Why is there a need for Emirati-centric Children’s Literature in English?

Children’s literature has served as a cultural field for national, local and religious identity. Children’s books serve as springboards and allow children to navigate ideas about who they are and where they want to be. These elements build a sense of belonging and a strong sense of identity. So how are children affected when they do not see themselves in books? In particular, how are Emirati children affected when they do not see themselves in English texts at school?

In a cultural visibility workshop held in Abu Dhabi, Arab and Western teachers together were asked to write the name of the first storybook character that came to mind. When replies were compiled it showed that only one in thirty of the responses included an Arab storybook character – Layla. The rest were British fairy tale characters or other characters from Western books.

A similar activity was conducted with grade three students. Students’ responses produced only one non-European character – Aladdin. An Emirati teacher explained, “A few years ago when we went to malls all we saw were images of European Westerners but this is changing. We are becoming more visible in our own country in marketing campaigns.”

As the publication and distribution of school texts increasingly grows internationally corporative, teachers and librarians in other countries such as Australia, Canada, and New Zealand have expressed growing concern with the dominating number of British and American texts. Educational researchers Ronald Jobe and Marilynne Black noted, “Young people must see themselves reflected in what they read and view so as to develop a sense of identity.”

A local third-grade classroom of Arab girls was asked to draw a picture of themselves or their family members. Interestingly the girls chose not to draw the true color of their hair. When they were later asked who they had drawn they answered in unison, “American girls.” Stella Miles Franklin, an Australian writer, made a poignant remark when she said, “without an indigenous literature people can remain alien in their own soil.”

A different cohort of 45 Arab girls was similarly asked to draw a house. Aside from 4 girls, all drew houses that looked British. Since there were no peaked roofs with chimneys on any of the houses or buildings that could be seen from the school windows, the girls were asked why they drew houses with peaked roofs? Their response was silence until one child said, “We’re drawing the type of houses we see in books.”

The type of book this student was referring to is generally classified as a ‘window book”. Window books are considered important in children’s social development because they make the strange familiar. Window books acquaint children with people from other lands.

Mirror books, on the other hand, promote positive self-esteem in children. Reading and writing are markedly easier when a child can see images and situations that she or he is familiar with. They begin by focusing on the child and the child’s family, home, community, lifestyle, clothes, food, school, daily practices, and religion. They reflect the child and endorse the child’s lifestyle. Essentially mirror books allow rapid language acquisition because the child is dealing with familiar ideas and images. Mirror books play a very crucial role in the development of a child’s positive identity formation because they give a child a sense of place and a sense of belonging.

Children feel a sense of dignity and honour for themselves, their parents, family, peers, faith, community, and nation. Children who develop a strong sense of identity generally go on to take grand roles in society. Such children have the ability to confront hardships, difficulties and challenges with confidence, and effectiveness. Children are better equipped to problem solve, communicate effectively, think critically, collaborate and be creative. These positive attributes are the hopes of all educators everywhere for children all over the world.