A Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival (SCRF 2021) Cultural Forum discussion under way.

Jamil Khan, Senior Reporter

How can authors create books to promote critical thinking, learning and creativity in children? This all-important topic was at the heart of a Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival (SCRF 2021) Cultural Forum discussion.

“An inspirational book is one that excites and ignites the mind of a child,” said Jordanian author Fida Al-Zamr, one of the participating speakers at the session titled ‘Inspirational Books’.

“The author must take into consideration the age of a child and endeavour to tap into the power of images to deliver messages because illustrations sometimes speak better than words. Most importantly, the book should have attractive characters,” Al-Zamr added.

Emphasising the need for parents to pick books with a sense of humour and charismatic protagonists to keep children hooked, Al-Zamr warned parents in attendance that “if a child isn’t enjoying a book they will simply leave it midway. As authors we should abstain from direct preaching. Instead, we should inject our educational messages through small doses of humour.”

Relating her personal experience about why she decided to put pen to paper when she noticed a dearth of books to read to her children, which related their faith, values and identity, was the second panellist at the session, Zenubia Arsalan, who told her audience: “When I grew up reading the books I read, I did not identify with any of the characters. They were quite far removed from my life.”

“Today we live in a well-connected global world, we eat different cuisines and know about countries such as Mexico, Sweden, Korea through their food. If our food represents the world we live in, why don’t our books?” she added.

The Dubai-based Pakistani author strongly asserted the need for parents to pick good books and read out loud to their children in fun and engaging ways during the very early years of their life.

Uniting young readers with creators of children’s literature and allied arts, the 12th Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival runs till May 29 at Expo Centre Sharjah from 4-10pm daily, barring Saturday when its open from 10am-10pm. This edition has also welcomed 172 publishers from 15 countries who are showcasing their latest books and other literary materials at the 11-day event.

Misako Rocks: Misako Rocks, a Japanese manga artist based in Brooklyn, New York, led young children into the expressive universe of manga at the 12th edition of the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival, through a step-by-step interactive workshop.

Misako, a comic artist and writer and illustrator of children’s books, focused on basic manga art techniques of sketching characters with distinctive personalities.

The eyes, which draw out the emotions on the face, are the crucial element, she said, as children chose the ‘confident’ look for their drawing session. Presenting her dynamic artwork on a white paper board, Rocks illustrated how to draw characters by framing their facial features within a lightly drawn guideline to get the right proportions.

Beginning with the eyebrows, the artist followed on with distinctively shaped eyelids and enhanced the large, circular eyes with a bubble and dot bubble – an important technique to make it easier for readers to know the character’s thoughts in manga comics. She also offered tips on shading the hair with a flick of the wrist in a one-directional manner.

The difference in the approach to drawing the male character was quite evident in everything – from the shape of the eyelids and eyebrows to a more pronounced nose, sharper chin, and a longer, wider face structure.

“Shading is what brings the drawing to life, and it is a crucial element of manga art,” said the author of graphic novel, Bounce Back.

It is in the ‘inking’ process that the pencil lines are traced using Japanese calligraphy brush pens. The last step of colouring, she explained, was the most time-consuming as one page may take around four hours to complete.

The artist encouraged the children to experiment with simple shapes, different eyes, nose, smiles, and cool hairstyles to create endless expressions and unique personalities.