First Augmented Reality Children's Book in Luxembourgish: D' Sandmeedchen

There are many advantages to the location of the Radio ARA Studio; proximity to the station, great cafés in Bonnevoie, when the sun shines there is our great terrace at Buvette. However our proximity to Rotondes and the exhibitions and gigs that take place there has to be advantage number one! Today that advantage played out in the shape of colleague from Rotondes stopping by the studio to hand deliver D’Sandmeedchen, the first 100% Luxembourgish augmented reality children's book!

This is a double first. Rotondes is publishing its first children's book, D’Sandmeedchen, and it’s no ordinary book! This is the very first children's edition in a 100% Luxembourgish augmented format.

With the AB / Augmented Books exhibitions in 2020 and 2021, the Rotondes introduced the public to children's editions whose stories are made to spill over pages. Visibly inspired, the Rotondes, in collaboration with Kremart Edition, are publishing D’Sandmeedchen, an augmented book aimed at young Luxembourgish audiences.

A story in Luxembourgish

D’Sandmeedchen offers a sequel to the well-known sandman story. The brave man takes a well-deserved retirement in the sun and hands over the reins to his daughter, Sandmeedchen. From now on, she will sprinkle little eyes with sand to provide children around the world with sweet dreams and deep sleep. But her cousin Nuecht (the Night) is sad because, in the evening, she finds herself alone. She decides to hide Sandmeedchen's sandbag, but this will not be without consequences.

We owe this story to the author Yorick Schmit who managed, in a few words, to convey the complexity of feelings. “I wanted the kids to understand that we feel lonely sometimes, but that there are always people there for us. The story and the message were enhanced by modern drawings by illustrator Dirk Kesseler. “Sandmeedchen has a sporty, somewhat androgynous look,” he explains. “It shows a modern side of storytelling that children and young parents can relate to. "

Augmented reality to accompany the story

Visitors to the 2021 edition of AB / Augmented Books were able to preview some illustrations, but the icing on the cake was yet to come. The Virtual Rangers studio has developed a mobile application that brings the scenes drawn by Dirk Kesseler to life and animates them in 3D.

The project was supported and supervised by the Rotondes and experts from the Kremart youth edition.