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Parents and toddlers flocked to the launch of the first Bahraini-themed pop-up children’s book to meet author Haya Isa Al Khalifa and the team behind its creation ... who hope to inspire young readers to find and imagine adventures in their own backyards.
The main character of Little Island Big Fort was inspired by Haya’s eight-year-old son Fahad, a student at the Bahrain Bayan School.
The mother-of-two, who collects pop-up books and is a documentary photographer, said: “My family and I love books and my son Fahad has his own little library. I noticed that most of the books, although wonderful, were all about other places and other environments with forests, mountains and rivers.
“They may be fun things to read about but it would be nice to have more books about our own environment - about Bahrain, the Gulf and our culture so that the children can feel like they could enjoy an adventure in their own backyard.
“They don’t have to get on a plane and go to London or New York or climb a mountain or sail a boat. They can look for adventure right here too.”
The three-dimensional, interactive book tells the tale of a Bahraini boy and his red balloon soaring high among the clouds around the kingdom whilst visiting attractions such as Arad Fort before taking a trip around the world and ending up in outer space.
Haya said: “The character doesn’t have a name and I did that for a reason. The book starts off where you only see the back of the boy and I did that because I want children in Bahrain to imagine that the character could be any one of them.
“It’s about a boy and his balloon and how they fly up above Bahrain, up into the sky and over the world and out into space on an amazing adventure. It starts off at the door of a fort and ends up in the Milky Way!”
During the launch event, which was held at Bahrain National Museum, an entertainer dressed in a sparkly red traditional Bahraini jalabiyah also serenaded children with an assortment of songs and played a variety of games and puzzles with them related to the book.
Visitors also recreated a spread from the book in a pop-up workshop with US paper engineer Renee Jablow who flew in from Los Angeles.
Renee, who has been working in the field for more than 20 years, has created more than 70 children’s books, including novelty examples featuring Harry Potter, Disney and Star Wars characters. She said: “I think this book is a great concept. I loved it as soon as Haya told me about it and I was excited to work on it.”
Children also got their books signed by Haya, Renee and Dutch illustrator Pia Drent. “The whole process of the book took about two years,” Pia explained. “This book has such a universal concept. Whether you are a parent or a child, it shows you that the world you see is only a small part of something much bigger.”
