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Writing children’s books is not an easy task at all. It requires the use of imagination in a thoughtful way in order for the children’s literature to remain capable of providing the most beautiful and wider opportunities for learning, especially if it contains certain vocabulary appropriate to the target age, allowing the creation of an attractive and mentally stimulating content for children. This is exactly what the British-Pakistani writer Aysha Mohammad has realized when she went on to write her first book (ABC to Shaikh Z), through which she sought to put her daughter’s feet on the path of learning English letters.
A long story lies behind the book “ABC to Shaikh Z”, which uses a beautiful way to teach children the English letters by linking them to places and landmarks representing the icons of the Emirates. Part of it refers to some of the features of local customs and traditions, while the main character was linked to the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may God rest his soul.
About the circumstances that prompted her to write the book, Aysha Majid says: “Every night I used to tell my child fairy tales. This encouraged me to write this book, having felt her need for some way to master English letters by linking them with features or facts on the ground. Through the pages of this book, I have sought to put my daughter’s feet on the path of learning letters, while at the same time getting her acquainted with the UAE through some of the celebrated symbols of the country.”
Educational Writing
Anyone who reads “ABC to Shaikh Z” will touch the simplicity of its idea and pages, which are full of colors and graphics. “In fact, the idea of the book may be simple, but at the same time complicated because choosing one of the emirates’ symbols and linking them with a single letter is not easy. I think this method will open the child’s eye to other things as he can find similar objects and link them with the same letter”, Aysha said.
She noted that writing children’s literature calls for the thoughtful use of imagination. “Literature is quite different from Educational writing, in which we must invoke educational strategies. But nevertheless I still believe that children’s literature is best able to provide nicer and wider opportunities for learning, especially if it contains learning vocabulary that suits the age group of the child.”, she added.
Storytelling
According to Aysha, “ABC to Shaikh Z” doesn’t seem to be the only one on her list. She is working on a new collection, drawing on her experience in storytelling methods for children. “With the accumulation of experience, I became aware of how I can draw the child’s attention to the events of the story, by using different layers of sound to suit the nature of each character. This enables the child to differentiate between the characters of the story,” she said.
