Sharjah Fair Honours Arab Children's Book Award Winners

Ahmed bin Rakkad Al Ameri, CEO of the Sharjah Book Authority, honoured three publishing houses at the 45th Sharjah International Book Fair for the 13th Arab Children's Book Publishers Forum Award, SEE News reported on 8 November 2026. Sharjah's report reported the same honours that morning.

The three winning books

SEE News names Kalimat, a UAE house, as the winner of Best Book for Early Childhood, for children under 6, for Kun Qareeban (Stay Close), written by Jikar Khorshid and illustrated by Somaya Mohammadi.

Jordanian publisher Al Ahlia won Best Book for Middle Childhood, for children aged 7 to 11, for I Always Dream of Flying, written by Amani Suleiman Daoud and illustrated by Amani Youssef, SEE News reported.

The UAE publisher Lulu won Best Book for Young Readers, for ages 12 to 16, for Cherry Jam, written by Mohamed Oweida and illustrated by Hiyam Safwat, the same report said.

Sharjah's report gives that UAE house's Arabic name as دار لؤلؤ.

The prize

The awards total 75,000 UAE dirhams, presented equally across the three age categories, SEE News reported.

Al Ameri presented the awards with Fadel Hussein Bousaim, secretary-general of the Arab Children's Book Publishers Forum, in attendance, along with board members, publishers, and people interested in children's books, Sharjah's report said.

The judges

The ceremony also honoured the judging panel, SEE News reported. The panel was Lebanese author and publisher Dr Nabehah Mhiedly, Emirati artist and publisher Dr Abdullah Al Sharhan, Egyptian writer and publisher Dr Mohamed Fathy, and Moroccan short-story writer and critic Hassan Benmouna. Sharjah's report lists the same four judges and says the honour recognised their work evaluating the nominated books and choosing the winners under the award's criteria.

What the award is for

The award seeks to encourage Arab publishing houses to develop their creative children's publishing and to enrich children's libraries with books distinguished by subject, content, and artistic presentation, Sharjah's report said. It is also meant to make Arab publishers' work better known and to encourage reading among children and young people.

The award pays attention to books that offer new ideas and purposeful subjects, that contribute to a child's awareness, and that reinforce cultural and social values, while caring for Arabic as a language of knowledge and creativity, Sharjah's report said. Judging criteria cover the quality of the content and the production, the originality of the idea, and the modernity of the treatment and the organisation.

The prize goes each year to publishing houses that are members of the Arab Children's Book Publishers Forum, Sharjah's report said. The board supervises it, and the general secretariat organises and runs the competition.

Photo: Ahmed Al Ameri of the Sharjah Book Authority at the Sharjah International Book Fair on 30 October 2017. Photo by ActuaLitté, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.