Arno, the Little Sparrow

Arno is an adorable little sparrow full of energy. But one day, the wind told his parents that Arno had a disease that would take away the beautiful things he had acquired over the years.
However, despite life’s injustice, Arno's smile remains. His smile is an eternal memory of a premature flight.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Sonia Goerger is a medical secretary who has been welcoming and meeting many genetic patients for several years. This inspired her to create the “Children of Genetics” series of books for children. The books in the series deal with the difficulties that patients may experience in their everyday lives, using simple words and endearing characters. To bring them to life, Sonia Goerger collaborated with Christine Juif, a clinical psychologist who assists patients with genetic diseases and their families during the diagnostic process.

A graphic designer for several years, Elodie Garcia is an author and illustrator of children’s books and comics. The delicacy of her line allows her to approach, in a gentle way, difficult subjects. By illustrating the Children of Genetics book series, she hopes to help families facing rare diseases.

The Association for Research in Genetics and Support for Families and Professionals of Dijon-Bourgogne (ARGAD) is a non-profit association under the 1901 law, created in September 2010. ARGAD engages in numerous activities: • Improving reception and care conditions for patients with rare diseases in Burgundy, within the Genetics Centre of Dijon CHU; • Raising awareness among health professionals in the Burgundy region, and among the general public regarding rare diseases; • Contributing to a better and improved training of health professionals involved in rare diseases; • And, supporting clinical and biological research activities in the field of genetic mutations associated with abnormalities in development and intellectual disabilities in Burgundy.