Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1358359
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 4 APRIL 2021 7 CULTURE A well-to-do man living on his own in an old house. His only company are the maid, the neph- ew, the neighbour, the milkman and an old friend. One day, this man – Mr Spir Spiteri - is found dead. The murderer is among these five people. But who did it? This is at the heart of the unique mystery that Trevor Żahra has written, Il-Misteru tas-Sur Spir Spiteri. It is unique in that it is a murder and an investigation written for chil- dren, a story told in very short chunks of text and aimed at children aged 8 upwards. Every page has a few sentences, in a large font size so that children can feel confident when read- ing and can move along with the mystery and try to solve the investigation together with the Police. It is unique also because it is the first time that Augment- ed Reality is used in a Merlin book. In fact, technology is an integral part of this story. The book can be read alone as it is. However, further clues to solve the mystery and identify the murderer of Mr Spir Spiteri are found in the animations ac- cessed via Augmented Reality. The children will have a blast when they hover over the pag- es with their parents' mobiles and see the pages come alive in front of them – as if by mag- ic. The characters walk, talk and reveal, in every scene of the Augmented Reality anima- tions, another puzzle piece of the mystery. The Augmented Reality is re- markably easy to use. Anyone who has a mobile and internet access can make use of it. The book includes instructions on how to download the app and access the animations that drive the story. The app, Flint (or Flint Malta for iOS), has been created by Flint Innovations Ltd, a start- up company that has applied this technology for Żahra's book. The app is compatible with both Android and iOS phones. There is of course a reason why Trevor Żahra remains the most popular children's author across multiples generations. He is not content to repeat the same formula over and over, but treats every book as a nov- elty. And in Il-Misteru tas-Sur Spir Spiteri he combines Mal- tese storywriting with technol- ogy. The illustrations are, needless to say, also by Żahra. Il-Misteru tas-Sur Spir Spiteri is a Merlin Publishers publica- tion, and is available from all bookshops or directly online from www.merlinpublishers. com. Trevor Zahra features augmented reality in new novel Heritage Malta to stream feature on past pandemics and mitigation measures PAST pandemics and epidem- ics in Malta, their repercussions and eradication, will be the cen- tral theme of a feature in English entitled "Plagues, Pandemics, Prevention and Mitigation – A Recurring History", that Herit- age Malta will stream on Face- book on Thursday, 8th April, at 6.30pm. Highlighting the relevance of archival documents and re- search, and how these have influenced current mitigation measures against Covid-19, the 20-minute documentary will take viewers on a swift jour- ney through the ages, not only to catch a glimpse of local life during past pandemics, epi- demics and various contagious diseases but also to gain some insight into how our health authorities have tackled them across the centuries. Starting with a brief history of pandem- ics and epidemics in the Mal- tese islands, such as the plague and the Spanish Flu, the feature also describes how disease trig- gered the Knights of St John to develop a better healthcare sys- tem and adopt more effective quarantine measures through the setting up of a permanent lazzaretto on Manoel Island. The Second World War al- so features prominently in the documentary, narrating how the rumours preceding it led to the fear of another outbreak and how the health authorities prepared for that contingency. Viewers will also discover our forefathers' reactions to the vaccines offered at the time, as documented in letters pub- lished in contemporary news- papers.