At a Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival panel Krina Patel-Sage and Khalaf Ahmad Khalaf highlight ways in which emotionally honest storytelling can help children better understand themselves and the world
Sharjah, April 26, 2025
As the world becomes increasingly attuned to the emotional needs of young people, authors and educators gathered at the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival (SCRF 2025) on Friday to explore a crucial question: how can stories support mental well-being?
The discussion titled “Writing for Well-being”, moderated by Sharara Al Ali, saw panellists Krina Patel-Sage, a UK-based author and illustrator, and Emirati writer and educator Khalaf Ahmad Khalaf delve into the responsibility – and opportunity – children’s authors have in positively guiding the ways young readers process their emotions.
For Emirati writer and theatre advocate Khalaf Ahmad Khalaf, writing for children should carry the same depth and structural discipline as adult literature – with one crucial difference: adapting the message to resonate with young minds. “Essentially, I think writing for children must be like writing for adults,” he said. “There must be a plot, a message, and persuasion so the child can live with the story—and be changed by it.”
He then explained why it is important to deliver impactful storytelling with substance, purpose, and emotional engagement – “whether through books or theatre”. “Some say children cannot grasp abstract ideas like freedom,” said Khalaf, whose early theatre work in Bahrain during the 1980s broke new ground, pioneering the inclusion of children as participants in theatrical productions.
“Theatre gives us the power of embodiment. When we make a bee challenge a lion for the right to rule, and the children help decide who wins, they begin to understand real-world values – through imagination and interaction,” he said using clever allegories like The Bee and the Lion, to demonstrate how abstract concepts such as freedom or power can be made tangible for children through performance.
Known for books like Love is All We Need and Watch Me Bloom, Patel-Sage explained how she loves to blend colour, emotion, and diversity to create inclusive, thought-provoking narratives for early readers. “Pictures come before words – especially for young readers. They see colour before they can decode language, and that first visual connection is powerful,” she explained. “In my books, I use bursts of colour to evoke emotion—yellow daffodils for happiness, for instance. If you can hook a child visually, you’ve opened the door for a lifelong love of reading.”
As the conversation turned towards emotional literacy and representation, the illustrator-turned-author who grew up in London, highlighted the importance of giving all children a mirror—and a window—into the world through literature. “Growing up, I didn’t see kids who looked like me in books,” she said. “Now, I want every child, from every background, every culture and religion, to feel seen, and to learn that it’s okay to feel, question, and care. As a writer, I feel a responsibility to represent all children—those experiencing difficulty and those who need to understand it. Knowledge builds empathy”.
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