A brand new specialist children bookshop that opened recently in Cairo is probably the first of its kind in Egypt. Rania Khallaf talks to the owner of the innovative project Al-Balsam is the moniker of both the bookshop and the publishing house which since its inception in 2005 has specialised in children's books for all ages. The bookshop that opened on 1 May this year carries the same name, which happens to be the name of the owner of the two inspired projects. The elegant Balsam Salaheddin is passionate about her calling. Trained as an engineer, she has long been attracted by children's books and their world and made up her mind to establish the company and this awesome new shop under her own steam. "Our main mission was to publish high standard children's books in Arabic, excellent both in content and design, in order to bring back our children's pride in Arabic- language books," she told Al-Ahram Weekly. When it was first established, the Balsam Publishing House was not the only publisher in the field, but to a large extent it has managed to prove in just a few years that it is one of the best. "We thought it was possible to add variety to existing publishing houses," says Salaheddin, herself the mother of two young daughters. "The Balsam Publishing House has brought out only 19 books in five years, a very modest number, but when you consider the quality you can figure out that it is a job well done." Indeed, Al-Balsam is a trademark for children's books and sets a high benchmark for how books for the genre should appear in regard to design, layout and the quality of paper. It remains, however, that most of the books are translated from foreign languages. "It was rather difficult for us as a new publishing house to find good quality texts in Arabic," Salaheddin says. "The texts I received did not fit my publishing plan. And in the meantime translating children books was an optimum solution. But then a few years later, looking at the quantity we produced, I realised that this was not enough and was not fulfilling the mission we set out to attain." Salaheddin turned her attention to obtaining children's book from other Arab countries such as Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. "We thought putting them under one roof would help in the overall scheme to enhance Egyptian children's readership and increase their interest in Arabic books," she says. Distinguished books are being produced by half a dozen establishments in Lebanon, including Dar Al-Elm Lelmalayeen, and Jordan such as Al-Manhal, with a different approach and style of writing and certainly different graphics, which will surely enrich children's imagination and vocabulary. Salaheddin started negotiating with well-respected Arab publishers and embarked on a plan to set up the Balsam specialised bookshop for the next young generation. "The only shortage we have is books coming from the countries of the Maghreb: Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria. This is because of the lack of contacts, but we are working on filling this gap." The bookshop is exquisitely decorated to provide a happy and interactive atmosphere for children. Books on the shop's two floors are well displayed and are classified according to age group -- from baby's first book to age 18 -- and language, covering English, French and German. "There is still a gap, and we are working hard day by day to bring good-quality books," Salaheddin says. Storytelling, calligraphy and craft sessions for children will take place in the bookshop throughout the summer. Young readers can follow the bookshop's activities on Facebook so as to seize the opportunity to participate in the educational events.
