The region’s largest festival for children and young adults is making sure to catch readers at the youngest possible age with its offering of titles suitable for newborns   

Sharjah, May 21, 2022  Two white baby ducks surrounded by darkness waddle towards its black-hued mother duck standing in daylight – these are not real ducks but pages from a board book that introduces new-born babies to colours at the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival (SCRF) 2022 running at Expo Centre Sharjah till May 22. It educates parents that it is never too early to start babies on books, provided they start with black and white to help their eyes adjust to the big wide world with its riot of colours. 

With this in mind, Roya Books from Istanbul, Turkey has come up with a set of Arabic books for babies in the 0-6 months and 0-24 months age group. While the former is only black and white – aptly titled Abyad wa Aswad – the latter introduces red, signalling the widening of their horizons.

According to the publishers, “the book Abyad wa Aswad is for newborns whose vision is cloudy in the first few months of life. High-contrast black and white images strengthen their vision and increases their capacity to focus. It is recommended that the book is shown to newborns from a distance of 25-30 cm.”

The 0-24 month set has four books – Kabeer wa Sagheer, Ashkal, Rawabet and Etbaa Al Khat. If the first one introduces the child to sizes big and small – like the huge whale and a baby whale perched on its snout, the second book introduces them to shapes – triangles, circles, stars, etc. The third one shows ties – like a bee to a flower and a cup to a teapot; the fourth invites children to follow the line, for instance, a zig zag line from a watering can to a cactus. 

Take them home for AED 30 each, while Abyad wa Aswad comes for AED 40 in a gift bag along with a bunch of flash cards that introduce babies to primary colours. 

Visit the stall of Dar Almanhal Publishers from Jordan in Hall 3.