Taghreed Najjar (

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

:تغريد النجار) (born 28 September 1951) is a Palestinian-Jordanian writer and publisher. She is the writer of over 50

children and young adults books. Some of her books were translated and published in different languages including English,

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

Turkish Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

and French. She is the founder of Al Salwa Publishing House. Over the years, Al Najjar won several literary awards and in 2017 she was shortlisted for the Etisalat Children's Literature Award and the Sheikh Zayed Award. She is a member of the Jordanian Writer's Association.

Education and career

Najjar is an author of children and young adult books who was born on 28 September 1951 in

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

. In 1973, she graduated from the

American University of Beirut The American University of Beirut (AUB; ) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its main campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, autonomous board of trustees and offers programs le ...

with a bachelor's degree in English Language and a Diploma in Education with a minor in Psychology. Najjar worked as an English teacher and published her first children book "Safwan the Acrobat" in 1977. She has published more than 65 published books for children and young adults and she is considered a pioneer of modern literature of children in Jordan. Her book "Hawk Eye Mystery" was shortlisted in the Young Adult Book of the Year for Etisalat Award in 2014. At the same year, her story "Raghda's Hat" was shortlisted for

Sheikh Zayed Book Award The Sheikh Zayed Book Award is a literary award presented yearly to writers, intellectuals, publishers whose writings and scholarly publications contributed to Arab cultural, literary and social life. The award has been described as “the Arab ...

for Eighth Session. In 2019, Najjar was nominated for

Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award () is an international children's literary award established by the Swedish government in 2002 to honour the Swedish children's author Astrid Lindgren (1907–2002). The prize is five million SEK, making it ...

. Her books were translated into different languages including Turkish, English, Swedish, French, and Chinese. Najjar participated in many international and regional conferences, events, and festivals like the

Emirates Airline Festival of Literature The Emirates Airline Festival of Literature (The Festival) is an international literature festival held annually in the United Arab Emirates. The festival is held under the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, under the auspices of ...

in 2018.

Works

Children

* ''Safwan the Acrobat'' (Original title: Safwan Al Bahlawan), 1977 * ''I Am Amazing'' (Original title: Ana Mudhisha), 1999 * ''I Can'' (Original title: Inani Astatee), 1999 * ''Not Yet'' (Original title: Laysa Baad), 1999 * ''My Brother Zaid'' (Original title: Akhi Zaid), 1999 * ''One Dark Night'' (Original title: Fi Layla Mothlema), 1999 * ''The Lie That Grew Bigger'' (Original title: Al Kethba Alati Kabarat), 2001 * ''Why Should I Sleep Early'' (Original title: Limatha Anamu Bakeran?), 2001 * ''The Nicest Day'' (Original title: Ahla Youm), 2004 * ''A Frog in our Classroom'' (Original title: Fi Safina Defda’a), 2004 * ''Don’t Worry Dad'' (Original title: La Taqlaq Ya Abi), 2004 * ''First Day of School'' (Original title: Awal Youm Madrasa), 2005 * ''My Favorite Animal'' (Original title: Hayawani Al Mufadal), 2005 * ''When the Doorbell Rang'' (Original title: Endama Yaduqu Al Bab), 2006 * ''Adventure on the Farm'' (Original title: Mugamara Fi Al Mazra’a), 2008 * ''The Story about a Boy Named Fayez'' (Original title: Kisat Walad Esmuhu Fayez), 2008 * ''A Day on the Beach'' (Original title: Youmun Ala Shatee Al Bahr), 2009 * ''This is How Fish Swim'' (Original title: Hek Yesbahu Al Asmak), 2010 * ''Tasseh Tarantaseh'', 2010 * ''A Home for Arnoub'' (Original title: Bait Al Arnab Al Saier), 2010 * ''Nashma and Jassem'' (Original title: Nashma wa Jassem), 2011 * ''Karma’s Rabbit'' (Original title: Arnabu Karma), 2011 * ''Anything'' (Original title: Ai Shaai), 2011 * ''Omar is Lost'' (Original title: Da’a Omar), 2012 * ''Watch Out Jude'' (Original title: Intabihi Ya Jude), 2012 * ''Jude’s New Bicycle'' (Original title: Jude Wa Darajatuha Al Jadeeda), 2012 * ''The Complete Halazone Series'' (Original title: Selselat Al Halazona Al Khamela), 2012 * ''Who Hid the Eid Lamb?'' (Original title: Man Khabaa Kharof Al Aid?), 2012 * ''Fifi'' , 2012 * ''My Grandmother Nafeesa'' (Original title: Gadati Nafeesa), 2012 * ''Why not?'' (Original title: Ma Al Manai), 2013 * ''There’s a Jungle in Saifo’s Room'' (Original title: Fi Ghurfat Saifo Ghaba), 2014 * ''Mr. Policeman'' (Original title: Amo Al Shurti), 2013 * Kaak, 2013 * ''Us Three Together'' (Original title: Ihna Al Thalatha Sawa), 2013 * ''Saadeh the Monkey'', 2013 * ''There’s a Jungle in Saifo’s Room'' (Original title: Fi Ghurfat Saifo Ghaba), 2014 * ''Sky is Raining Food'' (Original title: Al Sama Tumtiru Ta’aman), 2015 * ''Al Ghoul'', 2015 * ''The Hard to Please Horse'' (Original title: Ashhab La Ya’ajebhu Al Ajab), 2016 * ''The Amazing Toilet Paper Roll'' (Original title: Lafafat Al Waraq Al Ajeeba), 2016 * ''What Happened to My Brother Ramez?'' (Original title: Matha Hasala Li Akhi Ramez), 2016 * ''Mrs. Jawaher and Her Cats'' (Original title: Al Sayeda Jawaher Sadeeqat Al Qitat), 2016 * ''Sleep Zaina'' (Original title: Nami Ya Zina), 2016 * ''A Strange Adventure'' (Original title: Mughamara Ajeeba Ghareeba), 2017 * Zekazam Zekazoom, 2018 * ''The Amazing Egg Cartons 1'' (Original title: Cartoonat Al Baid Al Ajeeba 1), 2019 * ''The Amazing Egg Cartons 2'' (Original title: Cartoonat Al Baid Al Ajeeba 2), 2019 * ''Tala’s Car'' (Original title: Saiarat Tala), 2019 * ''No Tala'' (Original title: La Ya Tala), 2019 * ''When Mama Got Sick'' (Original title: Mama Maredaa), 2019 * ''The Bird Flew'' (Original title: Wa Tar Al A’sfur), 2019 * ''Who’s First'' (Original title: Man Awalan?), 2019 * ''The Doctor’s Visit'' (Original title: Ziarat Tabeeb) 2019 * ''The Case of the Spotted Leopard'' (Original title: Sair Al Fahd Al Muraqqat), 2019

Teen

* ''Raghda’s Hat'' (Original title: Kubaat Raghda), 2012 * ''Against the Tide'' (Original title: Set Al Kul), 2013 * ''The Mystery of the Falcon’s Eye'' (Original title: Lugz Ain Al Saqer), 2014 * ''One Day the Sun Will Shine'' (Original title: SaToshreq Al Shamsu WaLw Bada Heen), 2017 * ''Whose Doll is This''? (Original title: Liman Hathihi Al Dumia), 2019

Awards

She has been shortlisted and nominated for many awards including the

Etisalat Award for Arabic Children's Literature Etisalat Award for Arabic Children’s Literature is an Arabic literary award for children's literature. It was established in 2009 by the Arab Children's Book Publisher’s Forum. It is sponsored by Her Excellency Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qas ...

, and

. * Her collection of rhymes named "Musical Tickles" was selected by the National Center for Children's Literature as one of the best publications in the Arab World in 2012/2013. * Her book "What Happened to My Brother Ramiz?" won the

for Best Production.

References