A child should experience the greatest pleasure in reading with the least pause.
Iran Book News Agency (IBNA) Children and Young Adults Service – Saye Barin: The ‘Second Grader, Second Book’ series, published by Ofoq Publishers, aims to accompany young readers in their first serious reading experiences. This series strives to balance linguistic simplicity with narrative appeal, providing opportunities for thought, imagination, and individual creativity alongside storytelling. The stories in these books are written in a fluid and clear language, so children can gradually become familiar with the joy of reading without fear of textual difficulty, while also being invited to accuracy and creativity through carefully designed exercises.
Mozhgan Kalhor is the author of several books in the ‘Second Grader, Second Book’ series, and IBNA has conducted an interview with her regarding this series. Kalhor is an author who has been writing for children for many years and is well-acquainted with their emotional and mental world. She speaks about her experience writing stories for this series, the challenges of narrative for nascent readers, and the subtleties inherent in artful simplicity. Let’s read this interview together.
As an author, what is your most significant challenge when writing for children who have just learned to read?
Our most significant challenge is narrating a story that balances simplicity and appeal. This means the story is told with very simple words, but we also use more difficult words that should be included in the story for the child to learn them. Achieving this balance is truly difficult; ensuring the child can read the text with the least pause and not get discouraged, while also ensuring the story isn’t so simple that it becomes bland and unexciting. Finding this middle ground is always the hardest part of the job.
What criteria do you observe in choosing vocabulary and sentence structures to make them understandable and engaging for a second-grader?
We usually try to use short and fluid sentences or words with a simple and pleasant rhythm. And we vocalize difficult words so they can read them more easily.
When dealing with an audience that might be having their first independent reading experiences, what points should be considered in story and narrative design?
The story should progress simply and linearly so that the child does not lose the plot. Characters should be such that the child can empathize with them. On the other hand, plot points should be small and understandable. Moments of surprise, humor, and discovery should be abundant so that the child feels reading is a sweet experience. We tried to have something for discovery or prediction in each chapter to keep the child interested and continue reading.
The ‘Second Grader, Second Book’ series also includes writing exercises. With what aim have you designed these sections, and how do you think they can encourage children towards writing?
Some of these exercises were designed with reference to the Persian writing textbook for second-graders, but the majority were designed based on the shortcomings in existing writing textbooks; many grammatical points are not well-taught in textbooks, and teachers might only briefly mention them. We tried to increase their general knowledge in addition to grammatical points like present, past, and future tenses. We endeavored to provide explanations on types of prose, editing, great authors, types of stories, and so on. Through simple exercises, we can encourage them to write their thoughts. We must give them the courage to write. Usually, this writing starts with a simple sentence, then they connect these sentences to create a short story.
To motivate reading in this age group, what narrative or visual elements (like illustration) are more important?
In the first stage, the color of the book cover attracts the child, followed by its vibrant and engaging illustrations. In the second stage, the title of the story is very important, as these are the first words they read about the book, and if they like the title, they will choose the book. Subsequently, familiar settings where the story takes place, such as school, home, etc., are also important. And of course, there are other options, such as the humor in the story, the rhythm of words, and pleasant repetitions.
In your opinion, when dealing with various topics (like friendship, school, fears, or daily events), what level of complexity is suitable for children who are just beginning independent reading?
In my opinion, complexity can be shown in emotions, but there should be no complexity in the story’s structure. For example, one can write about real emotions such as fear, resentment, jealousy, friendship, etc., but the story should not be multi-layered or ambiguous; otherwise, the child will not understand the plot at all. Concepts must be clear and tangible; they must be things that happen in their lives or are at the comprehension level of an eight-year-old child.
What experiences have you had with feedback from parents or teachers regarding the books, and how has this feedback influenced your writing style?
Fortunately, we have received good feedback so far. Teachers have said that these books have improved children’s fluency in reading. They even use them as workbooks in class. Parents were also satisfied; even those with third-grade children who had reading fluency issues found their problems resolved by reading these books. The exercises at the end of the book have also been very well-received. Children loved these exercises, which has motivated us to continue writing with greater enthusiasm.
If you were to advise aspiring authors who want to write for second-graders, what is the most important point they should observe?
I can say that it’s best to look at the world from the perspective of eight-year-old children; to care about the things they care about. When you see the world through their eyes, the text you write automatically becomes simple, intimate, and engaging.
