Well October sure is the month for national days with no less than 9 countries celebrating! If you missed the blog on the first - these only represent countries where our students are coming from - in case I'm missing out on any countries! Also, for some countries it may not be an #authentic voice … Continue reading #DecDisplays – October Celebrations
Isn't it great to finally have a bit of good news? Today's two posters have books, nonfiction, memoir, biography and fiction for all ages - adult, YA, Middle Grade and picture books about Syria. Usually I wait until the month of the national day to put together a country poster, but today I squeezed in … Continue reading #DecDisplays – Syria
Welcome to December Display month where I've been invited to showcase some poster and display ideas for libraries and library promotions. Many of these designs are inspired by the very active librarian communities that I am a part of, and as Austin Kleon says, "Steal Like an Artist". One of the things I aspire to … Continue reading #DecDisplays – UAE National Day
Little Black Fish is not like the other fish in the stream. He is desperate to see what lies beyond his world. This is a longer-style picture book for children aged 5 and over, narrated by a grandmother fish to a large shoal of younger fish. Little Black Fish is among them. He lives in … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Little Black Fish
Set against the backdrop of the ongoing Syrian civil war and the resulting refugee crisis, Wild Poppies is the story of two brothers, Omar and Sufyan. As the novel opens, they, along with their mother and younger sister, have been displaced to their aunt's home in a village named Al-Nuaman, or "the poppy flower." Their … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Wild Poppies
Review by Lyn Miller-Lachmann Having escaped his narrow-minded and isolated village in Palestine, Saeed moves to the city, marries, opens a bookstore, then returns with his pregnant wife. She gives birth to twin girls – Shams and Qamar – but the family is exiled to the village outskirts, accused of bringing a curse. Although they … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Wondrous Journeys in Strange Lands
Review by Susanne Abou Ghaida Note: This review is based on the French translation of this graphic memoir; all translations from French are mine. An English version, translated from Arabic by Nadiyah Abdullatif and Anam Zafar, was published by Balestier Press in 2023 under the title Yoghurt and Jam (or How My Mother Became Lebanese). … Continue reading #IntlYALitMonth Review: Yoghurt and Jam: Or how my mother became Lebanese
Thank you for joining us this entire month of March as we celebrated UAE's Reading Month.
Najla Al Owais here. Disclaimer: I’m reviewing my father’s book here, whilst I may not be the most impartial reviewer, I think this book will strike a nostalgic chord with any Emirati because of its subject choice, and with non-Emiratis, because it provides an angle that is not usually accessible to them. (Al Furdha) The … Continue reading #UAEReads: A Daughter Reviews Her Father’s Short Story Collection
Mark Baildon here. This review essay shares personal impressions of COP28 in Dubai the United Arab Emirates and draws on the lens of stories to examine the event, climate change, and potential solutions to the climate crisis. My experiences and perceptions of COP28 are limited, based on three visits and two presentations in the Green … Continue reading #UAEReads: COP28 and the Stories-We-Live-By
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 