Muscat – For a child, a story can be far more than a journey into an imaginary world. It can shape language and identity, provide a way to understand fear or loss, and, increasingly, cross from the printed page into the digital spaces where young readers spend much of their time.

Specialists in Oman are calling for children’s literature that remains rooted in Arab culture while embracing changing technology and new approaches to learning and emotional wellbeing.

Dr Noura bint Salem Al Khalili, a specialist in children’s literature, sees Arabic as central to that task. “Language is not just a tool for communication, but it is the first effective tool for shaping identity, building human values and consolidating its features,” she said.

Noura argues that stories can help turn Arabic from something children associate with lessons and examinations into a language of discovery and everyday life. A story about an Arab child building a paper aeroplane or exploring plants, she said, can connect language with curiosity and experience.

The role of storytelling may extend well beyond literacy.

Dr Iman bint Hamad Al Muqbali, a specialist in child psychotherapy, said Oman has made progress in producing stories reflecting national identity, the Arabic language and the local environment.

But she believes books can also become tools for psychological support.

In narrative therapy, children who struggle to describe emotions directly can identify with fictional characters and learn ways of coping with fear, sadness, anger, bullying, loss and family changes, Iman said. She called for age-appropriate stories dealing with anxiety, trauma, disability and emotional regulation that could also be used in schools and counselling settings.

Technology presents another challenge – and opportunity.

Dr Zainab Abdul Mahdi, a specialist in modern literature and criticism, argues that books need not compete with screens. Instead, digital tools can bring stories to life and allow children to become creators rather than passive consumers.

She advocates interactive storytelling drawing on Arab history and culture, including animation, audio, art and artificial intelligence, while retaining Arabic as its linguistic foundation.

Omani poet Saud bin Nasser Al Saqri makes a similar case for poetry.

Today’s children inhabit a fast-moving visual world, he said, meaning literature must adapt without surrendering its artistic value.

For Al Saqri, poems inspired by Oman’s sea, mountains, palm trees and traditions can connect young readers to their roots, while interactive books, recordings and animation can make poetry a springboard for imagination rather than something merely memorised in class.

“The old traditional style must end,” he said. “We must make literary texts directed at children closer to their world.”