Arab publishers satisfied with ‘good response’ from SCRF

Jamil Khan, Senior Reporter

Scores of publishers participating in the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival (SCRF 2023) are showing their satisfaction on the response they are getting on exhibiting their material for young children of Arab natives.

Talking to Gulf Today a group of publishing houses in the Arab world including Lebanon, Jordan, UAE, Morocco and Syria expressed their happiness on the response of families and young readers on their collection they are presenting at the children festival.

Dar Al Majani, a 60-year publishing house from Beirut, has been participating in the children’s reading festival with hundreds of their latest titles grabbing the attention of young readers.

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Tony Aboud, the representative of the publishing firm, said they have been participating in the Sharjah Reading Festival, the annual Sharjah International Book Festival and others for many years.

“Since the opening of the festival on May 3, we have been receiving scores of families with young children buying our books on a wide range of topics including the interactive storybooks,” he said.

Diaa, the representative of Austin McCauley Publishers with headquarters in London and present in Cambridge, New York and Sharjah, told they have been involved in the book festivals of Sharjah and also other book fairs around Europe for many years.

The festival receives scores of families with young children buying our books.

“Our collection of books ranging from stories to learning books on almost all topics for children has been widely popular among the young readers, especially from Arabic speaking countries. We are happy to get the good response from our guests at the festivals who are buying their favourite books with great interest.”

Hamza Suhab from Arab Scientific Publishers, Inc told they are presenting a wide range of books for young readers to cover the different topics including the Islamic stories.

“The festival is widely popular among the young readers as we are witnessing great interest of young readers of all age groups. The festival has also been offering a wide range of learning materials published by renowned firms around the world and paving the way among the young readers to not only read their favourite books but also learn and memorise important information.”

“Besides books especially stories ranging from Dhs10 to Dhs100, we are presenting variety of memory cards, puzzles and educational and learning games for young children,” said Firas from Sindbad Company, Egypt. He was at one of the stalls, where young children were showing keen interest and also bought their favourite books and learning materials including drawing books, colouring books, short stories books on Islamic topics etc.

The firm is over two decades old and has been participating in Sharjah festivals with young and adults books in Arabic and English languages for many years and other regional fairs.

Ramzi at the stall of Al Salwa Publishers, Jordan is participating in the Sharjah Children Reading Festival for the second time with scores of books on topics related to young readers’ interest in Arabic.

“This festival with its participating publishers from around the world is one of the favourites among the young readers. Our books covering almost every topic of interest to young readers in Arabic has been getting good response and we are delighted to be here,” he added.

Recently, visitors at the SCRF 2023 enjoyed a jaw-dropping live performance of young Ugandans on the first day at the Sharjah Expo Center.

The world’s favourite group of young Ugandan artists, Masaka Kids Africana, has captivated audiences with their first-ever performance in Sharjah with a heartwarming show on the inaugural day of the SCRF 2023. The stage was set at the Ball Room, the lights dimmed, and the audience eagerly waited for the dance performance.

As soon as the music started, the dancers took the stage with an electrifying energy and immediately captivated the audience with fluid and graceful movements, perfectly in sync with the rhythm of the music.

The MASAKA performed rhythmic dances, from Afrobeat, Boga, Reggae and diverse African dances and moved their feet to some iconic international and African songs.

As the performance continued, the audience was entranced, their eyes fixed on the dancers as they moved across the stage conveying so much emotion with their movements and each step telling a story that left the audience entertained and inspired.