ABU DHABI // As a published author of children’s books, Alia Al Shamsi knows all too well how fostering an interest in reading as a child can lead to a lifelong love affair with books.
Al Shamsi, who is of Emirati and Italian descent, said she grew up in a household where books were cherished and family members often read novels.
“I have been blessed to have grown up in a household with three libraries and parents who are well read,” she said.
“There is a quote about how books give you a chance to live a thousand lives, it amazes me still how books are capable of inspiring and igniting our imagination. How we just get lost in a book is phenomenal.”
A photographer, photojournalist, poet and journalist, Al Shamsi, 33, has also had plenty of practice making up bedtime stories for her four-year-old son Ahmad. Alshamsi said the next progression was writing and publishing a children’s book about Alayah, a girl from Jumeirah who was born with grains of sand in her hair that never seem to go away – no matter how much she willed it.
Now Al Shamsi spreads her love of reading by helping to stage storytelling sessions in Dubai schools by volunteering with the UAE Board on Books for Young People.
She said children needed to be given the freedom to pick what they want to read. “The best way is to start with subjects that interests them.
“My son requests a minimum of three books a night, so we often go together to choose books. Dinosaurs are at the top of his list but it has evolved into a variety of subjects including one about the life of an apple tree.”
Parents should also lead by example, said Al Shamsi. “It doesn’t make sense to go on about how it’s important to read if you yourself as a parent don’t read.”
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