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SIBF 2022: This unique book is one of the fastest-selling copies at the fair

Opening weekend has been an exciting time for school students, many of whom have been saving up to buy one of the many items on offer

Published: Sun 6 Nov 2022, 12:02 PM

Updated: Sun 6 Nov 2022, 6:41 PM

  • By
  • Ehaab Qadeer

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Supplied photos

Supplied photos

The Sharjah International Book Fair has proven that young people in the UAE are as enthusiastic as ever about reading books – even in the age of smartphones and audiobooks. Publishers at the fair left no stone unturned to attracting crowds to their pavilions, with a vast array of items on offer.

The first weekend of SIBF has been an exciting time for school students. Muhammed Zayeem, studying at The Central School, Dubai, told Khaleej Times that he has been waiting for this book fair weekend since his school reopened.


“This book fair is an excellent opportunity for me to build myself a small home library", said the 15 year old. "I have been saving money for this fair lately, and I am getting the books I am looking for at a fairly good price.”

We know that schools and educators go above and beyond the call of duty to make students look forward to the process of learning, but there is something extra special about book fair week. From getting to explore cases of new books, to the joy of exchanging books with their peers, the book fair has been witness to multiple moments that have made both students and educators grin from ear to ear.

Interestingly, one of the fastest selling books at the fair has been the Universal Dictionary of Mathematics by Elie Akoury, sold at the Universal Publisher and Distributor – Lebanon pavilion. Doris, a representative of the publisher at SIBF, said, “The mathematics dictionary [was] sold out within just 3 days. We are planning to get few more copies as the demand is high.” The dictionary retails for Dh77.

The fact that a mathematics dictionary even exists may not be common knowledge, but at SIBF it has turned out to be one of the most popular and fastest selling copies.

Book fairs like these inform students' reading and comprehension skills, and can help to build knowledge and vocabulary critical for understanding new subject matter. This practice might even enable families to make reading a family event.

When children read to their families, a letter-sound relationship to pronounce and identify words correctly begins to form. Conversely, when families read to their kids, the latter are able to listen on a higher language level than they can read, exposing them to vocabulary and language patterns that are not part of everyday speech.

The Mohammed Bin Rashid Library pavilion at SIBF has several exciting and unique archives on display which also caught the attention of students visiting the fair.

The archives include the first Avengers comic featuring the Hulk, Thor, Ant-Man and Iron Man from 1963; a first edition of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl from 1964, and a first edition of Prince Caspian from the Narnia series by C.S. Lewis from 1951.

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