Taoiseach Brian Cowen immortalised in children's book
TAOISEACH Brian Cowen was on hand last week to launch a series of books that will see him immortalised in print.
The new 31 book series on the most popular first names for children was launched by An Taoiseach in Waterstones, Dawson St, Dublin.
Each book contains a colour-illustrated story for young readers about a particular name and a separate factual section on the name for parents and older readers.
Commenting on the launch, Mr Cowen, said that the books represent a positive addition to the range of Irish-published literature available to parents and children. "This initiative shows that good commercial ideas can be successfully brought to the marketplace despite the current serious international economic climate. It also emphasises the importance of maintaining an 'open-for-business' approach in response to the challenges facing our economy at present," he said.
The books are the brainchild of Dublin-based couple, Eithne Diamond and John Gallagher and follow a successful pilot series in 2004.
"Parents devote many hours to deciding the name of their child. This is the first ever book series to provide both detailed facts and a related story on the most popular first names for children.
"They provide an entertaining story for a young child and detailed background on each name for older readers," Eithne and John state.
The series includes names like Jack, Sean, Conor, Adam, James and Daniel, the top boys' names since CSO statistics were first published here a decade ago. Favourite girls' names like Sarah, Emma, Aoife, Ciara and Katie are included.
Traditional Irish names like Patrick and Niamh and long established favourites such as Rebecca and Michael are also available.
While specific books will be of particular interest to a child with that name, the new series is designed to be of interest to children generally. The book on Sophie, for instance, inspired by the tale from Greek mythology of Sophie, the mother of Faith, Hope and Charity, tells of a young girl coping with cancer treatment and her relationship with both her doctor and her mother.
The books are also on sale in bookshops throughout Ireland
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Thursday 17 May 2012
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