While we are preparing the Bologna Book Fair, we would like to share a reflection on the adventure of learning by reading and playing: the leitmotif of Combel’s new campaign.
What game do we play? Which book do we choose?
When books become our best game
It is not necessary to explain too much to children to convince them to play. Play is a self-gratifying and motivating activity; it is the engine of all kinds of learning: …tactile, visual, symbolic, 
linguistic and cognitive. And it is thanks to learning through play that many of us, from the very beginning, have acquired knowledge, skills and even values in a natural way, without artifice. We could also add another no less important virtue: it has allowed us to acquire these elements without pressure, without haste, at our natural pace of learning.
For this reason, in the publishing world we are intensely involved in generating playful proposals in the form of books, which accompany the process of children’s growth in an entertaining and creative way.
When we are interested in exploring the world around us, we want books to cuddle, bit and shake … Just take a look at Touch & Feel: Animals by Mar Benegas, a perfect sensory journey for the little ones.
When we are able to use our imagination, we like to recreate situations and invent stories with characters; even objects acquire a symbolic value. For this moment we have prepared Good Morning, Dudús! by Patricia Geis, which allows us to play with these cute characters: wake them up, dress them, clean them and accompany them to the school.
When we can understand strategies and follow more complex narrative threads, we can find a book to count and discount with Wow! What a Hole! by Mar Benegas.
At this point, we would also like to share one of Combel’s great news, and that is that we are launching a new series: Rob & Ot, a new literary universe created by Jaume Copons and Liliana Fortuny, ideal for guiding the first reader, who begins to walk unaided, among characters with whom they can identify and imaginary worlds in which to have fun.
And speaking of fun, we can accompany Mario, who in his disarray does not know how to dress himself, in a dizzying fashion show: you only have to open the door of A Quirky Wardrobe and you will see! Surprise and laughter are guaranteed.
When we have a choice and we are looking for stories that move us, the picture book is the best option. In our catalogue you will find infallible proposals: from the classics You and I and All I Know about the Poop to the Amazing Creepy Houses lift-the-flap books by the tandem Martí Salomó. We cannot fail to mention Bad Name by Bel Olid, whose illustrator Nadia Mazzenga has just been awarded the Junceda 2024 Prize, or Diconcerting Stories, by Oriol Garcia Molsosa and Mercè Galí, selected as a shortlisted work in the 9-year-old category of the Atrapallibres Prize.
And true to our aim of transmitting ecological values to our youngsters, The Leap of the Frog by Teresa Franquesa is a complete reflection on the current situation of planet Earth and a song of hope for us to react in time and take the necessary leap when a change of course is called for.
Because learning is an adventure!
As a summary of this approach to our proposal as a way to stimulus for children’s growth through books, we have the collection of activity books called Shall we Play Reading?, which offers reading and writing activities adapted to the 4 to 7 age group, to promote reading comprehension, symbolic association and problem solving related to language, always in a playful tone and with cheerful illustrations that will captivate them.
Because playing is the natural way to learn!
Noemí Mercadé
Editorial Director
