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Children From Around The World Showcase Their Favorite Toys In This Heartwarming Series (22 Pics)
They say a picture is worth a thousand words but what about tens of pictures? From over 50 countries? Well, that's a book, and it's called Toy Stories: Photos of Children from Around the World and Their Favorite Things.
For about two years, Italian photographer Gabriele Galimberti had been visiting boys and girls around the globe to capture their portraits with their most prized possession — toys. From Texas to India, Malawi to China, Iceland, Morocco, and Fiji, Galimberti recorded the spontaneous and natural joy that unites kids despite their diverse backgrounds. Whether the child owns a veritable fleet of miniature cars or just a single stuffed monkey, the pride that they have is moving, funny, and thought-provoking.
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Chiwa, 4, Mchinji, Malawi
"I started this project almost by chance!" Galimberti told Bored Panda. "The first photo that I took for this series was in Tuscany, it's the one with the girl and the cows in the background. She's the daughter of one of my best friends. He asked me to photograph her, so I went to their house and she was playing with the cows. I thought that situation was really nice and so I decided to take a photo of that moment. I asked her to pose together with her toys and with the cows in the background. Then I really loved the result and some months later, when I had the possibility to start my trip around the world, I decided to take the same kind of photo in every country that I was going to visit."
Rivaldo Fesna, 5 , Port-Au-Prince , Haiti
Galimberti traveled the world in 2012-2013. At that time, he was working for one of the biggest Italian magazines, D La Repubblica. He was doing a story for the magazine about CouchSurfing and visited 58 countries using the Internet platform. Every week, he had a page on the magazine to report his trip and was publishing a portrait of the couchsurfer that was hosting him at the time.
"All the children that I have photographed are somehow connected to the couchsurfers that have hosted me. They are their children, their nephews, or simply their neighbors."
Tangawizi, 3, Keekorok, Kenya
The kids look comfortable and relaxed in the photos and that's probably because Galimberti took the time to earn their trust first. Mostly by playing with them. "I was really surprised to see how easy it was for children to understand my project!" He would spend anywhere from a couple of hours to a whole day getting to know the children before taking out his camera.
You can see a lot of differences in the photos but the thing that all of them have in common, according to Galimberti, is that they just love to play.
Maudy, 3, Kalulushi, Zambia
Kafele, 5 , Mkanda, Malawi
Bothe, 4, Maun, Botswana
Arafa And Aisha, 4, Bububu, Zanzibar
Porjai, 3 , Bangkok, Thailand
Virginia, 5, American Fork, Utah
Alessia, 5, Castiglion Fiorentino, Italy
Bethsaida, 6, Port-Au-Prince, Haiti
Zi Yi, 3, Chongquing, China
Taha, 4, Beirut, Lebanon
Ernesto, 3, Firenze, Italy
Naya, 3, Managua, Nicaragua
Lauren, 6, Muskoka, Canada
Callum, 4, Fairbanks, Alaska
Talia, 5, Timimoun, Algeria
Allenah, 4, El Nido, Philippines
Puput, 4, Ubud, Bali
Julia, 3, Tirana, Albania
Norden, 5, Sidi Benzarne, Morocco
Absolutely LOVE that he thinks of his bookbag and notebooks as "toys" ... they give him joy!
Why is this considered sad? I might understand the poor conditions that some live in here, but I don't see how having fewer toys is sad. They seem ok with it. Maybe I'm missing the point.
I was just about to type the same comment until i saw yours XD
Load More Replies...this is ted, my moms had him since she was my age, he's about to be 32, my very favorite and well love with a hole on his head and one on either side of his neck. IMG_202010...50afb4.jpg
Love all these kids, they have wonderful imaginations and kids being kids can turn anything into a toy
Why is this considered sad? I might understand the poor conditions that some live in here, but I don't see how having fewer toys is sad. They seem ok with it. Maybe I'm missing the point.
I was just about to type the same comment until i saw yours XD
Load More Replies...this is ted, my moms had him since she was my age, he's about to be 32, my very favorite and well love with a hole on his head and one on either side of his neck. IMG_202010...50afb4.jpg
Love all these kids, they have wonderful imaginations and kids being kids can turn anything into a toy