HUWA WA HEYA

Over the past three months, I have been trying to read only Arabic books to my two youngest children. For youngsters whose first language is English, defining the gender differences has not only been difficult, but sometimes awkward to explain to my little girl.

For starters, when you are speaking about a group of people, if there are four men and one woman, the plural verb or adjective would be masculine. On the other hand, if there were four or even ten women and one man, the plural would still be masculine. In other words, one man outweighs all the women.

Most objects are feminine, on the rare occasion when an object is masculine, like sword (saif), dagger (Khinjar), Gun (musaddas), hammer (shakoosh), the plural of those objects must be feminized. It states clearly in Arabic grammar books that the plural of all “mindless things” must be feminine.

The same for animals, there is a word for lioness (Labwah) and lion (Asad), but once you speak about a group of male lions, the verbs and adjectives describing them must be feminine.

As a little girl, I remember clearly sensing the gender discrimination against females simply by learning Arabic grammar. English is not exempt from this, and I am sure many other languages aren’t either. All you need to say is (HU-MAN) to know this, but Arabic takes it a little step further I think. Our minds are influenced and preconditioned so early on in life that we learn to discriminate before we even learn the alphabet.

Is it possible to re-examine to what extent our worldview has been influenced by both overt and covert means, and aim to raise undiscriminating children?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKK7wGAYP6k&t=7s

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/oct/11/delusions-gender-sex-cordelia-fine ... See more

Politics for children?
Is it acceptable to make politically-themed stories for young children? I expect many would say no.

What if I ask the same question using different words? What if I ask if youngsters should learn about respecting rules, the merits of obedience, and the significance of hierarchy… or the consequences of non-conformity, the importance of standing up for one’s principles, and human equality? I expect many would say yes.

Both Arab and European children’s authors and illustrators who lived under totalitarian regimes complained to me that their work was under constant scrutiny for subliminal political messages. I presumed this meant their work was innocent of ulterior meanings, and that the authorities read into it too much. I could relate to that, as I once painted a shepherd and his flock, and a psychologist said that I was clearly expressing my resentment of male dominance and that the sheep looking out at you from the painting was myself, crying out for help! Really?!

Some time later, however, these same illustrators and authors said that when they left their oppressive countries, they were happily able to express their political ideas more freely. So, in actual fact they were NOT innocent.

Many political parties and movements have used children’s literature as an ambiguous medium to convey their doctrine. For example, there was ‘Dar Al Fata Al Arabia’, the first children’s publishing house in Lebanon, and Socialist and communist parties in the USA during the 1950’s & 60’s. I cannot mention any Saudi publishing houses because we are very new in the field.

Here are a few surprising children’s titles that were banned for their ‘supposed’ political undertones:
Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne (said to have been about Nazism)
Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss (banned in China for “early Marxism”)
The Lorax by Dr. Seuss (banned for demonization of the lumber industry)
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell (banned by an apartheid South Africa simply because of the word ‘black’)

Here are other titles that were clearly making political statements:
The Butter Battle Book by Dr.Seuss (about the danger and implications of the Cold War)
Click, Clack, Moo by Doreen Cornin ( a lesson in the pursuit of justice)
The Emperor’s New Clothes by Hans Christian Anderson (to dare to speak the truth)
The Horse and his Boy by C.S Lewis (Political corruption)
Harry Potter by JK Rowling (corruption, justice, discrimination and more)

The majority of children’s nursery rhymes also have political and historical references. In “Humpty Dumpty”, ‘Humpty’ was in fact a canon on a wall, “Jack and Jill” was about the beheading of the king and queen of France, “Mary, Mary quite contrary” was about Queen Mary Tudor’s methods of torturing non Catholics, and “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep” was a commoner’s way of protesting against the high taxes in the Middle Ages. There are many, many more examples I haven’t mentioned. I invite you to go into the history of famous children’s stories and nursery rhymes you might remember from your own childhood. You might find out that not everything is as it seems! ... See more

ILLUSTRATORS ARE PEOPLE TOO!

The four main types of books for children are:

1. Board Books: Pages made of cardboard rather than paper that are designed for baby hands and TEETH. These books usually focus on pictures with few or no words.
2. Picture Books: This is the most popular kind of children’s book. The text is short, and the pictures extensive.
3. Picture storybooks: Text equals pictures.
4. Illustrated books: Text-driven narratives with supporting pictures.

Please note that in (1) and (2), the pictures are more important than the text. In (3), they are EQUAL.

“Eloise Takes a Bawth” was published in 2002, forty years after it was written and four years after the death of it’s author. I refused to buy it even though I have the full collection because I thought that the publisher was milking the dead. I later discovered the truth. Kay Thompson became so possessive of ELOISE that she refused to share her, even with Eloise’s father Mr. Hilary Knight. The author pulled from publication “Eloise Takes a Bawth”, preventing the illustrator from making any profit on his work for forty years!

In light of definitions 1, 2, and 3, I ask, why does the author come first? Why do most authors think they are superior to illustrators? ... See more

COPYRIGHTS: The Snapchat Monkey

“In its mother’s eyes, a monkey is a gazelle”. This is a well-known Arabic proverb. When I was sketching it, I tried to think of ways to make the monkey pretty. Lipstick and eye shadow were inappropriate, but then I remembered ‘Bambi’, the first gazelle I ever encountered. I remembered a scene when a garland of flowers was placed on Bambi’s head…or was that Thumper?

In any case, a garland of flowers is what I chose. When over 7000 Riyadh citizens first saw this image at Saudi Design Week 2017, the reaction was positive, but unexpected. People young and old were flocking to my booth to take pictures with “The Snapchat Monkey.” Apparently, there is a filter on Snapchat that makes you look like this. I must confess that I wasn’t very pleased. Visitors were coming up close with their high-tech phones and taking pictures without asking my permission, or even saying hello. When I suggested that they purchase a copy of the image in the form of a 5 SR notepad, they ran away. I have no idea how Snapchat works, but this monkey was apparently all over it. Where did my copyrights go? Must we forget them in this age of ‘social media’?

Copyrighting is a relatively new concept, one that most Arab countries are either ignorant of or chose to ignore. Copying is a kind of flattery, they say. Yes, it is flattery, but only if you state who the original belongs to and if you don’t make money of it. Even if you buy a painting, you don’t own its copyright. Perhaps this overlooked right is one of the reasons most artists are starving: exploitation.

I found this Ted Talk by coincidence. Jia Jia tells us that copying an image is a good thing. I can’t help feeling that this applies only to famous artists who are DEAD. What do you think?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DLNFDQt8Pc ... See more

MA FI ARABIC, ENGLEEZI BASS

Many of my Arabic friends have asked me why I write my posts in English only.
Where do I begin?

I think it started when I turned three - that’s when my mother began hiring ‘governesses’ through nanny agencies in London. They were an odious bunch of women, to say the least, but they did teach me English. In fact, I learned it so well that by the time I was six, my mother tongue had become English, much to my mother’s dismay.

All the beautifully illustrated children’s books were in English, Disney cartoons were in English, theater was in English, museum plaques were in English, Abba sang in English, and of course Miss Piggy spoke only in English.

The school - or rather the All-Girls-Detention Center - I attended taught everything in Arabic, even Maths. I was good at Arabic grammar, but they didn’t like my essays. Too short, they said, and I needed to expand my vocabulary by reading Arabic books.
“What should I read?” I asked.
‘Al Bidayah wa’Nihayah’, was the first suggestion. This is a set of books on how the world was created and how it will end. They also recommended ‘Kitabu’R’rooh’, which is about death and what happens to the soul post-mortem.
“But aren’t there any fun books in Arabic?”
“Arabic should not be fun,” was the stern response. “Furthermore, excessive mirth numbs the senses.”

Taking up private art classes changed my young life in many ways. My first teacher was from Virginia D.C. Not only did she teach me to see the beauty in my simple surroundings, but also proved to me that I could write good essays and even, poetry. When I asked her for reading suggestions, she recommended the hilarious Gerald Durrell, and the brilliant short stories by Somerset Maugham. These are still on my favorites list.

When I published my first two books in 1997, I wrote them in both Arabic and English and printed 3000 of each. The English version was sold out within two and half years, but it took six years to sell the Arabic copies.

The expat community embraced me from day one, always raving about the quality of my books and how inexpensive they were, while fellow natives still tell me that my books are overpriced.

At the end of the first ten years, I found that I was selling 10 in English to 1 in Arabic. Last week, we did an inventory check and found that the ratio has now changed: it is no longer 10 English to 1 Arabic, it is now literally 100-1.

Now that you know who my readers are, will you still ask me why only English? Besides, numbers count, even for Arabic publishers. ... See more

WHERE CAN I SELL BOOKS IN KSA? NOT IN A BOOKSHOP

When I published my first two books in 1997, I approached Jarir. They said my books wouldn’t sell because any title over 15 SR ($4) has no market. When I drew their to attention to the fact that their shelves were brimming with books priced at double and triple that amount, they said I was presumptuous.

Two decades have passed, but Jarir’s attitude has not changed. They have actually now ceased to renew contracts with fellow Arab publishers despite their reasonable prices and high standards. They are also turning away local publishers because any book above 5$ is unreasonable.

In other words, it is accepted and expected for the prices of make-up and fast food and fidget spinners and even cotton candy to rise every year, but the line is drawn when it comes to books. What is the real problem?

To tell you the truth, I don’t think Jarir likes being a (Bookshop). When I confront them, they say it’s simply a question of supply and demand. “Your books don’t sell, madam.” They tell me. Yet when I go to look for my own books in their branches, they are either not on display or out of stock. So what is the real problem?

Why do I still deal with Jarir? Because the risk of them closing down or running away before I get my money back is minimal as opposed to other options.

All of this made me decide to try e-commerce. So I consulted an expert. He said that producing high quality books was an error on my part, and that the way I have been running my publishing house is not serious…sigh!

All I can say is that I thank my lucky stars for the expat community and Desert Designs of Al Khobar. Desert Designs are NOT a book store, but they actually display and sell my books.

“Halla, art and culture don’t bring bread to the table,” my father warned the 10 year old me. Was he right? Yes… but what kind of humans would we be without those two aspects? ... See more

‏"كان يا ما كان،في جزيرة العرب برق وشادن "
هذه القصة مستوحاة من برنامج وثائقي شاهدته على قناة ناشيونال جيوغرافيك ومبنية على أحدث الأبحاث العلمية المتعلقة بالحياة الفطرية والآثار والتاريخ في جزيرة العرب
الفترة الزمنية هي منذ ما يقارب 30,000 عام حينما كان الربع الخالي مليئا بالحياة. في التاريخ الحديث عثر علماء الجيولوجيا على احافير غزلان كانت متواجدة في الربع الخالي لعلها كانت الغزال العفري هذا الغزال انقرض منذ الثمانينات الميلادية بسب جشع الانسان. اما البرنيق ومعظم الحيوانات الأخرى المذكورة في هذا الكتاب قد اختفت من المنطقة بسبب تغير المناخ
#climax #plot #tagbestapp #bookworm #stories #read #nook #literature #literate #page #imagine #library #books #readinglist #book #kindle #pages #bestoftheday #text #reader #story #reading #instagood #photooftheday #paper ... See more

“ Once Upon a Time in the Arabian Peninsula Barq & Shaden”
This story is based on a documentary I watched on National Geographic, it is also based on the most recent scientific research on the flora and fauna of Saudi Arabia, as well as a few splashes of history and archeology. The time period is around 30,000 years ago, when the empty quarter was a lush green place, full of lakes and animals. In recent history, geologists found gazelle fossils in the empty quarter that could have belonged to the Afri. This gazelle has been extinct since the 1980s due to human greed. The hippopotamus and most of the other animals in this book have disappeared from the region because of climate change .
#climax #plot #tagbestapp #bookworm #stories #read #nook #literature #literate #page #imagine #library #books #readinglist #book #kindle #pages #bestoftheday #text #reader #story #reading #instagood #photooftheday #paper ... See more

“ Once Upon a Time in the Arabian Peninsula Barq & Shaden”
This story is based on a documentary I watched on National Geographic, it is also based on the most recent scientific research on the flora and fauna of Saudi Arabia, as well as a few splashes of history and archeology. The time period is around 30,000 years ago, when the empty quarter was a lush green place, full of lakes and animals. In recent history, geologists found gazelle fossils in the empty quarter that could have belonged to the Afri. This gazelle has been extinct since the 1980s due to human greed. The hippopotamus and most of the other animals in this book have disappeared from the region because of climate change .
#climax #plot #tagbestapp #bookworm #stories #read #nook #literature #literate #page #imagine #library #books #readinglist #book #kindle #pages #bestoftheday #text #reader #story #reading #instagood #photooftheday #paper ... See more

THE BOOK OF MANY COVERS

On November 16th 2016, I announced to you all that my new book was finally ready…it wasn’t.

For one thing, I wasn’t happy with the cover, so I changed it (2). I then sent it to several wildlife experts for a final review before publishing: one of them was the first head of the Wildlife Commission/ Professor AbdulAziz AbuZnada. He said that the horns on my gazelle were too thin. I told him that the only picture I found of what might have been an Afri gazelle was thumbnail size, and asked if he could help me. Much to my dismay, he couldn’t.

Unlike my two-year hunt to find an image of the hippopotamus teeth fossils, the search for a picture of an Afri gazelle - that even extended beyond KSA’s borders - ended up in failure, so I tried to make an intelligent guess based on the professor’s description (3). This third attempt was better, I hoped, but it failed to give a adequate reflection of what the book was about, so I pulled out my paintbrush once more.

Today, I show you the final, final, final cover. I will be launching it tomorrow at the Multi-National School, Riyadh. Follow me on Facebook and Instagram to find out when and where you can get a copy, which will be soon ‘inshallah’! ... See more