FOR 4 YEARS+
Duration 30 Minutes
Illustrated by Emily Styles Republished 2016 by Medina Publishing Ltd, Surrey, UK
ISBN: 978-1-909339-89-7
Have fun counting with Humpy Grumpy Camel, who is looking for his friends! Follow the camel footprints through the sands, and meet some creatures and people of the desert along the way..
FOR 5 YEARS+
Duration 30 Minutes
Illustrated by Emily Styles Republished 2016 by Medina Publishing Ltd, Surrey, UK
ISBN: 978-1-909339-88-0
A storm turns a wadi rock pool into a dangerous place, but Humpy Grumpy Camel is brave and strong. He proves himself a hero and saves the day!
FOR 6 YEARS+
Duration 30 Minutes
Illustrated by Emily Styles Published 2016 by Medina Publishing Ltd, Surrey, UK
ISBN: 978-1-909339-59-0
Humpy Grumpy Camel loves the movies and dreams of being an action star! His wish comes true when he is faced with adventure at the Burj Khalifa. But will his improbable rescue mission succeed?
FOR 6 YEARS+
Duration 40 Minutes
Illustrated by Romulo Miclat Published 2015 by Motivate Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-86063-410-9
Have you ever wished for the impossible?
Have you ever had a dream everyone said was too big?
This is the story of one little goat who wanted to fly…. But goats can’t fly, can they?
“A heartwarming tale about perseverance and having the courage to pursue your dreams, no matter how far they take you.”
In this workshop find out about:
- How Julia became a storyteller
- How she gathers ingredients for her stories
- Why she chose to write a story about a goat
- Meet some of the creatures living in the Arabian mountains
Join Julia’s little goat puppet to listen to the story!
FOR 6 YEARS+
Duration 40 Minutes
Illustrated by Charlene Kasdorf Published 2016 by Medina Publishing Ltd, Surrey, UK
ISBN: 978-1-909-339-94-1
Abu and his donkey have been together for as long as anyone can remember. Every day they bring water to the village in the mountains. Sometimes the donkey carries firewood and sometimes sacks of rice. But one day a young man in a big shiny truck rolls up. He can carry more of everything and much faster, can’t he? So what will become of Abu and his donkey now?
In this workshop find out about:
Fables
How water used to be taken to mountain villages. Learn about animals who work for us.
Julia will share her experiences and observations which helped her to write this story.
FOR 5 YEARS+
Duration 30 Minutes
Illustrated by Emily Styles, Published 2019 by Medina Publishing
ISBN: 1911487361
“The souq is a bustle, a hustle, a throng,
Exciting! Inviting! So please come along!
You’ll need a big basket, and so will I
Now where shall we start? What shall we buy?”
Have you ever drunk Qahwa? Or watched the tailors stitching Thobes?
In this workshop:
Find out what a Dallah is, smell the Incense and the Spices, bargain with the shop keepers, and follow in Grandmother’s footsteps as she makes her way through an Arabian Souq with her grandchildren, buying everything from A–Z!
FOR 5 YEARS+
Duration 30 Minutes
Illustrated by Natalie Merheb. Published 2020 by Medina Publishing
ISBN: 9781911487418
Lizard and Toad are friends. They live in a wadi in the mountains of Arabia.
Toad’s curiosity often leads him into trouble, but Lizard is smart and always has a bright idea to help his friend out of a sticky situation.
In this workshop:
Find out about wadis and the creatures which live there.
Meet Lizard and Toad and listen to their adventures.
FOR 6 YEARS+
Duration 40 Minutes
Illustrated by Una Rawlinson. Published 2005 by Jerboa Books LLC, Dubai
ISBN: English: 9948426 193 Arabic: 9948426 207
A story about the brightly painted camels of Dubai’s Camel Caravan. The Emirates Banker camel became an extremely popular character, and when he mysteriously vanished newspapers featured his picture, radio stations asked for information and posted a reward for his return, but he was never seen again.
FOR MIDDLE AND UPPER JUNIORS
Duration 1 Hour
Illustrated by Patricia Al Fakhri Republished 2015 by Medina Publishing Ltd, UK
ISBN: English: 978-1-90933976-7
The story of Saeed, a 6 year old boy, and his father Abdullah. Together they join the crew of a pearling dhow, and Saeed learns how the divers hunt for the treasures of the deep, and discover the secrets and dangers of the sea. “...outstanding multi-cultural fiction...” Leicestershire Libraries
In this workshop:
Life on a pearling sambuk.
Compare today’s diving equipment with that of the past. Watch extracts from the National Bank of Dubai film
“The Pearl Coast”.
Look at traditional pearling artefacts.
FOR MIDDLE AND UPPER JUNIORS
Duration 1 Hour
Illustrated by Susan Keeble
Published 2005 by Stacey International, London
ISBN: 1905299 001
Republished 2018 by Medina Publishing Ltd, UK
ISBN: 978-1-91148730-2
“Readers of any age will enjoy this story of Hamad and his Saluki Sougha. Between them Julia Johnson with her pen and Susan Keeble with her brush have managed to capture so well the intimate relationship between the Bedouin of the desert and their hounds that has endured through centuries to the present day.”
Sir Terence Clark, Chairman, the Saluki Coursing Club
In this workshop, find out about:
Life in the desert.
Culture and traditions.
Hunting with the hound and the falcon.
Extracts from the National Geographic film, “Running with the Wind.”
Examine artefacts.
FOR MIDDLE AND UPPER JUNIORS
Duration 1 Hour
Illustrated by Susan Keeble
Published 2004 by Stacey International, London
ISBN: English 1900988 879. Arabic: 1900988 941
A little girl finds a malnourished cheetah cub caged in the back of a shop in a bazaar. Her mother agrees to buy the animal to save its life, and the little girl rears the cub at their house until it grows into a fine young cheetah.
“The story is beautifully told and stunningly illustrated in watercolour by Susan Keeble... the feeling you are left with is one of joy and hope, whilst giving an insight into conservation and ethical protection of wildlife, particularly big cats.”
Connector Magazine.
In this workshop, find out about Cheetahs:
Raising issues and awareness through a story.
How a species becomes endangered.
Our relationship with wild animals.
Conservation, and how we can help.
FOR MIDDLE AND UPPER JUNIORS
Duration 1 Hour
Illustrated by Bug Fawcett
Published 2016 by Medina Publishing Ltd, Surrey, UK
ISBN: 978-1-909339-85-9
In South Africa a rhino calf, orphaned by poachers, is rescued by a young African girl, but looking after a baby rhino is expensive. Far away in Dubai a school agrees to raise the funds needed to support it and one pupil is particularly captivated by the baby rhino and watches its progress on the CCTV monitor whenever he can. When one afternoon the girl doesn’t turn up at her usual time, he is convinced that something has happened to her. Is the baby rhino in danger too?
In this workshop, find out about:
Rhinos - black rhinos + white rhinos, their characteristics + behaviour
The poaching crisis + other threats to rhinos
Rescue + rehabilation of orphaned rhinos
Raising awareness through a story; creating characters + situations
FOR 8 - 12 Year
Duration 1 Hour
Illustrated by Emily Styles
Published 2018 by Medina Publishing Ltd, Surrey, UK
ISBN:978-1-91148-718-0
Set in Oman, in a remote mountain village in the grip of a deadly drought, a young girl sets out to look for berries. She falls into a deep, dark cave where, cold and frightened, she desperately wishes for the comforting figure of her cousin Hilal, but he is far away and cannot help her. Then she comes across an owl and a mysterious child who lead her to a discovery which could save her people … if only she could reach them.
In this workshop, find out about:
The importance of water and the effects of drought
Caves – prehistoric rock paintings; cave dwelling creatures; stalactites and stalagmites
Owls, especially the Desert Eagle Owl
Beliefs and superstitions; mysteries and discoveries
Building the story - the ingredients, the characters + situations. We will look at the central character of Ameera, why she is “special”, and her connection with her cousin Hilal.
FOR 8 - 12 Year
Duration 1 Hour
Winner of the Best International Children’s Book Award at Sharjah International Book Fair 2014.
Published 2014 by Motivate Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-86063-350-8
When Uncle Salem discovers that someone has been stealing the turtle eggs from the beach because some people will pay a lot of money to eat them, Hessa embarks on a mission to catch the thieves and protect the turtles, leading to a thrilling and dangerous adventure.
In this workshop, find out about:
The turtle + its life cycle
What it means to be endangered
Threats to turtles
Rescue + Rehabilitation
Promoting awareness + making a difference
The story + its ingredients – characters + role models; exploring UAE traditions + customs; creating scenes, situations, conflict + adventure; building to a climax; ending on a hopeful note
FOR 8 - 12 Year
Duration 1 Hour
Published 2011 by Frances Lincoln Children’s Books
ISBN: 9781847802132
When Khalid loses one of his goats on the mountainside, he meets a wise old man and discovers the truth about the mysterious leopard. But Khalid’s powerful uncle has ambitious plans for the mountain, and a leopard living there would turn his dreams to dust
In this workshop, find out about:
Arabian Leopards
Habitat
Breeding
Threats to endangered species
Conservation and how we can help
Raising issues and awareness through a story
A COVID-19 SPECIAL !
Curious wild animals roamed through the empty streets around the world whilst people stayed at home to keep safe during lockdown. This was the inspiration behind “WHERE IS EVERYONE?”
With schools re-opening many children may be feeling anxious about leaving home and meeting up with classmates and teachers again.
Here’s a fun story which may help children explore their feelings about the events of the last few months.
A BRAND NEW STORY FOR CORONAVIRUS TIMES
A teachers’ pack full of follow-up ideas is also available!