Making an impact as a creative: Ava Baccari and Then the Robins Sang

In mid-March, as the world seemed to collapse around her, Ava Baccari (RSJ '11) watched her cat, Simba, stare longingly outside the window. She wondered if Simba was feeling as helpless and trapped as she was amid a global pandemic. 

“I remember looking at my cat and thinking ‘does he want to go outside?’” Baccari said. “I remember thinking of that as such a metaphor for what we are going through.”

That night, Baccari decided to do what she could as a writer, creating a children’s book about the quarantine and deciding she would donate all the proceeds to Villa Charities Foundation (external link) . She drew her inspiration for Then the Robins Sang (external link)  from Venetian poet Irene Vella, who wrote about spring blossoming despite the crisis in Italy, (external link)  Shel Silverstein’s profound simplicity and Simba, bored and missing the outside world.  

“I think that continuing to do what we do and helping to tell the stories of others is how we connect with these larger movements, social justice issues, and of course, navigate life during a pandemic. At least that is how I'm seeing it,” Baccari said.

Baccari believed children’s books can be powerful even for adults.

“A kid could relate to it on a very basic level, be excited by the pictures and such. But the messaging is so much more impactful when you read it as an adult,” Baccari said. “If we can explain it to kids, then hopefully, we can explain it to each other.”

Then the Robins Sang is a tribute to the hope that spring brings us every year and how nature has a way of soothing us after a long winter. 

“The signs of hope we have as Canadians every year that spring is coming, meant so much more this year,” Baccari said. “We need the reassurance that everything is going to be fine, the sun is going to shine, birds will sing and flowers will bloom even though the world is different this year.”

Baccari sent a copy to friends she has at Channel 13, a creative agency based in Vaughan, and presented her vision to give back to the community through book proceeds. The team immediately signed on and creative director Gianluca D’Acchille volunteered to create the illustrations himself. 

“Everyone was excited to volunteer on this project knowing that all proceeds were going to charity,” Baccari said.

Over the following weeks, Baccari and the team collaborated remotely to bring the book to life. Roughly a month later, the book was online and ready for public consumption. While the book begins with a declaration that it “belongs to everyone,” it ends with a special thanks to its creators, editors, publishers, all frontline workers and Villa Charities Foundation.

All proceeds from book sales go to Villa Charities Foundation, a charity that supports Italian heritage and culture in the GTA and supports a number of seniors’ homes, including the home where Baccari’s grandmother lived in her later years. 

“They had done so much for my family, it seemed like the natural fit,” Baccari, who is of Italian heritage, said. 

Baccari takes pride in the creative community that supported her throughout her career and during this project. She encourages RSJ students and recent graduates to stay connected to professors and take advantage of connections with peers who will eventually become editors, publishers, authors, and designers in the same field.

“People who have gone through RSJ become your friends, colleagues and bosses. It becomes a community that extends beyond your four years,” Bacarri said. 

“I call [Professor Kamal Al-Solaylee] my life guru. Anytime I have a career decision or anytime I write something and need advice, I still bug him to this day,” Baccari said of her former Feature Writing professor. 

Since graduating from RSJ, Baccari has worked as a writer, free-lancer, fact-checker, editor and content-strategist for publications including Elle Canada and Rogers Media.

Baccari believes that nature can bring hope, especially during chaotic times when everyone’s lives are seemingly turned upside down.

“Whether you are a kid not going to school, a parent who is staying home, a student who is now taking courses online, working from home or you are an essential worker, everyone has been impacted by COVID-19 in some way,” Bacarri said. “But, these birds are still singing and to them, everything is fine. Nature hasn’t stopped and there is hope in that.”