The importance of cultivating the virtue of reading among children is a universally accepted. Stories form one of the best ways to productively engage a child and transport them to another magical world.
Children who are exposed to stories and narrations in their early years tend to develop deeper empathy and are better equipped to deal with daily life situations. Moreover, reading also helps to build a child’s language skills and enables them to construct more developed sentences with better vocabulary early on.
Wish to engage your child in reading for better academic, social and cognitive development? Check out these handpicked stories and books from the Nahla wa Nahil platform that will surely motivate your child and encourage him or her to read -
Publisher: Dar Al-Hadaeq Publishing House
Written by: Walid Maamari
Age: Suitable for the ages 9 years and above
This book includes a very interesting record of the experiences of Shagboub, an innocent fourth-grader, who talks about his life experiences and the thoughts he has in different circumstances. He shares many small events that take place in his life, some of which are cute, funny, and special.
Shagboub begins the book by recalling a funny and embarrassing incident that took place with him. He happened to see his teacher, Miss Mona, on her balcony watering her plants. She asked him why he was carrying his schoolbag on the day off? He shares how he managed the situation in his funny way.
He further continues the tale by sharing some incidents from the summer vacations. Shagboub had spent the holidays at his grandparent’s house in the countryside with his parents and sister Zainab. He describes some major events that took place there, and that by the end of the vacation, he learned how to play the trumpet. He also mentions many interesting incidents that took place in his school and how he felt about them.
Takeaway
Diary stories are one of the best forms of stories to encourage children to express their opinions and feelings in different situations. They also help to build a kind of emotional resilience towards painful or sad events in their personal lives by reading and imagining the life of other children, and how they interact with those events.
Diary stories also enable Adults to take a peek into a child’s world and help them to understand how the younger ones tend to perceive the world around them.
Publisher: Dar Al Hodhud for Publishing and Distribution
Written by: Doigo Qiran.
Age: Suitable for the ages 10 years and above
Author Qiran, who is known for his interest in applied sciences and mathematics, presents us with this wonderful series entitled "Examples from the Lives of Scholars". In each book, he presents a distinct subject that urges the reader to learn and acquire a new moral value.
In the book titled “The Good That Never Exhausts,” the writer focuses on the issue of the Islamic endowment and its origins in the era of the Prophet – peace be upon him – and the aim was to spread charitable work and continue it even after the death of the person who chooses a project that makes it a “waqf” for people to benefit from.
Examples shared by the writer include endowments for schools and universities, rest homes, endowment for animal friends, sending students for walks, and many other examples and the owners of these endowments, such as Muhammad Al-Fateh, Suleiman the Magnificent, Umm Kulthum Khatoun and others. At the end of the book, the author shares a brief guide to each endowment, its name, place, the date of the endowment and its owner.
Takeaway
Books talk about human values to help a child to acquire his or her moral wealth and stay with him or her throughout life.
Presenting the concept of benevolence and helping the needy in the form of the story, supports the efforts of parents in instilling the value of giving and multiplies the feelings of gratitude, optimism, and positivity among children.
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Publisher: Dar Al Saqi
Written by: Fatima Sharaf El-Din, Samar Mahfouz Barraj
Age: Suitable for the ages 14 years and above
With a beautiful literary style of narration, the story talks about the deep, admirable friendship between two children: Rawan – who lives with her family in Lebanon, and Ghadi – a fourteen-year-old boy who lives with his family in Brussels and visits Lebanon during the summer holidays every year.
The tale presents beautiful ways of dealing with some critical situations at a tender age. It brings forward situations such as when Ghadi was bullied by a student in the eleventh grade and that student tried to persuade him to smoke, or Rawan’s dealing with the terrifying thought of her parents separating.
In essence, the story provides a beautiful example of friendship and supporting one’s friends when they feel sad. Strong friendship, the foundations of choosing the right friends, dealing with bullying by taking firm and courageous steps, nurturing friendship, and continuing communication even at a distance are among the most beautiful topics presented in the book to young readers.
Takeaway
According to a UNESCO report, one in three students is bullied at least once a month, and one in 10 is a victim of cyberbullying.
To read this book and other useful books and stories, please subscribe to Nahla wa Nahil platform
Publisher: Dar Al Yasmeen for Publishing and Distribution
Written by: Haya Saleh
Age: Suitable for the ages 15 years and above
This novel won the Etisalat Prize for the Books of Children and Young Adults category in 2020. It was distinguished by its strong Arabic language, vocabulary, and rich literary structure. The most prominent feature of the novel is its unique way of describing the civil war and the tyranny of injustice and war machines over the lives of simple and secure families.
In this title, the father "Abu Omar" is martyred after shells rain down on their area and his wife "Um Omar" survives along with her three sons Omar, Sufyan, and Thuraya. They face many difficult conditions and are forced to leave the place to another town in search of safety.
Omar and Sufyan form the protagonists of this story and are in their prime teenage years. One of them is recruited into the ranks of an armed group, and the other is forced to let go of his childhood and take on the responsibility of the family.
The novel presents many important awareness-raising ideas for teens and teaches them the importance of avoiding falling into some mistakes or dangerous experiences. It also deals with other touching stories of child victims of war.
Takeaway
According to UNICEF, more than 266,000 cases of serious child abuse were verified between 2005 and 2006, perpetrated by parties to conflict in wars across Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America.
Publisher: Dar Al Saqi
Written by: Maria Dadouche
Age: Suitable for the ages 9 years and above
This exciting story is documented in smooth and simple language and is sure to infuse a sense of fun and a smile along its lines for the readers.
It provides an opportunity for the curious young minds to uncover the mysteries of the unknown, by describing the adventures of two young kids – Tim and Sami as they discover the truth about Umm Kinan.
Umm Kinan is their neighbor. All the children of their neighborhood believe that this old woman kidnaps children and hides them. One day, Umm Kinan requests Tim and Sami to pick oranges for her from her big, tall tree in exchange for a reward.
This task, which the neighborhood children have long refused, fearing that Umm Kinan would kidnap them, is accepted as a challenge by Tim and Sami, who go through an adventure to verify the truth of the matter.
Takeaway
The curiosity and the love of exploring hidden things is engrained in children. Exploring and searching for something unknown helps them to develop intelligence and increases their level of awareness.
Publisher: Dar Al-Ma’aref Nasheron
Written By: Yusuf Al-Baini
Age: Suitable for the ages 10 years and above
This book is from a series titled "I love the environment", authored by the writer Yousef Al-Baini. In this series, he focuses on connecting the child with the environment around him and answers some questions related to it in the form of fiction.
In ‘The Sandy Beach’, the grains of sand watch and contemplate the life cycle of turtles, how they leave their eggs in pits at the seashore, and what happens to turtle chicks when they hatch.
At the end of the story, the writer puts together several comprehension exercises related to the content of the story, as well as questions on some Arabic grammar appropriate for this age group.
Do you want to enhance your child's creative thinking and communication skills? You can now subscribe to the GESS Award-winning educational platform, Nahla wa Nahil, which includes a large number of stories and books suitable for ages 4-14.