Children should be given the freedom to choose books: Panel

Gulf Today

27-04-2025

Giving children the agency or freedom to choose books was imperative even as guardians and educators gave them guidance in reading, agreed renowned authors and educators during a panel discussion titled 'Choosing the Right Book for Your Little Reader' at the Sharjah Children's Reading Festival (SCRF 2025).
Moderated by performing artist and presenter Lamya Tawfik, the session had an engaging discussion by Colleen Nelson from Canada, Samina Mishra from India, Dr Ahlam Nuway-war from Morocco and Nadia AlNajjar from the UAE, all multifaceted personalities with a passion for storytelling.
Colleen Nelson, a celebrated author of Young Adult fiction whose works include Harvey Comes Home and Mystery at the Biltmore, noted that reading preferences of children changed as they grew older. As a teacher librarian who taught the 4-14 age group, Colleen said she guided students in choosing the right book.
'If the subject matter is too mature for a child or if they chose English as a second language, I advise them to reconsider. If they cannot pronounce five words in the first page itself, I tell them to choose another book. As long as the page is not intimidating or makes for quicker reading, it should be fine,' she pointed out. As for her writing style, she stated: 'I don't know what direction my book takes as it is always a journey. I let the publishing house be the gatekeeper.'
Children visit the SCRF 2025 at Expo Centre in Sharjah.
Kamal Kassim/ Gulf Today
Samina Mishra, a documentary maker and author from New Delhi, said that in a diverse country like India children experience many kinds of childhoods. 'I feel a child should be given the right to choose though we can share what we felt or enjoyed. Children today come from another time, so what worked for us may not work for them -- like the Enid Blyton stories.' She referred to her picture storybook about a 12-year-old girl who didn't survive three days of walking from the capital to her village during the Covid-19 lockdown. While the book did not explicitly state the child's fate, Mishra felt it was okay for a privileged child to understand another child's life of hardship. 'The role of an adult becomes critical here – the one who reads to the child and knows the world.'
Dr Ahlam Nuway-war, a university professor and translator and a member of Morocco's reading committee for the Arab Reading Challenge, said the child should be given the freedom to choose books and thus increase their passion for reading. 'We need to respect children's choices and help develop their taste. Good illustrations play an important role in early childhood books.' As for folktales and fairy tales, she said they could be readapted to new circumstances. 'Don't wait for Prince Charming to marry or wake up the heroine,' she concluded.
Nadia AlNajjar, an award-winning Emirati author of children's books, agreed that folk tales could be rewritten in a modern way but felt they have the magic to attract children. 'Each child is unique. While we may help younger children in reading, we should give older ones the freedom to choose and respect their reading instincts,' she added. Publishing houses also share a big responsibility in making books attractive for children, she noted.
LEGO Bridge workshop:
Children stepped into the role of engineers for the day at the LEGO Bridge workshop during the Sharjah Children's Reading Festival (SCRF 2025) on Friday. Tasked with building a bridge using LEGO pieces within an intense 20-minute time frame, participants had to meet specific criteria: the bridge could not have any support pillars in the water, and it needed to endure a series of durability tests. Starting with a weight of 1kg, the bridge had to withstand additional loads of 2kg and 3kg in succession.
Children in the 6-14 age group were given a sheet of paper shaped like the alphabet I and were asked to build their bridge in the shape of the letter.
The pillars came up on the broader two sides while the support structure over the imaginary waterbody was fortified with numerous flat and long bricks.
As the stopwatch ticked away, each team built their bridge with as many blocks as they could; some were careful to strengthen it evenly while the younger ones were less proficient in the engineering.