The Mission Once upon a time…

Marianna grew up learning multiple languages from those around her. In fact, she learned them all extremely quickly.

There was a problem though…

As soon as she spent some time away, she would start to forget those languages. That didn’t work for her.

She needed something to help her read, hear, and keep the language alive in her head between visits.

When Marianna was 8, she wrote herself a story. It was a story with multiple languages that flowed beautifully.

It was called ‘The Cat the Fish and the Waiter.’

Her mother, Roseland, knew her daughter was working on retaining her languages. However, Roseland thought she was doing it a little more conventionally.

Once Roseland read the story, she knew she needed to share Marianna’s story with the world.

It started off in English, Spanish, and French. However, Roseland was determined and has gotten the book translated into 15 distinct languages so far.

Roseland noted how it could be a resource to parents like her who wanted their children to retain languages, and her mission started.

‘The Cat the Fish and the Waiter’ had amazing potential, and kids loved the story. Why stop at only a few books?

Instead, the mission became twofold. Parents could easily purchase the books with all the necessary resources for their children.

However, that didn’t solve the problem for thousands of children. That’s when Roseland started looking at libraries.

She didn’t just focus on libraries in one country, though. Instead, she decided that ‘The Cat the Fish and the Waiter’ could be a shared cultural experience worldwide.

Not only are copies available for purchase, but ‘The Cat the Fish and the Waiter’ is making its way into libraries in Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

That way, everyone can access this amazing resource. That’s the way it should be.