Arabic / Lebanon
al- Kātib
(Al Kateb)
(The writer)
Muḥaidalī, Nabīha
(Mheidly, Nabiha)
(text)
Ṭāhir, Walīd
(Taher, Walid)
(illus.)
Bairūt: Dār al-Ḥadāʾiq (Al Hadaek), 2018. – 33 p.
ISBN 978-614-439-119-8
Writer | Literature | Storytelling | Imagination | Cat | Picture book
Reading age: 8+
White Ravens issue: 2019
This book is about writing and an author’s love for his characters – characters that he must let go when his work is finished. The plot follows a writer as he strenuously searches for an appropriate protagonist for a new story, until he finally lands on a unique-looking cat. The shaggy, plain, but self-confident and brave animal becomes the hero of a tale full of adventure. When the writer later leafs through his work, the cat prances out and bids him a final adieu with the words: “You surely don’t want me to stay stuck between the book covers”. This original, cleverly-told book has witty and dynamic coloured-chalk illustrations. Lebanese author Nabiha Mheidly studied biology, publicity, and pedagogy and has directed AlHadaek, the publishing house she founded, since 1989. Egyptian illustrator, cartoonist, author,and painter Walid Taher is among the Who’s Who of Arabic children’s literature.