David Almond is one of the best and most prominent authors in the world and of course in the UK. He has a remarkable role to improve the quality of writing for children. Many authors of the younger generation have been inspired by him. Thankfully he is a big fan of translated books, and therefore he has been supporting Tiny Owl Publishing since it has been established. In the previous days, the Guardian has displayed a gallery of our books with a marvelous introduction and comments by David Almond. We had a grand time reading them. Thank you, David Almond, and thank you, children’s books section in the Guardian, for such a great project.
This gallery is made to celebrate the beautiful books and illustrations coming from Iran. The one you see on this page is by Farshid Mesghali and is taken from The Little Black Fish, the most famous Iranian story for children written by the legendary Samad Behrangi.
It’s being published for the first time in the UK by a new Iranian publishing house based here in the UK, Tiny Owl.
We need to be more open to the outside world. Many publishers and translators are working hard to change this. Now we’re very fortunate indeed to have the enterprising and optimistic Tiny Owl creating children’s picture books translated from Persian and illustrated by outstanding Iranian artists.
Here’s another stunning illustration by the Hans Christian Andersen Award-winning Farshid Mesghali, from The Little Black Fish. At long last, books beloved by Iranian children can be enjoyed by children.
The Little Black Fish is among Tiny Owl’s first offerings. It’s a book is about freedom, confinement, human possibility.
Like all the best picture books, it is both simple and profound. “Perhaps,” says the little black fish, “there is more to life, and perhaps the world is more than our stream!” It’s a message for us all. This is a book that has been read and loved for generations in Iran, and at last the little black fish has swum to our shores.
Tiny Owl also publishes tales by Rumi – great poet, scholar and Sufi mystic, the man who wrote, over seven centuries ago: “I am neither of the east nor of the west, no boundaries exist within my breast.”
This illustration is from Rumi’s fable, The Parrot and the Merchant retold in a wonderful version written and illustrated by Marjan Vafaian.
Rumi really is one of the world’s great authors. We all need to know more about him. Thanks to Tiny Owl, isn’t it marvelous that our children are being introduced to him in such a natural and elegant manner?
I wanted to share one last image from The Parrot and the Merchant.
Thank you, Tiny Owl. This is how to improve the world, to help dispel clouds of confusion and misunderstanding, and to bring us closer together, story by story, image by image, child by child.
Order Tiny Owl books from here.
