I CaN SeE It With My
ElePHaNt EYe
by Paola Somaini
We are lucky. We have a nice house with a big garden where we play and spend lots of time in the afternoon. My dad loves making BBQs and we often eat outside in the garden. I love sausages whereas Tina doesn’t eat meat so her favourite is salmon teriyaki.
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This is a drawing Tina made of our BBQs when she was smaller. I am not sure she would be happy for you to see this drawing, but still‌ I love it so I put it here!
And this is a drawing I made when I was also smaller of my dad making a BBQ. Masala, the boy, is the white cat with black markings and the girl, Tikka, is the black cat with exactly the same markings in white. Tikka loves being in the house either lazing about or stealing food from our plates, while Masala likes adventure and prowls around the garden like a big lion on an African plain.
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Something happened recently, somehow everything changed. Well, not everything. We still have lots of the things that we used to have, including our lovely house and the garden, but now we cannot go out, or we go out very little.
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There is a virus around. A very bad one.
I don’t know what a virus is. The grown-ups talk about it a lot and it all seems very confusing to me.
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Carolina is a young girl who wants to tell her story. She invites you into her colourful life, where she paints and plays. Suddenly the virus comes… and so Carolina decides to go on a journey inside herself. She feels let down by the grown-ups who don’t seem to be able to speak openly to her about what is going on. An elephant becomes her friend and companion on this journey so her eyes become the eyes of this elephant who is adorable and wise because he always tells the truth… and telling the truth about one’s fears and worries is what matters most. "A very comforting book! It made me happy to know that I am not the only one who is afraid of my fears. It is one of the best books you can read right now because it can make you feel less worried." Honor, 9 years old
"This tender and sensitive piece of writing, stunningly illustrated, will help us all to feel much better during this scary time of the coronavirus." Professor Brett Kahr Senior Fellow, Tavistock Institute of Medical Psychology, London
"This wonderful and brave book is able to talk to both children and parents about the pandemic. It’s an emotional story told in the lightest shimmering way. A jewel of a children’s story and a psychoanalytic book too."
"This compelling children’s story describes fears and worries common to us all. Colours, images and words come together to bring these fears alive in a vivid, playful and also comforting way. "
Dr Jonathan Sklar Training Analyst, British Psychoanalytic Society
Angela Joyce, Adult & Child Psychoanalyst, Chair of The Winnicott Trust
About the Author Paola Somaini is an Italian Psychoanalyst living in London. This is her first children’s book. mail@paolasomaini.com
Illustrations by Paola Somaini, Lily Tugendhat and Eva Tugendhat Book design by Merran Bowe Text ©2020 Paola Somaini Illustrations ©2020 Paola Somaini The book is available to purchase in hard copy on Amazon and Lulu Publishing. The full proceeds of the sale will go to place2be (www.place2be.org.uk), a charity dedicated to providing counselling and emotional support to children in schools.
9781716807688