The Dr. Josep Trueta Biomedical Research Institute of Girona (IDIBGI) has once again supported a project to create a storybook on health and research for children. With the beloved illustrator Pilarín Bayés and the renowned writer Josep Maria Fonalleras, IDIBGI publishes the story “I em parles d’unes coses on m’ha caigut oblit” (Libres del Segle), focused on neurodegeneration, made possible thanks to the 2024 Joan Oró Grant from the Catalan Foundation for Research and Innovation (FCRI).
The story will be presented on Wednesday, October 30, at 5:30 p.m. at the Girona Trade Fair, in an event featuring the authors and the IDIBGI researchers who advised them. The work, set to arrive in bookstores this November, is aimed at children between 6 and 12 years old, although its depth can move both young and old alike.
The story tells how two children, Claudia and Pol, become friends in a coastal village. Both observe the daily lives of their grandparents and how they are affected by cognitive degeneration. It’s a tale filled with tenderness, where verses from the poem “The Chosen Apple” and other excerpts from Els fruits saborosos by Josep Carner connect past and present in a skillful and original way, accompanied by Pilarín’s heartfelt illustrations.
The plot is enhanced in the digital world with three videos accessible at the end of the storybook, explaining the basic mechanisms of neurology. The main figures are the IDIBGI researchers who advised the authors in developing the story: Dr. Lluís Ramió-Torrentà, head of the Neurodegeneration and Neuroinflammation research group and medical director of Olot Hospital, and Dr. Jordi Gich, a senior researcher in the same group and neuropsychologist at Trueta and Santa Caterina Hospitals. One of the videos also introduces a digital cognitive rehabilitation tool developed by this research group, called EM-Line!, which is already benefiting over 3,000 patients.
This is the second storybook that IDIBGI has been able to publish thanks to the Joan Oró Grant from the FCRI. The first book, “Les Aventures de la Bio i la Medi”(Estrella Polar, 2023), explores the respiratory system and is written by the acclaimed author Martí Gironell, again illustrated by the cartoonist Pilarín Bayés. The overarching goal of both works is for children to discover the body, illness, and the science behind it, sparking their interest in health and science while fostering future scientific vocations. All of this is presented through each author’s unique vision, united by Pilarín's distinctive style, and under the umbrella of IDIBGI's commitment to scientific outreach.
About IDIBGI
The Dr. Josep Trueta Biomedical Research Institute of Girona (IDIBGI) conducts translational research to improve people’s health and care. IDIBGI is organized into 24 research groups distributed across five scientific areas (Cardiovascular and Respiratory, Metabolism and Inflammation, Neurosciences, Oncohematology, and Mental Health), bringing together over 400 people, including healthcare professionals and basic researchers, throughout the Girona region.
IDIBGI is a private foundation within the public sector of the Government of Catalonia, and its board includes the Departments of Health and Research, the Catalan Health Institute (ICS) Girona, the Health Assistance Institute (IAS), the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO) Girona, and the University of Girona. IDIBGI is a CERCA center (Catalonia's Research Centers).
