Award-winning author to speak about her book of folktales
Award-winning author Hadil Ghoneim will talk about and sign copies of her latest book, Arabic Folktales for Children: Timeless Stories to Share in English and Arabic, at HFC on Tuesday, February 3, from 10:00 a.m. to noon in the Michael A. Berry Amphitheater (Room L-115) on the first floor of the Andrew A. Mazzara Administrative Services & Conference Center (ASCC) (Building L on the main campus).
The Future Teachers Association is hosting this event. Fifth-graders from William Ford Elementary School in Dearborn will attend.
“This is a wonderful opportunity to partner with Hadil,” said HFC Pre-Education Director Dr. Carolyn Casale. “She has donated 50 of her books that will be used by my pre-education students and teachers at William Ford. We are excited that she will share the development of her book with our community.”
Book written in both English and Arabic
What makes Arabic Folktales for Children unique is it’s written in English on one page and in Arabic on the opposite page. This anthology features a total of eight folktales including:
- “Goha and His Son”
- “The Woodcutter and the Lion”
- “The Little Woman”
- “A Tale About Friendship, Part One and Two”
- “The Gold Lira”
- “The Kingdom of Puppets”
- “The Man Who Knew the Desert”
“I speak both languages well. Folktales are a great way to make connections. They’re part of our cultural heritage and connect people from different cultures. Some of them share origins in Europe and Asia. They show us that there are no borders when it comes to stories; they travel all over and have the same power in most cultures. Folktales connect different people to the values of friendship and humanity. I find them very reassuring and comforting in the times we live in,” explained Ghoneim, of Ann Arbor.
Award-winning work published internationally
Born in Kuwait, Ghoneim earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from Cairo University in Egypt and her master’s degree in culture and society from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Her numerous essays and articles have appeared in both English and Arabic in many media outlets.
Including Arabic Folktales for Children, Ghoneim has penned 16 children’s books with her 17th – a novel geared toward adults – scheduled to be published later this year. Her book, The Shahrzizi Nights: A Story Within a Story Within a Story – a retelling of One Thousand and One Nights – won what is now called the International Award for Arabic Children’s Literature, in 2020.
Her titles have also been finalists of the International Award for Arabic Children’s Literature and selected among the 100 Best Arabic Books for Young People (2018-24). She also contributed lyrics to the children’s music album Afratta and has written biographies about Novel Prize winners Naguib Mahfouz and Ahmed Zewail for young readers.
She spoke about the challenging part of writing Arabic Folktales for Children.
“The biggest challenge was the discovery of these stories,” said Ghoneim. “Folktales have no author and have been told all over the world for centuries. I enjoyed the creative process of reimagining the stories and coming up with the right stories that are suitable for today. The stories need to be appropriate for children inside and outside of America, and they have something I want to share.”
First time at HFC
“It was so nice of Dr. Casale to invite me to HFC,” said Ghoneim. “Even though I’ve been to Dearborn several times, I’ve never been to the HFC campus before. I’m excited!”
The event is free and open to the public. For questions or more information about this event, contact Casale at 313-317-6580 or ccasale@hfcc.edu.