By Tarek Bakri
KUWAIT, April 1 (KUNA) -- Writers, illustrators, and publishers, and all other parties involved in children's literature mark on Sunday the International Children's Book Day (ICBD), an opportunity to stir creativity of all.
Since 1967, on or around Danish Hans Christian Andersen's birthday, April second, the ICBD has been marked annually by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), a non-profit organization that promotes children's literature and encourages young people to read. It was founded in Zurich, Switzerland, and has about 70 member countries, which are called National Sections.
The chief aim of marking the day is to inspire love of reading and to call attention to children's books. The occasion also recognizes the power of reading and the role of books in education and development of children.
In separate interviews with KUNA, a host of specialists in children's literature emphasized the significance of the occasion, to prompt further interest in writing for children.
Literature is a major branch of human knowledge, representing an artistic and imaginary embodiment of culture in linguistic structures, former Dean of the Faculty of Arts at Kuwait University (KU) Professor Siham Al-Furaih told KUNA.
This definition also applies to children's literature, she added.
According to Al-Furaih, children's literature is different from writing for adults, since it cares for the needs and capabilities of the young, playing an important role in forming a child's character.
It helps a child gain the values, orientations and other elements of culture, as well as promoting their thinking and imagination, she noted.
All that is written for the children should match their capabilities, and the phases of the mental, psychological and social development, she said.
Those who think that writing for the children is an easy task are mistaken, Al-Furaih, who is also head of the National Society for Child Protection, said. It could be so for the reader, but for the author, a real hard job.
Children's writer Heba Mandani, told KUNA that she loved reading stories since an early age.
Mandani recalled a story when she was still very young, as her grandmother once promised to buy her a toy, but instead the girl asked for a story. The old woman, apparently to encourage her to read, bought the young Mandani then many of them.
At a time when children's are, less eager to read these days, compared to using social networking for example, Mandani said: "Let the book be an integral part of your daily life. The more you read, the more proud those around will be of you." On the occasion of the ICBD, efforts must be intensified to promote children's literature, said children's poet, Mohammad Jamal Amro, Jordanian, told KUNA.
Amro, editor-in-chief of the Jordanian Ministry of Culture's Wesam magazine, was in Kuwait recently to attend a festival on generations of the future, organized by the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters (NCCAL). He is also head of the children's literature committee at the Jordanian Writers Society.
He called for establishing an umbrella that brings together children's writers in the Arab World to care for their affairs and organize their dealings with the other parties involved in the industry.
"As we mark the ICBD with our partners in the children's book industry, we hope we can offer better Arabic books with international specification and criteria to meet the expectations of the young generation," Jordanian publisher Munis Hattab told KUNA by phone.
This will encourage children be good readers, and prepare them for the future, he added.
April second is a historical day for the world's culture, Tunisian children's writer Wafaa Al-Mezghni.
The ICBD is a major occasion for writers, painters and publishers in the industry to discuss the relevant issues of children's literature, Al-Mezghni, who is also a researcher in children's literature, told KUNA.
On his part, Syrian artist Nour Al-Touba, residing in Germany, said that the ICBD should be a "pleasing and a motivating" occasion to celebrate writing for the young.
Al-Touba said that the day has a special importance for him, since he realizes and highly evaluates the elevated status of books, as well as children's love to texts and drawings. (end) tab.bs