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Almost every other day somewhere in the world there are people talking about and actively seeking ways to promote literacy and encourage reading. Today I share with you some of the news and buzz taking place as well as some interesting sites and new books.
Muslims Reading Fiction
An article by author Umm Zakiyyah explores the issue of whether writing fiction is something allowed in Islam. She shows that if it’s acceptable to write stories for children then it should be acceptable to write stories for teenagers and young people as well. I particularly like when she said:
“… if Muslim children need books ‘for a purpose,’ Muslim teens and adults need them even more so…
As the latter group are further away from the pure fitrah of childhood and thus need more “emaan boosters” to keep going.”
Read more from the article “Is Writing Fiction Allowed? What’s Your Proof?” here.
Children’s Book Site
The Guardian (U.K) newspaper recently launched a book site dedicated to children’s literature. This site is for general kids lit but it is attractively designed and teeming with content on general fiction children’s literature. I really like the fact that children are the ones who are doing some of the interviews (you can read some or listen to some) as well as the reviews. YOu can search by age or type of books. Check out the site here.
New Islamic Children’s Book
The publisher StoneFaruq recently brought out their newest books for younger children titled ‘One.’ according to the publisher:
“A rhyming picture book to teach children about Tawhid and other important aspects of Islam in a simple way.”
This publisher has produced some other high-quality picture-book type books for young readers such as “Time for Isha’a ” as well as “The Jolly Jamaat ” which I reviewed here.
A Smart Library
This video from Library Ireland Week showcases the smart library. Does your library look like this? Libraries are down-sizing and even closing all around the world, but especially in developed countries such as U.K. ans U.S. Yet this video shows the uniqueness of libraries and their users. A fun part was the books falling down, domino style.
Ummah Reads 