One of the most endearing images of the Muscat International Book Fair which concluded last week was the enthusiastic, sometimes raucous participation of children in what can only be called a literary carnival.
Interspersed with daunting looking encyclopaedias and dictionaries were some of the brightest, most colourful and vibrant picture books to which people of all ages gravitated.
This is always a good reminder that, packaged in the right way, children can be encouraged to be engaged with books, whether reading them, listening to them or even colouring them. It’s a life-long relationship that needs nurturing but rewards rich dividends when done right.
Whether it is the ‘Dairy of a Wimpy kid’ (one of the most popular), the ever famous Harry Potter series or the goosebumps, children’s literature in all languages has really evolved. Igniting the imagination of the child, books transform them to a world of superheroes, magical games of quidditch, or help them to spend time with a socially awkward child trying to belong.
Going back thousands of years when stories were orally narrated and passed on through generations to having dedicated publication houses devoted to this niche market, children’s literature has come a long way.
The Chinese perfected the art of storytelling during the Song dynasty and the Panchatantra had already been a popular collection of fables in India a thousand years before that. The culmination of centuries of such stories in the Middle East was, of course, Alf Laylah wa-Laylah, or ‘one thousand and one nights.’
It was only after the Industrial Revolution in Europe, when children no longer needed to dig for coal or clean chimneys, that they were recognised as a separate group of people who needed to be taught, cared for and entertained.
Illustrated children’s books became popular and coloured fairy tales and books on magic swept the market soon after. By the 20th century, there was no looking back and children’s stories took on a whole new face, with comic books, magazines and pop up books inhabiting new spaces to kindle the child’s curiosity and empathy.
Children’s literature in the Arab world has seen a huge rise in variety, both in terms of the range of writers as well as the topics which they are dealing with.
Inspired by the Arabian Gulf tradition of storytelling, the ‘hakawati’, writers in the Gulf are exploring heritage and digging deep into cultural traditions, lullabies, folktales and tales of magic to find ways to connect children with their cultural and spatial history.
‘Majid’ is the ever popular children’s magazine that all adolescents fondly remember from their childhood. Azhaar Ahmed’s ‘Tales from Jabal Akhdar: The Mountain That Touches the Stars’, Hassan Al Marashi’s ‘Kameel’s little secret’, Asma al Ketbi’s ‘The Pengouins’ and Hatim Al Taie’s ‘Omani Folktales’ all add to the rich growing world of children’s stories in the Arab world.
Creating more opportunities for good quality books with rich illustrations and entertaining stories with teaching moments will go a long way in enriching children’s imagination and make books an important companion in their journey of life.
Sandhya Rao Mehta
The writer is an Assoc Prof, Dept of English Language and Literature, SQU
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