE HE NOTICED THAT
THE HORSE DID NOT SEE, IT WAS BLIND.

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They were so pround!

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This was also obvious from
one of the boys’ comments.

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I am wondering,

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does this book make you proud?

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[mixed voices]
Yes!

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Raise your hand.

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Not all together.

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Who is and why? Raise your hand.

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Why are you happy?

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Why are you proud
that this book was published?

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Because this book shows
that the Roma also know stuff.

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I am happy because
my drawing is included in there.

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I am happy because
it is all written down in Gypsy.

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I am also proud that the Roma

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are also able to achieve such things.

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I am proud of my classmates, too,

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that they were capable of this,
the children,

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that their drawings are here published.

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I am happy because we have become famous.

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The Gypsies have become famous!

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You are right!

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Through the images.

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MÍRA BALLAI
graduate student

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The children’s enthusiasm is obvious
from their body language.

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They flick through the book right away,
they point at the drawings.

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They are so proud that
they took part in making it.

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Contributing to a book

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is as great a pleasure for these children
 as it would be to any child.

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But what contributes to bringing
members of the community closer together

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is that the texts the children illustrated
were written by local women.

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At this age, we would all be thrilled

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to see our name appear in print.

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MÁRK SZÉKELY
teacher trainee

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A product created by members of a community
is bound to be closed to their heart.

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The book, however,
points beyond itself as well.

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Translanguaging in this community

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 is no longer about something
that happens in class

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but also beyond school.

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Free-ranging creative engagement
brings ideas to fruition,

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but we must underline
the pedagogical significance of all this.

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This book is a tool in the teachers’ hands,

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which they can build on in the teaching
and translanguaging practices.

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It can be useful

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when practising reading and comprehension.

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A book is permanent.

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Teachers can make it part of their

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collection of subject-specific
learning materials

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and use it any time,
also with future classes.

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GERGELY OLEXA
teacher trainee

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The illustrations to the tales
provide a visual narrative.

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The drawings in the books are
an important illustration

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of the children’s imagination:

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how they conceived of the tales,
how they transformed the texts into images.

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It is a rare experience

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to encounter the product of
one’s imagination

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on the pages of a story book.

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This encounter contributes
to the children’s feeling of pride.

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The book is like a mirror

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of their own discoursive practices
and translingual activities.

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We usually think of books
as serious things,

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the praise-worthy outcome
of someone’s work,

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the pinnacle of individual achievement.

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Most probably the children’s
individual perception of books is similar.

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So, their expression of joy
and pride is unsurprising

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upon seeing their own
translingual practices on the pages.

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These volumes, thus,
point beyond themselves.

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They are tangible outcomes not only of
translanguaging practices at the school,

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but also of the children’s ways
of speaking in their everyday life.

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JÁNOS IMRE HELTAI
researcher

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The book was an exciting experiment for
researchers and teacher trainees as well.

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We had to idea how
the children will receive it,

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whether they will be able to read it.

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What we knew was that on social media

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there are Romani-language exchanges,

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posts, and comments.

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We also knew from
our experience in the community

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that there is Romani-language

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literacy in the off-line world, too.

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Typically, this is linked to activities

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performed in the Christian communities,

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such as Romani prayers, songs,

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written explanations of Bible passages.

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Based on this experience, we trusted

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that children and adults

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will manage to read these tales,

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and the whole activity
is going to feel familiar

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rather than alienating to them.

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Indeed, the children read the texts

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with familiarity and ease.

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A challenging question is

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how our experiment affects ongoing

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standardisation processes of Romani,

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which endeavour to disseminate
Romani texts written

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according to a coherent,
unified orthography.

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Many would argue that writing a book

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in the speakers’ home dialect,
with Hungarian orthography,

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contributes to the “decay” of Romani,
to its mixing with Hungarian.

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What I would focus on

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is that through projects
such as the book publication,

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local Romani reaches domains

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where it was not present before.

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It is used at school.

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Its prestige increases,

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which is quite obvious in this recording.

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Thus, the project contributes to

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strengthening the status of
not only Romani speakers

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but also of the Romani language itself,

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and ways of speaking linked to it.

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The impact of these books
on the children is beyond debate.

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It enhances their confidence, identity,

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interpersonal skills,

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critical thinking and aesthetic judgements,

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language competence,

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and many other abilities.

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We would need many more miracles like this.

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The magic wand is in our hands.

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Let us have courage to use it!