The holiday notebook, this sure value of summer

Each summer, the children have an imposed guest: the holiday notebook. In 1936, with the Front Populaire, the French discovered the holidays. To occupy the children, a stationer from Creuse, married to a teacher, has the idea of ​​creating a holiday notebook: The adventures of Loulou and Babette, named after his children. There are math exercises, as well as a saying on each page. The success is immediate, because the editor creates the contest of the best notebook, with the key of the insane gifts, like a transistor, or a medal of assiduity.

Since its creation, the notebook has divided children, but also parents, who do not all impose it. For Dr. Stéphane Clerget, child psychiatrist, the essential is elsewhere. “It’s something that soothes, it’s a kind of comforter reminiscent of childhood, it’s a memory aid, and it has become a ritual“, estimates the latter. In 2022, the market is still in good shape. In the Cultura store in Belle Épine (Val-de-Marne), the holiday books are placed at the entrance. A hundred titles are offered, and some versions are even for adults. “It’s the sure value of the summer, it’s the first thing we’re going to put forward”even assures Lukas Lebos, head of the editorial sector.