DOHA: Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing (BQFP), a member of Qatar Foundation (QF), has launched a new volume of its Golden Guide for Children’s Books and the first Young Adult Golden Guide in the Middle East.
Offering a handpicked selection of the best young adult titles in the Arabic market, the guides are a critical resource for librarians, parents and educators when choosing books for the home or classroom. The launch and a workshop were attended by librarians from preparatory and secondary Independent schools across Qatar, who will be able to stock their library shelves with top quality Arabic books in terms of content and production.
Sara Saeed Al Naimi, Librarian, Omar Al Qurra Independent School, said, “The guides are essential for my students and their parents as they are varied and comprehensive, including an amazing collection of books available in Arabic from a diversity of publishers.
“The workshop helped guide me through many publishers that are showcasing their books at Doha International Book Fair.”
Filling a gap in the market, BQFP is launching the first guide focused on young adult fiction for Arabic books, covering the age group 9-18 to help pre-teens and teenagers with their literary choices as they start reading more complex and thought-provoking materials.
The Young Adult Golden Guide includes over 200 titles from about 50 publishers, and listing novels, mysteries and sci-fi, biographies, poetry, self-development, art and the world around us.
Topics cover anything from Amal in Australia who decides to wear the hijab in high school although she is desperate to fit in, to supermom whose superpowers enable her to hide in her son’s pocket as he goes to school to face his bullies.
The guide is edited by Amira Abed and features essays by leading Arab authors Abdul Aziz Al Seoud and Fatima Sharafeddine.
They will be handed out free at the book fair being held at Qatar National Convention Center until January 17.
The Peninsula
