Abdulla Al Owais here.

Today, I will tell you about one of the picturebooks that I have read.

Two Great Leaders

Author: Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai Illustrator: Aysha Saif Al Hemrani Published by: Explorer Publishing & Distribution (2016) ISBN: 9781785969321

I actually won this book last year at school when I was library star of the month and received this book. It’s called Two Great Leaders and it’s by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai. I read the book in English but it was written in Arabic.

The book talks about two great leaders who are Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid (May Allah have mercy on them), who created the idea of the United Arab Emirates. Their dream was to have a united country, so they asked the rulers of the different emirates to join the union. It was their dream to create a united country for the people living here. They believed a united country will be good for the people, and make them happy.

When I was reading the book, I felt happy about my country and proud that all the rulers agreed to be united. I learnt that our leader care about us and everyone. I also learnt that together we are strong.

I will tell you about my favorite quotes in the book. On page 7: “Sheikh Rashid smiled at Sheikh Zayed and said, ‘Our future belongs together.'” I like this quote because the Sheikhs idea became true in real life and I am living it.

Two Great Leaders was illustrated by Aysha Al Hemrani. I noticed that she used the colors of the United Arab Emirates to illustrate the book, which are red, green, white and black. I also noticed that she colored Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid (May Allah have mercy on their souls) using grey colors because they are no longer with us.

This is my favorite page spread because it shows the Union House at Etihad Museum, which I visited recently and enjoyed learning about my beautiful country. Here is a picture from my visit to Etihad Museum.

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About the Guest Contributor for #UAEReads:

Abdulla Al Owais is from Sharjah in the UAE and he is a 3^rd grader at Ajman Academy. He is very active and loves sports like football, taekwondo and tennis.

You can find him building lego sets, or sketching in his sketch book. He enjoys reading and listening to his yoto.

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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