“Happy Talk has been part of children’s lives in Cork City for 15 years, and it’s incredibly special to see the programme now growing beyond the city,” according to Aoife O’Shea, Senior Speech and Language Therapist, HSE South West, commenting as a new multilingual Happy Talk story book entitled ‘Nibbles Says Hello!’ was recently launched at the Nano Nagle Migrant Centre, Cork City.
The event brought together librarians, early years educators, teachers and programme supporters to celebrate the expansion. The story follows Nibbles and Twitch on a journey around Ireland where they meet friends who teach them greetings and everyday words in a wide range of languages including Swahili, Arabic, Shona, Polish, Minceir Cant and Irish Sign Language.
Overall, the Happy Talk programme aims to support child language development in socially disadvantaged communities. Through the programme Speech and Language Therapists engage parents and early years educators in developing their capacity to strengthen the language and learning abilities of children aged 0-6 years. The expansion will now see the Happy Talk bunnies, Nibbles and Twitch, feature in a new multilingual story book designed to celebrate communication, diversity and inclusion.
Aoife outlines how “Nibbles Says Hello! captures the joy, connection and curiosity at the heart of early communication, and we are delighted to share it with children, families and educators across HSE South West.
“We are honoured to showcase the beautiful illustrations by Gemma Lewsley, created with support from the TVG, Cork Deaf Association and Cork Migrant Centre. This book marks an important step in Happy Talk’s growth as we continue our journey through the national research project with University College Cork, funded by the Health Research Board. We are grateful to the 791 children and parents who took part across 70 early education settings and schools.”
Ahead of the launch, the Happy Talk team gave Senior Infants from St Marie’s of the Isle Primary School a special preview of Nibbles Says Hello! at the Cork City Library.
According to Mari O’Donovan, Head of Service and Integrated Healthcare Area Service Lead, HSE South West, the Happy Talk programme is a “great example of how strong collaboration can enhance outcomes for children, families and communities. We are delighted to support this work and to see the programme grow through meaningful partnerships with early years educators, community organisations and our colleagues across HSE South West.
“The development of Nibbles Says Hello! reflects the commitment and expertise of everyone involved, and we look forward to continuing this collaborative approach as the programme expands further.”