THE writing and publishing of children's literature started later in the Arab world than in the West, and Saudi Arabia was slower than some other Arab countries to produce children's books. But although publication of Arabic children's books “might have started late, yet they have developed fast,” Dr. Sabah A. Aisawi of Dammam University told a seminar at the recent London Book Fair (LBF). “They stand on an equal footing with the best examples of children's books in first world countries. Yet there is still a need for more books, and for good distribution: now we have the writers, illustrators and publishers, but the distribution system is really lagging behind.” Dr. Aisawi is a leading figure in the promotion and study of children's literature in Saudi Arabia and the wider Arab region. She was the first woman to gain a PhD in Saudi Arabia in the field of children's literature, and now teaches in the English department of Dammam University She was the sole speaker at the LBF seminar, which was entitled “Children's Books in Saudi Arabia: Past and Present” and was organized by the Cultural Bureau of the Saudi Embassy in London. Dr .Aisawi arrived at LBF fresh from a trip to Oslo where she had given a paper at the eighth international annual conference on “The Child and the Book”, hosted by Oslo University's Department of Linguistics and Scandinavian Studies. The theme of the Oslo conference was “Picture books of the New Millennium”. Dr. Aisawi's paper, entitled “Perspectives on Nature in Contemporary Arabic Picture Books”, examined the way in which the environment and an appreciation of nature is both an international theme, and a local Arab theme, in children's literature. She told the LBF seminar that this “eco-literacy” is an example of the way in which Arabic children's literature increasingly deals with international themes and topics: other examples include disability, and cultural diversity. Dr. Aisawi traced the development of children's literature in the Arab region since the 19th century. The earliest children's publications appeared in Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq. Egyptian writers and scholars including Mohammad Othman Jalal, Rifa' Rafi Altahtawi and Ahmed Shawqi were pioneers. Later on, Kamel Keilany played a crucial role. Publication of his version of “Sindibad the Sailor” in 1927 was followed by more than 200 of his titles, including translations of international children's classics, adaptations of Shakespeare, and his own writings for children. He was honored by the state. The last three decades of the 20th century saw major steps in the production of children's books in the Arab world, with childhood recognized as an important foundation for the building of a better future. “The general intellectual milieu in the Arab region whether related to publication, literature, or education reflected positively on children's books,“ Dr. Aisawi said. In Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries the marked youthfulness of the population has contributed to the focus on childhood. Saudi Arabia came relatively late to the publishing of children's literature, but within two or three decades Saudi writers and publishers were able to compete with those in other Arab countries. There was a growing realization that not all education happens at school, and that parents and society should also shoulder some responsibility in the education and cultural nourishment of children. At the same time, Saudi Arabia started to participate in organizations related to children, setting up the National Committee for Childhood in 1979 and signing several international agreements related to children. It established an administration for pre-school education, which fueled a demand for books aimed at this age group. The first Saudi children's publication seems to have been a series of stories published in Jeddah in 1959. Another series was published in Al-Ahsa in 1978. Children's magazines proved difficult to sustain. The first children's magazine was Ar-Rawda, established in 1959 by the famous poet Tahir Zamakhshari. It ceased publication after 27 issues for financial reasons and because it failed to receive a favorable reception from children and parents. The writing and publication of children's books in Saudi Arabia started to take off in the 1980s. Some 10 publishing houses published children's books. But few of the writers were Saudi. Dr. Aisawi cited a study which found that of the 43 children's writers living in Saudi Arabia at that time, only 10 were Saudi, and only three were women. The women writers included Farida Farsi, who still writes for children. In the 1980s, children's stories tended to be highly didactic, preaching to children on their behavior. The stories were derived from religious sources and from folk literature. Their literary merit varied, but was in general only average. More Saudi children's writers, particularly women, emerged in the 1990s. Dr. Aisawi said she knew of five women writers at that time, some of them also illustrators, who decided to publish themselves. They included Dr. Samira Zaidan who established a publishing house in England (she writes and produces The Squirrel Books); the artist and author Halla Bint Khalid, and Maha Al-Faisal (who founded Dar Noon Publishing). The production quality of children's books improved. Saudi families “started to buy books and culturally to realize the importance of having books at home for children.” Moving to the present day, Dr. Aisawi said that “modern literature for children in Arabic displays a great variety of genres and themes.” And “it has succeeded in getting away from didactic and stark morality, and into deeper messages related to humanity and life.” Writers are mindful of cultural identity, through for example dress and characters' names. Children's literature is emerging as a critical academic discourse in Saudi Arabia, with the springing up of courses, symposia, critical books and research. Courses in children's literature are mostly taught in Arabic literature departments or in teachers' training colleges rather than in English literature departments. Although Dr. Aisawi continues to research and work on children's literature, she does not teach it because the English department at Dammam University does not offer courses in the field. This is set to change in two years' time when a course in the subject, which is now being planned, is introduced. She is keen to encourage translation of children's literature. “Translation still plays a main role in children's literature today and though it was at the beginning only one way, from English and French into Arabic, it has started to be two way with the translation of Arabic children's writing into English.” She adds: “Saudi writers and publishers need to address an international audience through translating works to major world languages, if we want to have a dialogue with other cultures.”
