“Tell Me a Story for the Soul”: Character building through storytelling / For Life magazine no 10, Spring 2021

In 2020 and 2021, writer Veronica Iani has published several new books destined to bring joy to parents and children. These stories for the soul can be told to children in different communities by parents, educators, teachers, priests or volunteers. Veronica Iani illustrates herself the books that she writes.

Her recent children’s books, Courage, Perseverance, and Forgiveness, are part of the “The 12 Keys” Collection, which aims to introduce children aged 6 to 11 to the virtues and how they can be practised in everyday life.

“Maia and the Stranger” is the first book in the “Safe Kids” Collection, created to protect children from the risks that can happen at any time.

Dani, the Sugar Hero has been written in collaboration with Dr Cristina Stoian and it encourages support for children with Type 1 Diabetes. The book Together We March, written by Emily Hawkins and Emily Prest and illustrated by Veronica Iani, published in both English and Romanian, is a tool for parents and educators who want to talk to children about the gift of life.

Courage

“This book reaches its young and old audience just as Courage has become the watchword for a world in disarray. A conceited world, like one of the book’s characters, who thought he knew it all. But he didn’t. A virus is still a virus. It has disrupted the systems of the world to teach us what courage is: the courage to love, to persevere or to encourage; the courage to stay alive; and to support life.”

Father Constantin Necula

Perseverance

“For me, perseverance means pursuing a goal, overcoming obstacles and often choosing the hard way. My goals are to have a job and to marry Onisa, my love. Obstacles are not few when you have Down Syndrome. Only with small steps and patience do I manage to overcome them.”

Mihai Arsenie

Iertarea

“When we forgive, we imitate the extraordinary goodness of Christ, taking on, through this divine act, the image of meekness and wisdom. We see how our soul, that little part given to us by God, becomes stronger when it struggles against revenge and dares to forgive the wrong of another against us. Forgiveness is therapy for our souls. The wings of forgiveness are prayer and mercy: to pray for the one who has wronged you, and, on the day of his affliction, to have mercy on his heart.”

Archdeacon Mihail Bucă

Dani, the Sugar Hero

“What goes on in the mind of a parent who finds out that the little one is becoming insulin-dependent!? An inner cataclysm. And the word is no exaggeration. I shall never forget retreating to the bathroom of the “Marie Curie” Hospital ward to release my tears instead of choking on them. So, my boy Vlad didn’t see that I had been punched in the plexus by the dysregulation I was learning he would have for the rest of his life. I tell parents in the Diabetes is not a game campaign to pay attention to their children at any given time and to read about the symptoms of juvenile diabetes. As diabetes is one of the scourges of this century, it should be known to the general public.”

Andreea Stroe, TV journalist and founder of the “Diabetes is not a game” campaign

Maia and the Stranger

“By reading this story to children and showing them the illustrations, we help them internalize the message to never go with someone anywhere without announcing their parents or carers.”

Mirela Retegan

Together We March

“Together We March was written for ‘such a time as this.’ The authors present the obvious and profound reasons why all life matters in language a child can grasp. Our children are constantly taught in pop culture and schools a view of life that is far from the truth of the Bible. This book is a wonderful resource for teaching young children the simple truth that every life, no matter how small, is a miracle. This book is teaching an important subject that is often challenging to discuss with our young children. Beautifully illustrated with engaging text on every colorful page allows parents, grandparents and teachers to introduce our children to the importance of celebrating every life beginning at the moment of conception. This should be in every family, church and school library.”

Carla D’Addesi, CEO/Chief Designer at Culture of Life 1972 Fashion Brand and Abby Johnson, author of “Unplanned”