Children’s Book by Sisters Harkens Back to Pre-Internet Era

“The book is a feel-good book. We’re not here to preach. It’s just a book that tells you that you are richer when you are in a community, you’re richer when you have friendship with people from all walks of life,” Fereshetian said.

“Every day we would be discussing the story, the characters. They became like friends. When we came to the end, I told Marlene, ‘I am going to miss these characters,’” Manoukian noted.

“It was a labor of love. Like Sossi said, you get sad when it is over,” Fereshetian concurred.

The fictitious Beasley Street is similar to the Montreal neighborhood where the two sisters grew up. The sisters arrived from Israel when Fereshetian was 7 and Manoukian was 5. “We really grew up Canadian,” Manoukian said.

Added Fereshetian, “It was time when immigrants had come from all over the world. Immigrants were coming from everywhere so you got to play with kids in a very diverse setting. You learned things form them, they learned things from you. We looked out for each other. There was a bond that was so wonderful because there was a face to face interaction on a daily basis. There wasn’t technology at that time so you weren’t stuck by yourself. We were together all the time, creating, imaging. It was a wonderful time to create.”

She added that sometimes they would find treasures on the street and use them or just rehearse and put on shows for the neighborhood.

“We were a neighborhood. We knew each other and protected each other,” Manoukian said.

“In Canada, when all the immigrants came, the streets were full of Greeks, Asians, Polish, Italians. We grew up with all these kids from diverse backgrounds and we learned from them so much and they learned from us so much,” Fereshetian added.

Manoukian concurred. “Many friends told me when they were reading the story that ‘this is my neighborhood. This is how I grew up.’”

While the main message the sisters want to convey is for children to let go of devices and embrace humanity and imagination, their message of welcoming immigrants and diversity is even more powerful at this time.

Added Manoukian, “Kids don’t see [color and differences]. It is so beautiful.”

“It is not an Armenian story. It is an immigrant story, a multicultural story. We never say what city it is taking place in because it could take place anywhere,” Manoukian said.

Fereshetian has long been involved in the arts and ran a successful children’s theater camp for many years during the summer. Manoukian said she conducted a lot of fundraisers for Armenian organizations in Montreal, including the Tekeyan Cultural Organization, by staging events.

But Fereshetian and Manoukian are not just promoting the book; what they want is to bring their message of personal friendships and collaboration to schools. They have visited several schools in greater Boston and Montreal and have been able to get the book on suggested reading lists. Their message has coincided with a growing trend of schools banning cell phones during school hours.

“The school principals, because many schools are banning cellphone use, … found it was a book that kids can relate to in terms of things kids can do outdoors,” Fereshetian said.

Certain teachers have asked for the two to do presentations for the kids. For those presentations, Manoukian said the two sisters got retro, 1970s gadgets, including rotary phones. In addition, a school in Montreal is going to stage the book as a play for a school fundraiser next year, Manoukian said.

Fereshetian has also written songs for the characters, which can be used in a play.

As for what is next, the two sisters are mulling a variety of options. “A lot of people have told us you have to do the continuation [of Beasley Street]. We thought about it and haven’t decided but in the meantime we have so many stories we would like to tell,” Manoukian said.

Both sisters credited their late mom, Lucy Boghossian, for encouraging their creativity when they were small.

“She would say go out there and put together a play,” Fereshetian said. “Mom was the one who inspired us a lot.”

“We want kids to know dreaming matters, that you can be whatever you want to be, no matter how far-fetched it may sound to the adults. Don’t be locked up in a home, isolated with your tablet or cellphone. Learn to resolve conflicts. Get to know one another and dream. There are possibilities out there,” Fereshetian said.

Beasley Street Bandits is available at Barnes and Noble in the US and Shopify in Canada. To purchase a copy, go to https://linktr.ee/beasleystreetbandits or https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/beasley-street-bandits-marlene-fereshetian/1143875432.