Now attending the “9ºano”, her students had the pleasure of presenting to the school community the result of the joint work (the story, created with teacher Aida) and the illustrations, drawn by the class and coordinated by the EVT teacher, João Espada.

"A year after it was written and stored in a drawer at the end of the school year, I thought: 'If I wanted to bring 'Lápis' to life, it would have to be now," says the teacher. The work was published by the Alfarroba house on World Children's Day, in a session attended by the teachers, students, their families, the administration, the pedagogical director of CIV and the representative of the Alfarroba Publisher, Andreia Salgueiro.


"This book makes us all proud and belongs to all of us", declared proudly student Rodrigo Neto, representing all his classmates. "The book tells us a little about our actions, their consequences and how we can change them. That is its purpose, the purpose of the 'Lápis´”, he added. The student talked about the book various stages of production: from the result of a text-illustration partnership in Visual Education classes to Philosophy classes, in which students were invited to develop questions based on the content of the work (and that are available in the book through QR codes).


But the most heartfelt words came towards the end, when Rodrigo mentioned that "this book has improved the skills of our class, helped us to discover better who we are... We hope that, with its launch, many people can find value in it - and even support and motivation - because, bullying exists, but we can try to erase it.”

The teacher and facilitator, Laurinda Silva, who mediated the conversations around the book in her Philosophy for Young People classes, thanked the students, "who, besides being available to elaborate the questions from the text - which are undoubtedly a springboard for the reader and empathic thinking -, also showed care, finesse and sensitivity in the critique, which was fundamental to refine the first proposals".

"I feel immense pride and a sense of accomplishment," Aida Correia mentioned. "It is so gratifying - and interesting - to dream of something and see it materialise in a book. May this project serve as an example to students. We should believe in ourselves and not be afraid to dream. I am genuinely happy. We have fulfilled a purpose", she confessed.

The book authors will be present at the 92nd Lisbon Book Fair, for an autograph session, which will takes place at Parque Eduardo VII on September 4th at 4 p.m., at the Alfarroba Publishing stand.