BARE RROMA 2026/“Charlie's Dream”: Charlie Chaplin's childhood and his Roma roots, in a children's book

One of the greatest artists in film history now has an illustrated story for children. “Charlie's Dream”, published as part of the Bare Rroma project and available online for free in a bilingual Romanian–Romani edition, brings young readers the childhood of Charlie Chaplin (1889–1977) and a lesser-known part of his biography: his Roma roots, which the public learned about only late, from a letter Charlie kept in his bedside table all his life.

The story begins on a theatre stage in London, in the warm glow of the lamps. When Charlie's mother loses her voice in the middle of a song, the little boy goes on stage to save the day: he trips over the curtain, the audience bursts out laughing, and little Charlie discovers the joy of making people laugh. Later, sheltering from a storm in an abandoned building, Charlie meets the Tramp in a dream — a thin man with curly hair like his own and a black top hat in which images from the future flicker. The Tramp takes the boy to a blue caravan, where his grandmother's colourful headscarf, the dikhlo, awaits him, along with the memory of her stories — paramichi — about the elephants of India and journeys through faraway forests and deserts. And the big lesson comes on a stage: you don't have to say anything to make people laugh. You just move, fall and get back up again. At the end, a little note falls out of the top hat: “What is life without laughter?”.

The biographical excerpt in the book tells readers that Charlie Chaplin is said to have been born in a caravan on the outskirts of Birmingham (United Kingdom), in a Roma community. A complete artist — actor, director, screenwriter, composer and producer —, Chaplin turned comedy into a tool for criticising inequality and the abuse of power, through films such as Modern Times or The Great Dictator, and spoke all his life about freedom and respect between people.

The book was written and translated into Romani by two young Roma, Gabriela-Felicia Costache and Rareș Negoiță, students at the University of Bucharest, Romani Language and Literature Study Programme, following ten creative writing workshops coordinated by writer Iulia Iordan and journalist Ana Maria Ciobanu. The illustrations are by Doina Axenti, the translation into Romani was coordinated by Prof. Alexandru Zamfir, and the book is also available in English, translated by Brandi Bates.

A short pronunciation guide to the letters specific to the Romani alphabet.

Topics: #film #actors #dream #perseverance

DETAILS

  • Published: September 2026

  • Recommended for: kindergarten, primary and middle school children

  • Free digital version

  • Status: the book is not available in bookstores

  • Pages: 28

  • Size: 20 x 25 cm

  • Cover type: paperback

The book is distributed free of charge to schools and libraries in the network of our project partners, Roma Education Fund and the Comunitățile Viitorului Association.

AUTHORS & ILLUSTRATOR

 

EDITING & TRANSLATIONS

Iulia Iordan, editor
Oana Sandu - copy editor
Alexandru Zamfir, Romani translation coordinator
Brandi Bates, English translation

Bare Rroma — books as windows and mirrors for children

The book is part of the third edition of the Bare Rroma project (“great/important people” in the Romani language), the first and only series of illustrated stories for children in Europe featuring Roma heroines and heroes, developed by the Cu Alte Cuvinte association. The 2026 edition brings a first: while the first two editions brought contemporary personalities to the forefront, the four new books are dedicated to Roma figures from the past who are essential to history but too little known. Each book is a window into the Roma community and a mirror for Roma children, and each story comes with a teaching guide with diversity education activities, available free of charge online.

In 2026, 4,000 printed copies of the four books reach 15,000 children free of charge, through 1,000 teachers and librarians across the country, in the network of our project partners: Roma Education Fund Romania, the Comunitățile Viitorului Association and EduPedu. The books are not available in bookstores, but they can be read in full, free of charge, in digital format on the association's website, in bilingual editions (Romanian–Romani and English–Romani).

 

DISCOVER THE OTHER BOOKS IN THE COLLECTION

The books and the activity guide were created as part of the second edition of the Bare rroma project, co-financed by AFCN in 2024. Bare rroma means great/important people in the Romani language. The first edition of the Bare Rroma project received 2nd prize at the Civil Society Gala in the “Education and Schooling” section, the award in the “Social Inclusion and Intercultural Dialogue” category at the AFCN Awards Gala, and a nomination at the Itsy Bitsy Gala in the “Social Inclusion” section.

Bare Rroma Project 2026

The “BARE RROMA” project is co-financed by AFCN (the Administration of the National Cultural Fund) and runs from January to November 2026.

The project does not necessarily represent the position of the Administration of the National Cultural Fund. AFCN is not responsible for the content of the project or for the way in which the project's results may be used. These are entirely the responsibility of the grant beneficiary.