A year and half into their partnership with the renowned UK-based Bloomsbury Publishing, Kalimat Group, the Sharjah-based regional frontrunner in the field of Arabic Literature publishing, has launched five new titles, which were released as part of their participation at the 36th Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF 2017) running until Saturday, 11 November at Expo Centre Sharjah.

In a bid to facilitate cultural exchange and develop the publishing sector in UAE and the Arab world, Kalimat Group has been forging partnerships and building bridges of collaboration and joint action with international publishers of children’s and YA literature.

The first five titles that were taken from the Bloomsbury shelf and translated into Arabic include The Big Bad Mood, I’m Going to Eat this Ant, Up, Up and Away, Nothing and The Truth According to Arthur.

The Big Bad Mood explores methods of communication with children, and seeks to help them recognise their mood swings and emotions of anger and disappointment, gently sensitising them into dealing with these emotions in a way that their reactions are not hurtful to others. I’m Going to Eat This Ant is a unique book that teachers children the consequences of hesitation and wasting time. Up, Up and Away is an interesting book that aims to stir children’s imaginations with a fascinating tale about the planets in our solar system.

Nothing, a work of fiction, introduces children to differing perspectives that make up the world, and teaches them tolerance and respect towards other people’s opinions, especially the older generation of parents and grandparents. The Truth According to Arthur is a beautiful tale about why frankness and uncompromised honesty matter. Its narrative encourages introspection and introduces young readers to the concept of accountable behaviour.

In a publishing exchange agreement earlier this year, Kalimat Group began a French-and-Arabic partnership with France’s éditions Gallimard. The new arrangement provides for an equivalent number of titles from each company’s list to be published each year into Arabic by Kalimat and into French by Gallimard. The titles involved include children’s books, YA novels, and comics.

Since its inception, Kalimat Group participated in 50 international book fairs worldwide, and distributed its books in more than 16 countries and 3,000 schools. The group prides itself in publishing the highest-quality books, 30 of which have won prestigious Arab and international awards. Since its inception, Kalimat Group has collaborated with more than 70 authors and 100 illustrators from around the world and translated more than 42 Arabic books into foreign languages. So far, Kalimat Group has published more than 300 Arabic titles.