What I keep Reading - Part 2
Through this platform, I have been blessed to have the opportunity to review books from various parts of the world. This gives me the privilege to learn about the cultural traditions of so many different Muslims, nationally and worldwide. When it comes to the quality of books, there are certain trends that I have noticed when they are published or published overseas.
There are no clear guidelines on the kids picture books that appeal to them at the different levels of reading:
Over describing scenes that don't add value to the whole story
Using monotonous language that doesn't captivate the reader to re-read the book
The illustrations are bland and lack excitement
The language is almost always too advanced for picture book readers.
Trying to cram too much Islamic information into one book
Huge focus on teaching morals with minimal effort to explore a unique creative approach
Publishers from overseas and many local aspiring authors see the obvious void in the literature industry that cater to the Muslim population in the west. Thus, they focus on producing English literature/stories to fill that gap. After all, this falls in the category of dawah work and the reward from Allah is immense. But is enough research being done to really cater to those readers? Are the literature guidelines being studied and implemented in these books?
Authors and publishers must make the effort to research the standards and expectations of the literary industry in order to serve them with quality product. After all, if our kids keep repeatedly seeing Muslim books produced in lacking quality all around, that approach in dawah isn't going to be successful.