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The role of children’s literature in preserving the national identity of the upcoming generation was the topic of a lively debate held on the sidelines of the Sharjah Children’s Reading festival which wrapped up yesterday.
Sana’ Al Hattab, children’s writer who had played a role in establishing Amman’s first International Book Fair in the 1980s said that the results of losing the identity is tragic, it includes the loss of self-esteem, feelings of shame, inferiority. She said that while today there are many works of children’s literature that promote national identity from different genres she would like to see children’s literature part of the educational curriculum. “I hope that children’s authors become involve in the construction of educational curriculums,” she said, adding that currently, children lack the basic knowledge of their own culture.
Elaborating on a different take on identity, UK author Philip Womak said that identity and nationality from his country is very complex affair and is constantly shifting. He said that even though his first two novels are set in England and the next three are set in fantasy lands, what they do is they partake in the matter of Britain which are the myths and legends of the country like king Arthur. “What these stories do is that they don’t celebrate Britain but the values that we tend to associate with Britain, they are universal values like: courage, bravery, loyalty and ultimately fairness.”
What most British people would agree on, he added, is that they want to promote a fair and just society and these are the values that are found in children’s books. Other values traditionally found in children’s books when it comes to identity is that they idealize the vision of a rural peaceful England, said Womak, adding that today children’s books go further and talk about what it means to be a human being in the modern world whether in the town or country side.
Haidar Waqullah, children’s author and research officer at the Sharjah Children and Girls Center said that children are easily influenced, they are fast learners and they tend to imitate and that’s why it is through them that the future is shaped.
He said that children learn through two routes, the first is education and the second is through children’s literature. He spoke about the importance of writing for children in Arabic that is not dialectal because they could not be considered as Arabic. The other advantage is reaching children all over the Arab world. Folktales and national culture could be utilized to enrich children’s literature, he added.
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