Myra Garces-Bacsal here.

It has been such an incredible month with my book tribe here at GLLI, and we are truly grateful for the opportunity to showcase and highlight not just books – but reading communities – and libraries – and all things book-related here in the Emirates.

As I have noted in my Welcome Introductory post, given the incredibly diverse demographics of the country (see the Global Media Insight statistics as of 2024), our #UAEReads curation attempted to be reflective of this diversity – with literature coming from the major nationalities comprising the entire country: Emiratis, Pakistanis, Indians, Filipinos, Egyptians – and other nationalities (which also make up 38.55% of the country’s population as can be seen in the image above).

We have around 43 posts in total, including this wrap-up. Here is a brief round-up of our Reading Month (clicking on some of the images would also lead you to the posts).

Welcome to #UAEReads by Guest Editor/Curator Myra Garces-Bacsal

Sunday Interviews

#UAEReads – An Interview with Her Excellency (HE) Isobel Abulhoul – Reading Champion in the UAE by Myra Garces-Bacsal.

#UAEReads – An Interview with Omani Artist Ibtihaj Al Harthi: A Whimsical Journey Into Freedom Through Art by Fajer Bin Rashed.

#UAEReads – An Interview with Emirati Artist Sana Al Falasi: Meet the “Curious Nomad” from the UAE by Najla Al Owais.

#UAEReads – An Interview with Emirati Artist Maitha Al Khayat: Meet the Prolific and Beloved Artist from UAE by Najla Al Owais.

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Monday Reading / Reviews:

#UAEReads – Monday Reading: Of Pearl Diving In The Arabian Gulf by Myra Garces-Bacsal.

#UAEReads – Monday Reading: A Vibrant Comics Community in the Emirates by Myra Garces-Bacsal.

#UAEReads – Monday Reading: International Comic Creators at the Emirates Lit Festival 2024 by Myra Garces-Bacsal.

#UAEReads – Monday Reading: My Little World by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Dr. Abdulla Alsharhan by Eqlima Ali Dinar.

#UAEReads: A Daughter Reviews Her Father’s Short Story Collection by Najla Al Owais.

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Tuesday Reviews and Features

#UAEReads: On Finding Love in the UAE in “Suitors For Sheikha” by Dr. Mona Aljanahi.

#UAEReads: Celebrating Classic Stories from the Gulf by Dr. Mona Aljanahi.

#UAEReads: An Arabic and Emirati SDG Picturebook Library (Part 1 of 2) by Najla Al Owais, Mariam AlJaberi, Al Zahra Al Jaberi, and Noora Anwahi.

#UAEReads: COP28 and the Stories-We-Live-By by Mark Baildon.

#UAEReads: An Arabic and Emirati SDG Picturebook Library (Part 2 of 2) by Najla Al Owais, Mariam AlJaberi, Al Zahra Al Jaberi, and Noora Anwahi.

#UAEReads: Young Voices Of Arabia Celebrate the Sustainable Development Goals by Najla Al Owais.

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#WorldKitLit Wednesdays by Emirati Kid Reviewers

#UAEReads – #WorldKidLit Wednesday with Emirati Kid Reviewers: Two Great Leaders by Abdulla Al Owais.

#UAEReads – #WorldKidLit Wednesday with Emirati Kid Reviewers: A Spotlight On My Favorite Stories by Maitha Al Khayat by Noor Al Owais.

#UAEReads – #WorldKidLit Wednesday with Emirati Kid Reviewers: Meet Some Amazing Women From The Middle East by Noor Al Owais.

#UAEReads – #WorldKidLit Wednesday with Emirati Kid Reviewers: Proverbs, Sayings, and The Value Of Honesty – A 2-in-1 Special by Abdulla Al Owais.

#UAEReads – #WorldKidLit Wednesday with Emirati Kid Reviewers: Meet Famous Emirati Cartographer, Ibn Majid by Noor and Abdulla Al Owais.

#UAEReads – #WorldKidLit Wednesday with Emirati Kid Reviewers: KidLit Stories From Palestine by Noor and Abdulla Al Owais.

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Thursday Reviews and Features 

#UAEReads: A Kuwaiti’s Book Clubbing Adventures in the UAE by Fajer Bin Rashed.

#UAEReads: The Earth Is Damp With Knowledge in Aya Ghanameh’s “These Olive Trees” by Dr. Mark Baildon and Rindi Baildon.

#UAEReads: An Armenian-Syrian Reader’s Musings on Elif Shafak’s “The Bastard Of Istanbul” by Dr. Meghry Vasken Nazarian.

#UAEReads: Feeling Empty after Finishing a Good Book – A Saud Al Sanousi Special by Fajer M. Bin Rashed.

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Poetry Friday 

#UAEReads – Poetry Friday: Classical and Nabati Poetry from the Emirates – An Emirati Royal Family Special by Eqlima Ali Dinar and Mariam Al Jaberi. 

#UAEReads – Poetry Friday: Ruptures and Raptures Of The Soul in “Tears Across The Earth” by Danabelle Gutierrez by Myra Garces-Bacsal.

#UAEReads – Poetry Friday: Poets of Arab Heritage Call Out To The Eye and the Night in Love Poems by Myra Garces-Bacsal.

#UAEReads – Poetry Friday: Verses Abound – A Conversation with Emirati Poet Asma Al Jailani by Dr. Mona Aljanahi.

#UAEReads – Poetry Friday: Celebrating A Poet’s Heart by Myra Garces-Bacsal.

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Saturday Library Love and World Book Capital

#UAEReads – World Book Capital: Sharjah, UAE by Myra Garces-Bacsal.

#UAEReads – Library Feature: House Of Wisdom, Sharjah by Najla Al Owais and Eqlima Dinar.

#UAEReads: A Panel Celebrating Avid Young Readers from the Emirates at the House of Wisdom by Najla Al Owais and Fajer Bin Rashed.

#UAEReads – Library Feature: Mohammed Bin Rashid Library, Dubai by Eqlima Ali Dinar.

#UAEReads – Library Feature: Al Safa Art and Design Library, Dubai by Eqlima Ali Dinar.

#UAEReads – Library Feature: Abu Dhabi Children’s Library by Najla Al Owais and Noora Anwahi.

#UAEReads – Library Feature: Zayed Central Library, Al Ain by Meghry Vasken Nazarian.

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On Reading Communities and the Emirates Lit Festival

Some are posted in other days as already mentioned above – but thought it best to do a round-up of this, especially the ones about the forging of reading communities and all things connected to the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature.

#UAEReads – An Interview with Her Excellency (HE) Isobel Abulhoul – Reading Champion in the UAE by Myra Garces-Bacsal.

#UAEReads: A Kuwaiti’s Book Clubbing Adventures in the UAE by Fajer Bin Rashed.

#UAEReads: Forming A Reading Community through A Reading Challenge in the Emirates by Najla Al Owais and Myra Garces-Bacsal.

#UAEReads: A Panel Celebrating Avid Young Readers from the Emirates at the House of Wisdom by Najla Al Owais and Fajer Bin Rashed.

#UAEReads: Emirates Airline Festival of Literature: Where Stories Happen by Fajer Bin Rashed, Najla Al Owais, and Eqlima Dinar.

#UAEReads: Emirates Airline Festival of Literature – Reflections on International Youth Day by Reem Alshamsi, Wedad Ali, and Rayyan Alkaabi.

#UAEReads: Get To Know Your March Guest Contributors Through (some of) Their Favourite Books by the entire GLLI Curation Team.

Features of books with reference to the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature (or Emirates Lit Fest):

#UAEReads – Monday Reading: Of Pearl Diving In The Arabian Gulf by Myra Garces-Bacsal.

#UAEReads – Monday Reading: A Vibrant Comics Community in the Emirates by Myra Garces-Bacsal.

#UAEReads – Monday Reading: International Comic Creators at the Emirates Lit Festival 2024 by Myra Garces-Bacsal.

#UAEReads – #WorldKidLit Wednesday with Emirati Kid Reviewers: A Spotlight On My Favorite Stories by Maitha Al Khayat by Noor Al Owais.

#UAEReads: Feeling Empty after Finishing a Good Book – A Saud Al Sanousi Special by Fajer M. Bin Rashed.

#UAEReads – Poetry Friday: Ruptures and Raptures Of The Soul in “Tears Across The Earth” by Danabelle Gutierrez by Myra Garces-Bacsal.

#UAEReads – Poetry Friday: Poets of Arab Heritage Call Out To The Eye and the Night in Love Poems by Myra Garces-Bacsal.

#UAEReads – Poetry Friday: Celebrating A Poet’s Heart by Myra Garces-Bacsal.

#UAEReads: Young Voices Of Arabia Celebrate the Sustainable Development Goals by Najla Al Owais.

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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 picture books 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