On Friday May 20, pionier press returns to the Romanian Cultural Institute for the third book release of the Stockholm Book Fair 2022: »Äggskal/Coaja de ou« (Eggshell), a bilingual children's book in Swedish-Romanian, written by Taliah Pollack and illustrated by Oana Achiței. It is a story about identity, unlikely friendships, and following your dreams.
Taliah Pollack (author). Photo: Malin Bohman.
Growing up, author Taliah Pollack had a complicated relationship to bilingualism. Moving to Israel at age eleven, she felt the need to suppress her »Swedish side« and »become Israeli« in order to fit in. Today, she believes bilingualism is something to be proud of, and that bilingual publishing serves an important purpose - it's a good thing, then, that there are plans for two more iterations of »Äggskal/Coaja de ou«, in Romanian-Hebrew and Swedish-Yiddish!
Taliah Pollack (left), Arina Stoenescu (right). Photo: Malin Bohman.
To round off the evening, Taliah and Arina read some chosen parts of »Äggskal/Coaja de ou.« In between bouts of laughter, the audience is introduced to the book's two protagonists, Idi and Krack, two very different eggs that carry with them the same question: who am I, underneath my shell? Read the book and find out!