(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Fourteen-year-old Syrian national and student of Al Itqan American School, Sharjah, Saqr BH, tightly clutched a copy of Percy Jackson Heroes of Olympus in his hands. He ran from hall four to the main lobby at the Sharjah Expo Centre to get a glimpse of the marching band and children in colourful costumes. Excited about this second visit to the Sharjah Children's Reading Festival Saqr said: "I love adventure books. Reading books makes me feel like I am living in a land of fantasy, fighting epic battles all the time."
The Sharjah Children's Reading Festival (SCRF) began its seventh edition on Wednesday at the Expo Centre inviting attendance from well-known literary dignitaries, authors, and other officials. The festival was inaugurated by His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah. This year's festival is held under the theme "Discover My City".
Students walk past a model of a dinosaur displayed at the Expo Centre Sharjah as part of the festival.
The festival will continue until May 2, featuring over 90 daily activities with a total of 918 over the 11 days. There will be free workshops aimed at developing children's skills in writing, illustration, painting, colouring and making shapes. Entertainment, art shows as well as a cinema will be additional attractions. Hind Abdullah Lenaid, Head of Exhibitions at Sharjah International Book Fair and General Coordinator of SCRF, said they had received a good response from publishing houses, government institutions and associations and centres involved in the book industry from all over the world. "I am confident that the participation of Arab and foreign publishers will enrich the children's library in the UAE thanks to the high calibre of books released by these publishers." she said. "These books will attract children, despite the challenges posed by digital devices that take up so much of their attention. It is our hope that children will still find a lot of books that are no less entertaining than any electronic device and are therefore able to enjoy learning, discovering and exploring in this world as opposed to virtual reality."
Better quality books
Khaleej Times caught up with some officials from the publishing industry on the sidelines of the Festival. Addressing the need to encourage the reading habit among Arab children, Marwa Al Aqroubi, President of the UAE Board on Books for Young People (UAEBBY) said one of the main reasons that most Arab children weren't drawn to reading as a habit is because of the poor quality of books.
Students from a private school discovering new books during the festival.- KT photos by M. Sajjad
The UAE wing of Ibby (International Board on Books for Young People) was established in 2010 and since then it has encouraged and spearheaded several reading activities and initiatives in schools and book festivals. The not-for-profit initiative has touched 60-70 schools since its inception and has given rise to two prominent Emirati children's books authors Noura Al Nouman, the author of Ajwan and Mariam Al Rashid, the author of Ammi Jadeed (My New Mum). Aqroubi said: "The standard has improved drastically since 2010. Initially the children had very limited options in Arabic titles to choose from. As compared to international standards, Arab books lacked quality in terms of content, presentation and illustration. However, the standards have really improved since 2010."
Kids speak
School students from Dubai and Sharjah who attended the festival in large numbers said they loved being at the Festival. Gayathri Jaidev (10), an Indian national and student at Little Flower English School, Dubai said: "I really enjoyed the colouring competition and the creative writing competition. The event has been great for my classmates and I." Harry Potter is her favourite said Jaidev.
Rushad Antia, 11, and a student of Delhi Private School said: "This is the first time I am at the reading festival and it has been a lot of fun. I read books in school and home all the time because of which, the event is really enjoyable." Saqr BH found the information on the dinosaur useful. "I loved the dinosaurs. They look awesome and all the information about them is really useful, too."
What to look forward to today:
> Creative writing and colouring competitions for those in grades 1 to 9 in various categories
> Sun and Earth € the connection
> In the workshop children are introduced to the sun, illustrating its size compared with the Earth (using a proportional model) 9.30am-10.30am
The Storyteller's Guide to the Night Sky
> Our celestial world is like a mighty, living book that can be read from nearly every angle of human endeavour 9.30-10.30am
Science Book Reading
> Nutty Professors will read fun and exciting stories that absorb children's attention into learning science 9.50-10.20am
> Making jewellery and accessories with and for children
> It consists of designing Tunisian "rayhana" pieces of jewellery by adding semi-precious stones
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