Léo-James Lévesque, a St. Thomas University education professor and author, had his book Aux pinceaux, Domino! chosen for an animation story-time project.
Lévesque wrote the book in 2002. It is one of ten children’s books that he has composed.
It was one of ten books chosen for a project by Canada’s largest pediatric health center, CHU Sainte-Justine, in Montreal.
The opportunity to take part was meaningful to Lévesque, as he was happy to be able to contribute to such a “beautiful project.”
“If it helps a child go through difficult times, forget for a few minutes the situation they’re in, it’s certainly rewarding,” said Lévesque.
He said that he was “very touched” that his book was chosen for this project due to his memories with his father, who passed away when Lévesque was just 10 years old.
“I didn’t want to forget my dad, I loved my dad, so I started to write stories that my dad would tell us before we were going to bed; that’s how I started,” said Lévesque.
When he received the call last October, he took a moment to take it in and then immediately emailed his son to notify him of the exciting news.
“When one of my books was chosen, it almost was like full circle for me,” said Lévesque. “It really confirms that I’ve been doing the right thing; I’ve met the goal of having my dad’s memory live on.”
The 10 books that were selected for the project were picked due to their popularity. The project will transform them into animated videos that would be shown as part of a virtual story-time.
When Lévesque went to the announcement event in Montreal, he learned that organizers were talking to Radio Quebec to see if they could get involved in expanding the project by adding more books.
“[The patients] have something special that is not available to the public and that’s good. They deserve to have something that is theirs,” said Lévesque.
The emotional connection that gets formed between reader and book through reading aloud is something that he hopes to be accomplished through this project.
“When you read to someone, you give life to a book,” said Lévesque. “It gives [children] the opportunity to express their feelings … I think you’re developing a better human being. It creates someone who is empathetic, someone that wants to solve problems and is aware of their surroundings.”
