Books from our childhood stick with us long after we have grown too old (and cool) to have a bedtime story courtesy of mum and dad. Who better to share their favourite childhood reads than the team at the Emirates Festival of Literature?
Mary Obaba, Human resources manager
My favourite childhood book is Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll because I could imagine my own wonderland with no limits
Hani Yakan, project manager
I loved the Arabic version of The Famous Five series by Mahmoud Salem. It was full of adventure, thrills and suspense in a very relatable setting in an Arabic city where young friends set out to solve mysteries
Shurooq Kamal, programme research officer
For me is has to be R.L. Stine’s The Goosebumps books. The series kicked off my fascination with horror when I was young and I’m so grateful for the times I prayed the sun would rise faster so I could fall asleep facing the wall without the shadow figure of a headless ghost appearing. Ah, to own an evil camera or a ventriloquist dummy with a life of its own or a cursed cuckoo clock whose ticking I watch with heavy lids perched behind a dusty bookshelf.
Nada Abdulaziz, marketing and design coordinator
Matilda by Roald Dahl is the most inspiring book. Starting with the strong female protagonist Matilda and her contagious love for books it just gets better. It has hidden life lessons, like the need to stand up for ourselves and the people we care about, the role of self-love in keeping us mentally and physically safe, and last but not least, the strong urge to change the world around us and not just accept it the way it is. And of course, the pranks are funny!
Krishna Dela Paz, visual marketing manager
I am a huge fan of Geronimo Stilton by Elisabetta Dami. When I was young, Scholastic came to my school and there was a huge Geronimo Stilton mascot, which I really enjoyed. I also love that there are so many different adventure stories, and the illustrations
are phenomenal.
