of the target age group, and includes stories, legends, poems and information. Ayesh,
founded in 1984 and published by the Institute for Intellectual Development especially
for young people who are interested in literature and art, includes outstanding
contributions from its readers. It also introduces past and present Iranian literature. In
the 1990s, magazines, published by both government institutions and private
organisations, are still an important source of leisure reading for Iranian children.
One of the first Iranian writers or illustrators to win international recognition was
Farshid Mesghali (1943-), who was the winner of the Hans Christian Andersen Award
for illustration in 1974. He began his association with the Institute for Intellectual
Development in 1967, illustrating both fantasy stories and folk-tales, and making
animated films. His illustrations for The Little Black Fish by Samad Behrangi (1968) won
the Graphic Prize at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair and an Honorary Diploma at the
Biennale Illustratione Bratislava (BIB) in 1969. Another distinguished book illustrator is
Noureddin Zarrinkelk (1937–) who, after illustrating a number of books such as Amir
Hamzeh, a folk-tale, and The Crows, for which he won a Golden Apple at BIB in 1971,
began to write and illustrate his own texts, The Story of Silkworm and When I was Little.
Iranian writers encouraged by the Institute for the Intellectual Development were at
first very much influenced by traditional stories. Kaleteh-Non by Gholamhosein Saedi
(1973) is the story of how the hard life of a farmer teaches a rich and lazy girl that it is
necessary to work and earn one’s living.
After the Islamic Revolution, fiction began to deal with the revolution, the war, poverty
and the struggle against oppression. Despite the war, which led to publishers
experiencing problems with equipment and to paper shortages, 359 books were
published for children in 1980–1981. A title typical of this period was Ai, Ebrahim! [Oh,
Abraham!] by G.Emami (1981), the story of an old shoemaker who cannot go to war but
does his bit by repairing soldiers’ boots. His work emphasises his faith and his devotion
to his country.
H.Moradi Kermani has emerged as one of Iran’s most important children’s writers; he
received the Children’s Book Council of Iran’s Award in 1980. Quesehaye Majid [The
Stories of Majid], published in five volumes between 1979 and 1987, consists of short
stories about a boy who lives with his old and wise grandmother. The hardships they
experience and their struggle to preserve some of the old social values are humorously
described. Bachehaye Qalibafkhaneh [The Children of the Carpet Weaving Mill] (1980)
was an IBBY Honour book in 1982, and Kermani was highly commended for his
contribution to writing for children in the 1992 Hans Christan Andersen awards. His
work for children, including short stories, describes the hardships of the poor and
village and rural life in Iran. His style is dynamic and colourful. He reflects universal
and permanent values, and he challenges his readers with his readable stories.
Poetry is also enjoyed by Iranian children. In 1988, to celebrate the six-hundredth
anniversary of Hafiz, a great mystical poet, six of his most famous odes were printed in a
fine edition, illustrated by Bahram Khaef, another artist who has received much
encouragement from the Institute for Intellectual Development, who began to publish
his work in 1987. In 1990 Shesh Gazal az Hafiz [Six Odes from Hafiz] was included in
the IBBY Honour List for illustration.
THE ARAB WORLD 785