There was a time, not too long ago, when parents, educated of course, and teachers used to lament that while imported story books for children were available aplenty there was a dearth of locally written and published books. Even the few that were produced in Pakistan were far from eye-catching.

It was Ferozsons which made a pleasant start and for some time remained the lone publisher to produce attractive books. Recent years, however, have seen heartening developments. More publishers, such as the Oxford University Press, Book Group, Sang-e-Meel and Children’s Literature Festival, entered the field and beautifully designed books for children of different age groups, mainly in Urdu, appeared on the shelves of book stores, not just in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad but in other cities as well. Books, particularly the ones meant for smaller kids, are now profusely colourful and appealing to the eyes of not just tiny tots but their elder siblings as well.

Writer-cum-artist Rumana Husain, who co-founded the Book Group, is now freelancing. She has authored about 60 booklets and illustrated most of them. She insists that the contents should be relevant to kids and that they should be able to relate to the stories, more so to their characters. The language should be simple and the entire package should arouse the imagination of the young ones.

If the print orders were to be raised the cost of production will fall

Another artist-cum-illustrator who is doing a laudable job is Fauzia Minallah. Based in Germany, she takes time out of her busy schedule to pursue what can be called her passion. She has as many as 10 books to her credit. The most notable is the story of Sadako, a Japanese girl, who was living in Hiroshima when the nuclear bomb was dropped on the city. She was afflicted by cancer. She fought a losing battle as death, if one may say so, ended her agony. Sadako has been translated into many regional languages of Pakistan as also in Darri for distribution in Afghanistan. Her other books have ‘happier’ stories and are beautifully designed for she believes in ‘education through entertainment’.

A point to remember is that not just fiction but also educational books for children should be pleasant to behold and easy to read. A case in point is the series on the history of our provinces produced by OUP and authored by the country’s eminent historian, Dr Hamida Khuhro. The writer of at least two scholarly works like Sindh Through the Centuries and The Making of Modern Sindh, began to write in a story form about Sindh for her grandchildren who are in the UK. The compliments that she got encouraged her to write about other provinces as well.

The booklets meant for children from 8 to 18 are also read by grown ups, as also by foreigners stationed in Pakistan. Dr Khuhro is currently working on similar publications on Gilgit-Baltistan and Afghanistan. It was heart-warming to see that the one on Sindh has been translated into Sindhi and Urdu.

Dr Khuhro is not the only well known literary person to have written for children. The list includes such illustrious persons of letters as Fahmida Riaz, Zehra Nigah, Kishwar Naheed and Amjad Islam Amjad. “It is not rare for Urdu poets to gain recognition in the field of poetry for grown ups and children alike. Allama Iqbal and Soofi Tabassum are two names which come to my mind instantly,” says Amjad, as he laments the fact that poets of this kind are becoming extinct.” When he sits down to write verse for kids he doesn’t have to remind himself that the diction has to be simple. It comes naturally to him and, one can be sure, to other poets as well.

Attempts are made by the publishers of children’s books to make them inexpensive, but to say that they can be afforded by parents from the lower economic background will be far from truth. If the print orders were to be raised the cost of production will fall and would result in lowering of printed prices. But that can only happen if children are motivated to read. In a society where even adults don’t read books and come out with the alibi that they have no time, how would they set examples for their children? Also, not many teachers induce their students to read books. Where this happens the results are quite rewarding.

I have before me one exceptional example. An 11-year old girl from Karachi’s PECHS School had read so many story books and internalised them that she was motivated to write a novel, which was published when she was 12. What was heartening was that her publishers, Ferozsons, not only invested in her book, which turned out to be a good seller, but also gave her Rs5,000 as one time royalty, which was quite a big sum in 1990. “My father had only half that amount in his bank account,” she said in an interview.

Many more such young authors are needed by our country. —AN

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, February 7th, 2016