According to Mehdi Simriz, the production manager, “Behnashr Publications is currently one of the largest and most important publishers in the field of children’s and adolescents’ literature in the country. Over its three decades of activity, it has gradually boosted the understanding of children and adolescents compared to adult books each year”.
Currently, about 65 to 70 percent of Behnashr’s releases are dedicated to children’s and adolescents’ books.
The absence of appropriate content in the field of children’s books has made this task more essential for Behnashr than ever before.
“In recent years, Behnashr has strived to create deep and effective connections with prominent authors in the field of children’s and adolescents’ literature, utilizing the highest content capacity in the country to produce works in this field”, added Simriz.
Additionally, for better book production, they have employed children’s and adolescents’ book creators and illustrators.
Currently, a significant number of prominent authors, poets, and illustrators in the field collaborate with Behnashr Publications. Among them are notable figures such as Mostafa Rahmandoust, Shokouh Ghasemnia, to name but a few.
Behnashr’s production manager continued, “As for authorship, we have pre-planned programs for authors and poets to ensure that their works are better aligned with an Islamic and Iranian educational approach”.
Simriz also talked about a collection of children’s stories on the theme of Imam Reza, such as a series dubbed ‘Hello to Flower of Najmeh’, which includes 40 storybooks for children and adolescents on Imam Reza’s life.
A significant feature of this 40-volume collection is the involvement of numerous artists, authors, and illustrators, with most of the country’s prominent writers and illustrators collaborating with Imam Reza shrine’s Publishing Institute.
“This series includes 40 storybooks about the life of Imam Reza, his teachings, shrine’s studies, the philosophy and essence of pilgrimage and its etiquettes, parts of the pilgrimage text in simple language for children, and descriptions of places, artifacts, and buildings within the shrine, all presented in a modern style and language”, explained the manager.
Some of the books in the series include “Go for Water”, “The Seventh Morning”, “Grandmother’s Wish”, “The Story of a Shirt”, “Tomorrow is Eid”, “Dear Guest”, “The One I Wasn’t Ashamed of”, “Like the Moon and Blossoms”, “What the Sparrow Said to the Imam”, “Kind Hands”, “We Eat Together”, “The Workers’ Wages”, “Beautiful Painting”, etc.
These books are written by a group of top authors in the field, including Nasser Naderi, Claire Joubert, Seyyed Mohammad Mohajerani, to name but a few.
This collection stands out in terms of authenticity of hadith sources, stories and narratives, literary quality, novelty of the subjects and content, attractive layout and good illustrations, use of skilled authors and poets, collaboration of over 30 children’s book illustrators, and the contemporary language.
“These elements lead to a precise and comprehensive understanding of Imam Reza for children and even adolescents”, Simriz noted.
The collection was also introduced to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution at Tehran Book Fair last year, which was received positively.
The Leader referred to such works in an interview following his visit to the fair, calling on publishers to prioritize books presenting religious teachings in the form of stories for children.
As also pointed out by the Leader, one of the issues the book market has been struggling with is the imbalance between authored and translated works in children and adolescents’ literature. Translated books in this field are abundantly available on the market, with more attractive forms and themes.
“Consequently, we have increased the volume of authored works, raising the number of first-edition books by 20 percent so far, and have also seriously focused on reverse translation”, stated the official.
Last year, Behnashr translated nearly 30 titles, and this year, it is translating 40 titles, most of which are in the field of children’s and adolescents’ literature.