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When Daisy Ashford was four years old, specifically in the year 1885, the gifted English girl dictated to her father a novel entitled “The Life of Father McSweeney”, to prove to the little girl, who would later become a famous writer, that writing at a young age is very possible, and even necessary. Sometimes, for reasons explained by psychologists and sociologists.
The most famous children's writers in history
Childhood, according to the United Nations definition, extends until the age of 18. A short period was enough for a number of children whose names later shone in the world of writing, not because they were just children, but because their works represented signs of the quality of writing and ideas, among them:
- Daisy Ashford (1881–1972): Not only did she write her first work at the age of four in 1985, but she also wrote a novel called “The Little Visitors” at the age of nine. Her second novel was first published in 1919, and her first novel was published almost a century later.
- Alec Griffin: The writer, who was classified by the New York Times as one of the best-selling self-help writers, published his first book at the age of nine, entitled “How to Talk to Girls” in 2008, and later his books followed, such as “How to Talk to Mothers” and “How to Talk to Girls.” Talking to Parents” and “How to Talk to Santa”, until he later became a well-known writer.
- Nancy Yi Fan: Born in 1993, she published her first book, “Sword Bird,” when she was only 12 years old, and later continued writing and publishing her series “Sword Quest” (2008) and “Sword Mountain” (2012).
- John Thomas Romney Robinson (1792 – 1882): He published his poems in 1806, when he was 13 years old.
- Balihold (1912 – 2010): He wrote a novel called “Boy Scouts Around the World” when he was 15 years old.
- Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (1445 – 1505): He wrote his first book, Sharh al-Istadah and Basmalah, at the age of 17.
- Emily Pepys (1833 – 1877): The daughter of a bishop, she wrote a private diary over the course of just 6 months from 1844 to 1845, when she was 10 years old. It was discovered much later and published in 1984 under the title “The Diary of Emily Bibbs.”
- Kat Chang: Born in 1991, she was 20 years old when she sold her Hybrid Records trilogy, which she began writing at an early age until she finally completed it before leaving her second decade.
7 amazing benefits of writing stories for children
In an article entitled “7 Benefits… Why should children write stories?”, educational specialist Jill Tompkins says that some children write stories of their own volition, while others write them under compulsion as an academic assignment. Between this and that, the benefits of writing remain unknown to many, which is what Tompkins tried to monitor. 1982:
- entertainment, Due to the psychological or material rewards he receives.
- promoting artistic expression, By using imagination to produce ideas that turn into stories that express what is inside the child.
- Exploring his thinking and his world, And keep his personal ideas and discoveries.
- Stimulate imagination By recalling things that are not present to his senses, searching for the meaning behind things, and trying to understand the points of view of others and embody them.
- clarifying ideas, By directing it in the form of a story, through performance or writing.
- Search for identity At the age of 5 to 10 years; The story is about conflict, good versus bad, and trying to find solutions.
- learn to read and write, Easier to understand spelling and writing rules.
More opportunities to encourage children to write
To encourage children to write, the “State Award for Young Creator” in Egypt allocates 40 thousand pounds (equivalent to approximately 1,300 US dollars), and among its branches is the short story (100-500 words), as one of many forms of encouraging children to write and tell.
Psychological and educational consultant and children’s literature writer, Dr. Mona Lamloum, ran a project two years ago entitled “My Story,” to give children the opportunity to express their feelings. Children of determination were included in the workshop to participate with their drawings in the story collection “A Ladder Between Two Worlds,” which included 9 stories.
Lamloum tells Al Jazeera Net, “Teaching a child to tell begins by giving him examples, so I stood in front of them and began telling my story, and I encouraged them to have each child tell a story that happened to him, or in front of him, and I began to listen to them and encourage them, without judgment or guidance. After that, I began to tell a story that happened to him, or in front of him. Work with them to develop their tools, so that they become more able to express themselves by looking into the eyes of others, using body language, and using some tools such as a puppet, a story, or a picture.”
She continues: “We took the title of the collection “A Stairway Between Two Worlds” from the story of a girl who tells of her love of talking with things, grains of rice, pens, and everything, but her very realistic mother tells her not to, while the girl insists on her imagination, so the mother and the child lose the language of communication. But the story ends happily when the mother decides to abandon her reality and asks her daughter to accompany her to the fantasy world when she intends to go there.
How do you encourage your child to write his first story?
According to Lamloum, a child can start telling his first story at any age, as long as he can speak and has something he wants to tell. “The role of the parents at this stage is not to accuse the child of lying, but to listen to him and help him crystallize people and events, to come up with a clear story.”
As for the writer and researcher Hassan Al-Halouji, he in turn says that storytelling is a talent, and it is one of the performing arts. “It may be present in the child or not according to his talents and aptitudes, and the way to encourage him is first for the parents to know whether he has this talent or not. It is not required that the child be a skilled storyteller as much as he does.” “Be able to express himself.”
Al-Halouji presents his experience in dealing with children through the National Center for Children’s Culture affiliated with the Egyptian Ministry of Culture, which offers various activities, including artistic workshops, educational seminars, competitions, artistic performances, and others, including the Literature Club, which Al-Halouji offers for children.
He says, “I discuss with the children a story that someone wrote or co-wrote, or I tell it to them. This helps them in developing their imagination, enriching their linguistic vocabulary, and also training them in joint work.”
The Egyptian writer and researcher concludes, “There are two levels of narration for those who have not yet been able to master the skill of writing at the beginning of learning to read and write. He tells his story that he wrote and may accompany it with drawings, and the skill of those who are able to write is that he writes it himself, and the matter develops according to the age group, as we deal with All age groups that follow childhood.
