“Salma is very curious. Salma wants to know what is happening to the peppered moths on the trees in her garden. Let’s join Salma on her journey of discovery.
Join Salma in her fun adventure in nature in “The Peppered Moth”, the latest WLR children’s book and the first children’s book by Prof. Rana Dajani the Founder of We Love Reading, illustrated by Ali Al-Zaini, translating and editing to Arabic Language by Nada Abu Al-Zahab.
Recently The We Love Reading program has launched “The Peppered Moth”, a book that was recently published under the environment and biodiversity theme. The event featured Prof. Rana Dajani and Nada Abu Al-Zahab as speakers, along with a number of We Love Reading ambassadors. Dajani began the event with a moment of silence in respect for the innocent souls we lost in the Gaza war and invited everyone to support them with what they can do.
She emphasized the importance of WLR work and added that “read” was the first word revealed in the Holy Quran, not only to untie the handwriting but to learn and critique and to make a voice that allows us to communicate our identity and culture to the world, and through our role in spreading reading and encouraging writing, we will create a generation that loves reading and who can distinguish between true news and fake ones.
“The Peppered Moth” is a dream that I wasn’t able to pursue due to circumstances, and now is the time to highlight the importance of understanding organisms and their natural diversity, as well as the process of evolution and coexistence with other organisms. The book is inspired by a group of people even if I had the main idea, purpose, and the general perspective of the book, but the brainstorming sessions and the exchange of ideas with others was crucial in promoting its creativity”. Dajani says. In addition, she expresses her gratitude to those who contributed to the book.
“The choice of the story’s title was intended to teach children new things in science and encourage them to search for and learn about this name” Dajani noted, emphasizing the significance of not spoon-feeding children with all the information, but instead, creating an environment that fosters critical thinking and imagination. Over-explaining during the reading session can hamper their journey of discovery and deprive them of the enjoyment and thrill of guessing and searching.
Nada Abu Al-Zahab expressed her gratitude for being part of this work, particularly because it involves the topic of climate change, which is one of the least discussed topics in children’s books. “The Peppered Moth” is a story that combines science and literature, characterized by its inclusiveness. Although it is a scientific story, it is presented in a literary narrative style that simplifies complex themes for children, making them interested and creative to stimulate their curiosity to learn more about the subject. Its drawings also contain unwritten words that provide more information than the text, which encourages the reader to reach their own conclusions, observe, analyze, and connect images and words. Abu Al-Zahab is a children’s literature author and a mother of two with an early childhood education certificate, who is passionate about writing children’s stories and empowering the children to discover themselves.
A group of ambassadors have shared their experiences and children’s reviews after reading sessions. “The book is filled with ideas and illustrations that convey real events in a storytelling style that is curious and demonstrates a love of knowledge, leaving children to wonder and look for the moth that is mentioned in the book. Is the moth really peppered? To finally discover the big meaning beyond the story”, Amna Al-Jamal pointed out.
Lina Rafe’ We Love Reading ambassador, shared her comments about the quality of stories in the program and the process of producing them with simple words and engaging topics addressed. She shared her experience in holding reading sessions for disabled children and how they were able to understand and enjoy the books like other children. This is the most significant evidence that reflects the splendor of stories and their smoothness in delivering the message in a way that any child can enjoy.
Jameela Abu Melhem stated that the book’s character structure, which is based on fiction and thought-provoking content, aims to encourage children to explore and discover solutions related to environmental pollution. It also teaches them new ways of thinking and problem-solving.
In this context, Lina Qutaishat, the Manager of Books Development at WLR, explained that the process of producing books involves multiple stages. Some of these stages involve selecting appropriate age groups, as well as ensuring the use of new words and to what extent we can utilize new words to expose children to them. In addition, the sentence construction, and editing are reviewed by language specialists. Additionally, psychologists also review the content of the books to ensure that it does not cause any psychological harm to children in any way, by not using words that may be harmful or presenting ideas or psychological dimensions that are inappropriate for certain age groups.
Nada Abu Al-Zahab stated that reading and writing are two sides of the same coin, and reading is a divine matter that cannot be underestimated, we need institutions such as the We Love Reading approach that demonstrate the importance of reading and how it is not an optional thing for a person. Rather, a person won’t evolve enough without reading.
Prof. Rana concluded that the writing should come from the heart of the author who is passionate about writing, and writing either for adults or young readers it’s a means of having a conversation between the writer and the reader. Additionally, the writing should aim to inspire and motivate other writers to produce more literature, ultimately promoting reading at all times.