Asma Balfaqih
Joyful learning
Why I write in simple language
Arabic is a rich language, and it is tempting to give children its most beautiful and rarest words. But a child who stumbles in the middle of a story stops listening. What stays with it afterwards is not the word, but the feeling of not having understood something.
This is why I rewrite my texts several times. First the way I would say it. Then the way a child will hear it. In the third version I remove everything that only sounds beautiful. What remains is short, clear and still not cold.
A difficult word may stay if it matters. Then I explain it inside the book. That way a child learns new words in the right place, exactly where it needs them.