Myra Garces-Bacsal here.

It’s Monday, What are You Reading is a meme hosted by Kellee and Ricki from Unleashing Readers (new host of Monday reading: Kathryn T at Book Date).

I first read and featured The Pearl Diver back in 2017 at GatheringBooks when I found out about it through this compilation created by the National Library Board Singapore entitled Stories from Asia: The Asian Children’s Literature Collection. 

I was pleasantly surprised to discover during the recently concluded Emirates Literature Festival in Dubai (held from 31 January to 06 February 2024) that The Pearl Diver actually has a sequel entitled The Pearl Diver’s Son written by the same author, Julia Johnson, who as far as I know, is a regular featured speaker at the Festival, having lived here in Dubai for over four decades.

The Pearl Diver

Story by: Julia Johnson Illustrations by: Patricia Al Fakhri Published by: Medina Publishing, 2015 (first published in 2003 by Stacey International) ISBN: 1900988585 (ISBN13: 9781900988582). Bought a copy of the book. Book photos taken by me. 

In the post I have written back in 2017, I noted how the book is, at its core, a father-and-son story.

A six year old boy named Saeed accompanies his father, Abdullah, during the pearling season. He was included as part of the crew and given the responsibility of catching fish and making coffee. In return, his father promised to teach him how to dive.

More than anything, I find the story to be a glimpse into the Arabian culture and their practices while at sea, their continued devotion to prayer, and the willingness to impart knowledge to a son who is expected to be the family’s “little man.”

I would classify this as more of an illustrated novelette, because it is text-heavy – definitely not your usual picturebook (PB), although the packaging is similar to that of a PB.

Re-reading the story has made me appreciate its rhythm and its gentle storytelling pace. I loved how both the dangers and the beauty of the sea have been highlighted such that it became almost like a character of its own, with its whims and wonders.

I also took note of the information found on the jacketflap of the book:

This delightful story, carefully researched from oral and written sources – some dating from more than a hundred-and-fifty years ago – offers an insight into the way of life that sustained the Arabian Gulf right up until the discovery of oil.

About the Author and Illustrator:

The author’s bio found at the end of the story revealed how Julia Johnson first came to Dubai in 1975 and has spent her life touring schools and colleges in the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia – just to cite a few.

The illustrator, Patricia Al Fakhri, has lived in Dubai for over 20 years upon the time of the book’s publication and was described as a well-known artist and teacher in Dubai.

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The Pearl Diver’s Son

Story by: Julia Johnson Illustrations by: Christine Espinosa Published by: Jerboa Books (2021) ISBN: 978-9948-25-979-4. Bought a copy of the book. Book photos taken by me. 

This story takes place years into the future with the story of the original Pearl Diver transformed into a legend passed down among families whose livelihood depended on the pearling industry. I initially expected this to be the story of a grown-up Saeed from the original book, but it portrays a different family altogether.

A young boy named Rashid had to grow up way too fast because his father died while out pearling, and he has now taken his father’s place as breadwinner of the family, while also figuring out the details surrounding his father’s tragic ‘accident’ while at sea.

This is also a much longer story with eight chapters in total and fewer illustrations that are not coloured like what was seen in The Pearl Diver. I believe that this targets slightly older readers who may be transitioning from early readers to middle grade novels.

I especially enjoyed finding out more about the bosun, an ancient, blind, and highly respected crew member, whose knowledge of the sea is so vast that he only needed to feel the sun on his skin, smell and taste the sea water, to determine what is the best direction the dhow should take. This centralizes how certain forms of knowledges can be obtained only from an intimate connection with nature and a mutual affinity with one’s immediate environment. 

The growth of Rashid in the story was credible, and the reader would feel emotionally invested in seeing how the story would unfold, especially as Rashid was unfairly treated by the ship’s nakhuda (captain) who was portrayed as the quintessential villain.

Hence, there is a slight mystery that needed to be unraveled here, alongside witnessing Rashid’s character development, while also knowing more about the unpredictable wonders of the sea. I could envision this story being read aloud over two weeks or so, with young people avidly on the edge of their seats, eagerly trying to find out what happens next.

These books further demonstrate the incredibly vibrant and diverse community of artists and creators in the the UAE. In the Author’s full-page bio, this can be found:

A thirst for adventure brought Julia and her architect husband Brian to Dubai more than forty years ago, long before the skyscrapers and smart hotels and fancy shopping malls. Much of her inspiration for writing comes from the UAE and Oman.

About the Artist:

I was especially intrigued to find out that the illustrator Christine Espinosa is a Filipina award-winning architect based in Dubai where she serves as a “Senior Associate and an active advocate of sustainable design.” Christine has also won multiple prizes as an artist and an architect, including the TFT Awards Architect of the Year in 2019 and was among the ten finalists for the World Art Dubai 2020 Emerging Artist Prize.

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For those who wish to read more of Julia Johnson’s works, you may want to check out Saluki Hound Of The Bedouin illustrated by Susan Keeble (see my review here).

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#UAEReads strives to be reflective of the diverse demographic population that makes up the country of the United Arab Emirates (see Global Media Insight source of demographics as of 2024). Hence, we will be featuring literature coming from the major nationalities comprising the entire country: Emiratis, Pakistanis, Indians, Filipinos, Egyptians – and other nationalities (with Other nationalities making up 38.55% of the country’s population as can be seen in the image above) who have made UAE their home.

About the Guest Editor/Curator for March 2024 [#UAEReads]:

Myra Garces-Bacsal has served as a teacher educator for 15 years and has led several research projects on reading and social emotional learning, diverse picturebooks and teacher practices, psychology of high creatives and exceptional people, culturally responsive and inclusive education. She is a quintessential lover and creator of booklists (see her Social and Emotional Learning bookshelf here and other publications below). Myra serves as the Assistant Dean for Research and Graduate Studies with the College of Education, UAE University. She is a self-proclaimed nerd who lives and breathes books and enjoys organizing events and festivals where fellow nerds converge and attempt to joyfully change the world.

Publications on booklists:

Garces-Bacsal, R. M., Alhosani, N. M., Elhoweris, H., Tupas, R. (2023). A diverse social and emotional learning booklist for gifted learners and advanced readers. Roeper Review, 45(1), 25-36. https://doi.org/10.1080/02783193.2022.2145397

Garces-Bacsal, R. M., Alhosani, N. M., Elhoweris, H., Al Ghufli, H. T., AlOwais, N. M., Baja, E. S., & Tupas, R. (2022). Using diverse picturebooks for inclusive practices and transformative pedagogies. In M. Efstratopoulou (Ed.), Rethinking Inclusion and Transformation in Special Education (pp. 72-92). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-6684-4680-5.ch005

Garces-Bacsal, R. M. (2021). Of grit and gumption, sass and verve: What gifted students can learn from multicultural picture book biographies. In S. R. Smith’s Handbook of giftedness and talent development in Australasian Pacific (pp. 431-453). Singapore: Springer International Handbooks of Education. https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-981-13-3041-4_18

Garces-Bacsal, R. M. (2020). Diverse books for diverse children: Building an early childhood diverse booklist for social and emotional learning. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 22(1), 66-95. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468798420901856