The winners of the fifth annual Arabic children's book awards, 'Read Here, There and Everywhere', from the Anna Lindh Foundation have been announced and will be presented on Thursday 14 April in Cairo Afaf Tabbala has won her second award in a year for children's literature, when she was named among the winners of the Anna Lindh Foundation 'Read Here, There and Everywhere'Arabic children's book award. Earlier she won the Sheikh Zayed award for her book ‘Al Bayt Wal Nakhlah' (The House and the Palm Tree). The other four winners are: Walid Taher's ‘Ahlam Al Hayawanant' (Animal's Dreams) published by Dar El-Shorouk in Egypt, ‘Al Ta'a Al Marbouta Tateer' (Flying T) by Ibtisam Barakat, published by the Tamer Institure for Community Education in Palestine, Fatima Sharrafeldine's ‘Kitab Al Duhk wa Al Buka'a' (Book of Laughter and Crying), published by Asala in Lebanon, and finally ‘Temsaheyya' (Crocodily) by Najla Nasseir Bashour, published by the Tala Establishment in Lebanon. This annual award aims to encourage and support the publication of high-quality, Arabic children's books and also recognises unpublished works. It is part of the ‘Arab Children Literature Programme' from the Anna Lindh Foundation, launched in 2006 with the support of SIDA. It seeks to strengthen the intellectual, social and emotional development of children in the Arab region, through developing children's literature and promoting reading for pleasure. So far the programme includes Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria.
