Children’s Picture Books and Contemporary Egyptian Society

Yasmine Motawy teaches rhetoric and composition at the American University in Cairo (AUC) and is a scholar, critic, translator, editor, consultant, and writing mentor in the field of children's literature. She has served on the 2021 Bologna Ragazzi Award Jury, the 2016 and 2018 Hans Christian Andersen Award Jury, the 2017 Etisalat Award for Arabic Children’s Literature jury, and on the Arabic books selection committee of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Book Club (2019–2020). She is co-editor of The Routledge Companion to International Children’s Literature (2018).

• List of IllustrationsPrefaceAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. Writing and Reading Egyptian Picture Books in Context2. Children’s Book Publishing in Egypt3. The Institution Socializes4. Retelling Fairytales and Egyptian Folklore: Focus on Femininity5. Imagining Our Way out of This OneAnother BeginningPicture Books Referred to in the TextSecondary Sources

“Children’s Picture Books and Contemporary Egyptian Society is an excellent piece of scholarship. The foundation of Motawy’s approach is the framework of critical discourse studies, which is well-suited to her work. . . .It is accompanied by copious endnotes and an extensive bibliography, yet it is accessible for all its thoroughness.” —Greta D. Little, Children's Literature Association Quarterly“Through its examination of the influences that have molded Egyptian children’s literature, from trends in the book publishing industry to upheavals in politics and social discourse, this thoughtful and courageous book throws down a challenge to producers and consumers of picture books. It demands they eschew traditional and neoliberal ideologies and instead set new transformative agendas for the production of children’s literature. It is one of those historic books that can change how a culture thinks.”—John Stephens, Macquarie University"Carefully researched and beautifully written, this book is a must-read for all those who are interested in international children’s literature. Yasmine Motawy is a well-informed guide to take readers through the recent past and present of the Egyptian children’s book market. She opens up a treasure trove of interesting books and offers powerful ideas about children’s literature and child citizenship that resonate far beyond the corpus that she has studied. It is my sincere hope that this book will inspire translators and publishers to make these books available more widely.”—Vanessa Joosen, University of Antwerp"At a time of profound cultural and sociopolitical shifts in Egyptian society, Yasmine Motawy asks crucial questions about its expectations of what books and reading can do for children. Her piercingly intelligent examination of the values and assumptions invested in picture books leads to significant insights into the development of children’s literature in Egypt, and the contemporary tensions between encouraging children to maintain the status quo and empowering them to imagine a different future."—Evelyn Arizpe, University of Glasgow"Children’s Picture Books and Contemporary Egyptian Society is not only a complex and nuanced scholarly exploration of picture books published in Egypt post-2000, but also a committed, heartfelt, and resonant reflection on child-adult relationalities that is relatable transnationally. Critically essential to theory and praxis, it is a pivotal resource for anyone interested in the social, cultural, and political significance of children's culture."—Justyna Deszcz-Tryhubczak, University of Wrocław"Motawy’s sophisticated analysis of the ideological subtexts in children’s picture books makes a much-needed contribution to scholarly debates in Arabic literature. She demonstrates how these books convey socialization skills, gender expectations, and national belonging, while at times subtly challenging these social norms. The book also offers invaluable insights for critical parenting, illustrating how creative writing can inspire young minds to question the neoliberal status quo and imagine better worlds."—Dina Heshmat, The American University in Cairo“Yasmine Motawy’s Children’s Picture Books and Contemporary Egyptian Society asks crucial questions and provides equally essential answers. Starting with a question about the value of ‘looking at a society through the lens of literature made for its youngest members,’ Motawy critically analyzes diverse categories of contemporary Egyptian picture books, along with the sociopolitical factors that influenced Egyptian children’s literature as it bloomed over the past few decades.”—Petros Panaou, University of Georgia"Yasmine Motawy examines the development of picture book publishing in Egypt, helping us to understand how and why the industry recently grew with such momentum. With great respect to Egyptian child readers, Motawy reveals how authors, artists, and other actors construct Egyptian children and the kinds of stories they think they should read. This is an essential book for anyone interested in childhood, children's literature, and nation building."—Sarah Park Dahlen, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign"Offer[s] insight into how children’s literature captures the complexities of contemporary Egyptian society."—Al-Ahram Weekly