On Saturday morning at Palazzo della Ragione, children and adults are gathered to talk about the role of fairy tales in our lives and what writing and illustrating children's books is all about. The guest is a special one: Annet Schaap, illustrator and author of the critically acclaimed children's book Lampje (Lucilla) who, in collaboration with Simonetta Bitasi, is at Festivaletteratura to present her new book Le ragazze. Sette fiabe and to answer all the questions from her little (and grown-up) fans.

Le ragazze. Sette fiabe, as the title suggests, is a collection of seven tales that Schaap admits she had a lot of fun writing. Why specifically seven? "It's a magical number", says the author. Each story draws from already known folktales but adds a different "flavour" to them; at the same time, the focus is on young female characters trying to achieve their dreams.

Schaap has a background in illustration, a field in which she's been working constantly over the years, but her real passion is writing fiction. Her inspiration comes from many places: for Lampje, for example, what helped set the story in motion was the visual image she got of a lighthouse. As a child, she was an avid reader, especially of fairy tales (of course): among others, her favourite authors were Astrid Lindgren, Jane Austen, Paul Biegel, Wim Hofman, and she particularly loved The Secret Garden. These books and authors have had a strong influence on her writing style throughout her career.

An important theme of the event is the relationship between fairy tales and real life. "Can life be a fairy tale?" Simonetta Bitasi asks the young readers in the room. The answers from the audience are very interesting: fairy tales can be uplifting, scary, or surprising, feelings that everyone can experience in their everyday life, but life is not a fairy tale. On the other hand, it's fairy tales that get their inspiration from real life. It should never be the opposite, warns the author.