For 16 years, the Department of Savoie has been gifting an album to children born or adopted in the department the previous year. Around this book, activities are designed and offered by early childhood professionals and the libraries of Saint-Alban-Leysse, Barby, Bassens, and Saint-Jean-d’Arvey. For this 2026 edition, the commune of Saint-Alban-Leysse had the pleasure of hosting this event.
"I am always so impressed by the quality of the event!" enthusiastically reacted the mayor, Michel DYEN, accompanied by elected officials Anne-Marie BAROUTI and Anne-Marie DIOT PINORINI. The teams had gone to great lengths.
This year, the activities were centered around the beautiful album "Qu’est-ce qui brille là-haut ?" by Aude Laroche, themed around the moon. This album invites toddlers to observe, marvel, and ask questions.
For the occasion, early childhood professionals transformed the municipal council and wedding hall into a truly immersive universe, with subdued lighting and gentle light effects. Multisensory activities such as "snoezelen" (from Dutch snuffelen, to explore, and doezelen, to doze or relax), motor skills workshops, painting, yoga, kamishibai readings, and games with light or small objects were also offered.
In the festival hall, the music school "Onde & Notes" and the library of Saint-Alban-Leysse offered the public a musical reading of the album, full of poetry and gentleness. Beautifully narrated by Hasina Raymond and accompanied by a slideshow, the story was set to music by Gabriel, Delphine, and Antonin Legouix, director of the Onde et Notes music school.
Curious children were then able to meet the three musicians and discover up close the instruments that accompanied the story: the double bass, the flute, and the tongue drum. Visitors could also admire the magnificent drawings made by the children of the "Les P’tits Bouchons" nursery, exhibited for the occasion.
The commune of Saint-Alban-Leysseys extends its thanks to all the teams involved, whose commitment and creativity greatly contributed to the success of this wonderful event: the crèches, the SICSAL, and the libraries of Saint-Alban-Leysse, Barby, Bassens, and Saint-Jean-d’Arvey. "Premières Pages" is an operation initiated by the Ministry of Culture, in which the Departments of Savoie and Haute-Savoie participate alongside the Family Allowance Funds and the Alpes du Nord Agricultural Social Mutual.
