UAE Reading Month: Hessa Almazrouei on writing stories for children

A mother of three, Almazrouei, is a huge advocate of children’s reading time.

She is one of the UAE authors who are participating in the ongoing celebration of UAE Reading Month, through reading bedtime stories to children, some of which have been posted on Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (Adek)’s social media accounts. Almazrouei also visits schools to inspire pupils to read.

The Abu Dhabi-based author says during her visits to various schools in UAE, she listens to small children as they read some of her books, which are part of their school curriculum. She then answers interesting questions the kids pose to her after reading her books.

Almazrouei says she adores children and loves reading for them. She has written six children’s books in Arabic and three of them have been adopted for the UAE education curriculum for Grade 1 and Grade 4.

Her passion for writing and developing characters was inspired by her own family. “I am inspired to write especially by my children. I have three children. I am inspired through our conversations, our laughter and even the times we cry together,” she said.

“I started writing for children when I became a mother. I could write small classic stories and read them to my first daughter. I always felt good whenever she smiled as she read the stories.”

The 37-year-old Emirati, and a graduate in network engineering from UAE University, says she started writing for publishing when one of her friends who had visited her, listened to her small stories as she read them out to her kids.

“She said my stories were so interesting. She took me to reading workshops from where I learned professional writing skills,” said Almazrouei. “Later, I was introduced to a good publisher who helped me publish my first book. I have so far published six children’s books.”

The Emirati author says children love her books because her stories are similar to their stories. “My protagonists and story characters are drawn from their personalities. The stories are close to their hearts, and compelling to their minds,” she said. “But the events in my books are different, which is what allows them to experience new adventures through reading.”

To encourage children to read, Almazrouei has advised mothers to dedicate a day or a specific time for reading stories to their children. “We should begin by selecting appropriate stories with high standards, starting with the drawings, which should be of good quality and then literary texts brimming with imagination,” she said.