The 14th Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival begins on Wednesday and ends on May 14.
It has an expansive programme for both children and adults that includes workshops, live demonstrations, talks, author meet and greets and plenty of books.
Here’s everything you need to know about the festival.
What is Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival?
Organised by the Sharjah Book Authority, it is an annual family-friendly festival aimed at fostering a love of reading for children of all ages.
The free festival was created under the guidance of Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah, and his wife, Sheikha Jawaher.
The event's mission over the last 14 years has been to become the biggest children's book fair in the region. While the festival highlights the importance of reading and books, it also has many other elements to inspire children in all manners of storytelling. These include shows, plays, workshops, live cooking demonstrations and comic exhibitions.
The festival also welcomes school pupils and university students and has a volunteer programme to help foster and grow a community passionate about books and reading.
What is happening at this year's festival?
Under the theme of Train your Brain, the festival will have plenty of activities to inspire, entertain and educate children. These include workshops in sports, social media, crafts and musical activities led by 25 guest authors, illustrators and experts from 10 countries around the world.
One of the more exciting workshops this year is centred on Grand Prix racing, where children and adults will be able to build their own wooden cars and race them. Other workshops include animation, filmmaking, entrepreneurship and more.
There is also the Cookery Corner where 12 chefs from nine countries will take part in more than 30 culinary events.
And, of course, there will be plenty of books. From the latest releases to classics, 141 publishers who specialise in novels, comics, educational books and creative genres will be in attendance.
Who is coming to the event?
More than 400 guests from 66 countries will be attending this year. These include authors, illustrators, artists, viral social media acts, renowned chefs and more.
Some of those attending include children's authors Bijal Vachharajani, Sudha Murty and children’s author Humza Arshad; international bestselling author Shaw Kuzki; and chef and author Priyanka Naik.
The Masaka Kids Africana from Uganda, whose dance videos have gone viral, will be performing.
Content creators such as Emirati chef Faisal Al Khalidi, Emirati media personality Azza Al Mughairy and Wessam Qutob from Jordan will be present at the social media station to share their tips on the latest techniques for creating content.
There will also be a number of well-known speakers and experts on stage discussing issues that affect children today.
Panel discussions include The Importance of Developing Emotional Intelligence Skills at Young Age with Dr Maya Alhuwi from the UAE; Lorca Sbeity from Lebanon; and Dr Louise Lambert from Canada.
Another talk is The Link Between Artificial Intelligence, Education Curricula and Children's Books, with Dr Karima Matar Almazroui from the UAE; Egyptian author Amal Farah; and author Ross Welford from the UK.
When and where will it take place?
The event runs until May 14 at the Expo Centre Sharjah.
It will be open to visitors from 4pm to 8pm on Wednesday and on weekdays from 9am to 8pm. On Fridays, the festival will run from 4pm to 9pm, while on Saturday and Sunday, it will run from 9am to 9pm.
More information is available at www.scrf.ae
Our Time Has Come
Alyssa Ayres, Oxford University Press
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Going grey? A stylist's advice
If you’re going to go grey, a great style, well-cared for hair (in a sleek, classy style, like a bob), and a young spirit and attitude go a long way, says Maria Dowling, founder of the Maria Dowling Salon in Dubai.
It’s easier to go grey from a lighter colour, so you may want to do that first. And this is the time to try a shorter style, she advises. Then a stylist can introduce highlights, start lightening up the roots, and let it fade out. Once it’s entirely grey, a purple shampoo will prevent yellowing.
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The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer
Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000
Engine 3.6L V6
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm
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Fuel economy combined 12.2L / 100km
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.5-litre supercharged V6
Power: 416hp at 7,000rpm
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Transmission: 6-speed manual
Fuel consumption: 10.2 l/100km
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The five pillars of Islam
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Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup – Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
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- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
THE BIO
BIO:
Born in RAK on December 9, 1983
Lives in Abu Dhabi with her family
She graduated from Emirates University in 2007 with a BA in architectural engineering
Her motto in life is her grandmother’s saying “That who created you will not have you get lost”
Her ambition is to spread UAE’s culture of love and acceptance through serving coffee, the country’s traditional coffee in particular.
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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UAE
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Canada
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European arms
Known EU weapons transfers to Ukraine since the war began: Germany 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger surface-to-air missiles. Luxembourg 100 NLAW anti-tank weapons, jeeps and 15 military tents as well as air transport capacity. Belgium 2,000 machine guns, 3,800 tons of fuel. Netherlands 200 Stinger missiles. Poland 100 mortars, 8 drones, Javelin anti-tank weapons, Grot assault rifles, munitions. Slovakia 12,000 pieces of artillery ammunition, 10 million litres of fuel, 2.4 million litres of aviation fuel and 2 Bozena de-mining systems. Estonia Javelin anti-tank weapons. Latvia Stinger surface to air missiles. Czech Republic machine guns, assault rifles, other light weapons and ammunition worth $8.57 million.
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