The 14th Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival, which runs until Sunday, opened its doors to readers of all ages last week.
Organised by the Sharjah Book Authority, the reading festival welcomes families, book industry professionals and readers of all ages to the Sharjah Expo Centre, under the theme Train Your Brain.
The 12-day festival is running from 9am-8pm on Mondays to Thursdays, 4pm-9pm on Fridays and 9am-9pm on weekends, and includes more than 1,000 activities aimed at introducing children to the worlds of literature and storytelling in both English and Arabic.
This year, 457 guests — including authors, artists, illustrators and influencers — are involved in various talks, demonstrations, activities and workshops for both children and adults. Spread across six pavilions, they include workshops, a children's book illustration exhibition, a social media station and the popular comics and cookery corners.
There will also be art showcases, roaming shows and theatre productions, such as the children's play Alone at Home produced by the Sharjah Book Authority.
Running on May 12 and 13, the story follows two siblings who are left home alone when their parents are away travelling. Expecting to enjoy their freedom, the children are instead terrified when a group of mysterious strangers appear at their home. Together they have to protect themselves and discover who these strangers are and what they want.
More than 60 guests from 21 countries will also take part in literary talks and cultural sessions throughout the festival. Panel discussion topics include The Importance of Developing Emotional Intelligence Skills at Young Age and The Link Between Artificial Intelligence, Education Curricula, and Children's Books.
The book fair portion of the festival features a variety of diverse books for children and young adults, picture books, novels, educational books and other creative genres by more than 141 publishers specialising in children's literature.
One of the more popular sections of the festival is Cookery Corner, where visitors can experience more than 30 culinary activities by 12 chefs from nine countries, including Emirati twins Maitha and Abdulrahman Al Hashimi.
Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival will run until May 14 at the Sharjah Expo Centre. For more information, visit: www.scrf.ae
Day 5, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day When Dilruwan Perera dismissed Yasir Shah to end Pakistan’s limp resistance, the Sri Lankans charged around the field with the fevered delirium of a side not used to winning. Trouble was, they had not. The delivery was deemed a no ball. Sri Lanka had a nervy wait, but it was merely a stay of execution for the beleaguered hosts.
Stat of the day – 5 Pakistan have lost all 10 wickets on the fifth day of a Test five times since the start of 2016. It is an alarming departure for a side who had apparently erased regular collapses from their resume. “The only thing I can say, it’s not a mitigating excuse at all, but that’s a young batting line up, obviously trying to find their way,” said Mickey Arthur, Pakistan’s coach.
The verdict Test matches in the UAE are known for speeding up on the last two days, but this was extreme. The first two innings of this Test took 11 sessions to complete. The remaining two were done in less than four. The nature of Pakistan’s capitulation at the end showed just how difficult the transition is going to be in the post Misbah-ul-Haq era.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
Sui Dhaaga: Made in India
Director: Sharat Katariya
Starring: Varun Dhawan, Anushka Sharma, Raghubir Yadav
3.5/5
