Sharjah24: In celebration of the UAE’s Month of Reading, observed annually in March, the UAE Board on Books for Young People (UAEBBY) hosted four online storytelling sessions as part of its 'Read, Dream, Create' campaign. Emirati authors narrated stories from Khererifa Mejerifa, a compilation of traditional fables and folktales of the UAE published by the Sharjah Institute for Heritage (SIH).

Authors Nadia Al Najjar, Noura Khoury, Amira Bou Kedra, and Maitha Al Khayat lead the engaging sessions, which reflected UAEBBY's mission to motivate children across the nation to develop a lifelong love of reading.

Bdeiha Bdeiho
Nadia Al Najjar led the storytelling session of Bdeiha Bdeiho for female students of Al Resalah International School of Science in Sharjah. She discussed the characters and plot of the the folktale, which has similarities to Cinderella, one of the most widely-known fairytales in the world.

Ntefan 
Author Noura Khoury explored with students of Al Maereid Girls' School Cycle 2 And Secondary Education the narrative style of Ntefan and the subliminal messages embedded in the story. During the session, she also highlighted the role trade routes played in helping spread folktales around the world and how different geographic locations impacted storylines.

Salem the diver
At her session, Emirati author Amira Bou Kedra led a vibrant discussion with Al Mataf Primary School students on Salem the diver, a folktale about sea diving that has been passing down from generation to generation positive messages and the values of honesty and integrity.

Khonfar Zonfar 
Through Khonfar Zonfar, a comic tale with a message, author and illustrator Maitha Al Khayat introduced the concept of marriage to pupils of Al Maereid Girls' School Cycle 2 And Secondary Education. Khonfar Zonfar narates the story of a beetle who marries the beetle of her dreams and finds out that she is a second wife.