Liliane van der Hoeven’s fun, encyclopaedic ode to Dubai

Dutch children's author Liliane van der Hoeven talks about her encyclopedic city-guide for children, The Key to Dubai.

Lilliane van der Hoeven. Courtesy Explorer Publishing

After living in Dubai for five years, Liliane van der Hoeven recently moved back to her native Netherlands. It was a move the Dutch author and mother-of-three was sad to make, having strongly identified with the UAE’s culture, environment and people.

As a heartfelt thank you, she wrote The Key to Dubai, a light- hearted encyclopaedia of the city for children between the ages of 6 and 14, which is packed with facts, figures, fun trivia and stories about the emirate.

What prompted you to write The Key to Dubai?

I first had the idea for the book when my family and I relocated to Dubai from ­Budapest in 2010. My children’s ages at that time were: Robin was 4, Feline was 7 and Mare was about 10. I was looking for a way to help them understand the UAE and its culture but I couldn’t find anything specific in bookstores. And since I’ve always loved writing and I ­wanted to explore the city myself anyway, I thought why not try to write a book suitable for children?

How did you research Dubai?

The first thing I did was visit museums and gather as much general information as ­possible. Then I focused on elements of Emirati culture and heritage. I connected with experts from the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding. Then, when researching ­falcons, for example, I went to the Falcon Hospital in Abu Dhabi, which was a truly great experience. I also spoke with animal experts at Bani Yas Island and visited an Arabian horse equestrian club – it was quite a quest.

Tell us more about the ­structure and flow of the book.

Dubai is a huge subject to cover, and to provide context, I first give a bit of a UAE overview. Then I focus on Bedouin life in the desert and the importance of survival, the traditions, camels and so on. After that I cover Dubai Creek with its ancient trading dhows and fishing and pearl-diving past. The book highlights how it is the place from which the city developed to become the huge cosmopolitan place it is today. As well as being informative, it was also important to me that the book be about children enjoying and exploring. Allowing me to guide them in terms of where to go and how to find out more. After all, Dubai is an impressive and fascinating place.

What are some of your ­favourite things in the book?

My two girls particularly loved reading about how Dubai’s landmarks were constructed. How many lorries of sand drove onto Palm Jumeirah to build it, for example. On the cultural side, children really seem to love learning that the peregrine falcon is the fastest flying bird on Earth. That, and any facts to do with camels.

Are there plans to translate the book into Arabic?

The book will, of course, be of interest to expatriate children and those who come here as tourists. I’m hopeful it will appeal to those who want to simply understand more about the country and take a memento home. Also, for local children, yes, I very much hope they would be proud to see their heritage, country and culture presented in this way, but at the moment there aren’t plans to translate the book into Arabic.

Is a children’s book about the capital in the pipeline?

I would love to explore it more and tell children about Abu Dhabi, that would be great. There are so many wonderful stories to tell about the capital and the wider emirates. So yes, there’s many things I’d like to dive into. Hopefully that will happen in the near future – I’ll definitely be back.