Recovery of oral tradition for children's books

In the process that I have followed and continue to use today for the recovery of oral tradition, interviews with people I know in my environment (usually older people) have been the first step. I think that it is necessary to make a previous research taking advantage of the nearby resources. As my roots are in a village, I am lucky that most of the people who live there are older and usually have a good memory. If I lived in the city, I would always try to ask older people I knew.

      

The second step I follow is to collect popular phrases, customs, lived or known traditions, gastronomy, games and, in general, I like to make a study of the way of life in the village in the near past. Normally, I carry out this whole process by means of notes that I collect, either on paper or digitally. Of course, I always try to remember to have paper and pen or mobile phone at hand so that, in any situation, in the street, shopping, at the market, at the doctor's and, in general, in everyday life, I can pay close attention to what is spoken and how it is spoken, what expressions are used, what the tone is like, if they are words that are no longer used, if everyone knows them or if they are only spoken in that way in a specific house or environment.

After gathering all the information, I start thinking about different themes and titles to choose from when I intend to write a book. For me, it is fundamental to decide what the story is going to be about and what audience it is going to be aimed at: children, young people, adults, for all audiences, etc.