TEHRAN – Iranian translator Maryam Meftahi has said that collaboration between publishers and schools can improve reading among children.

Speaking to the Persian service of IRNA on Sunday, she added that people should be accustomed to reading from childhood during school years.

“Schools should ask publishers to attend meetings with schoolchildren to introduce their latest offerings, and this interaction can institutionalize reading in society,” she added.

Meftahi noted that she is ready to hold meetings with schoolchildren to encourage reading and asked publishers to introduce quality books to children.

Meftahi’s Persian translation of “And Then It Happened”, a Canadian children’s book series by Michael Wade and Laura Wade, has recently been published by Afarinegan in Tehran.

Since its publication in the fall of 2003, this bestselling series has been entertaining students across North America. “And Then It Happened” is a laugh-out-loud series that is guaranteed to get kids reading.

Meftahi was acquainted with the series by her nephew who is studying at a school in Canada. The principals of the school chose the series and asked Michael and Laura to appear at the school for introducing the books.

“I could not stop reading after I read the first book of the seven-volume series; children will surely empathize with the characters of the books,” she said.

Gordon, Paulo and Narrator are the main characters of the stories.

Gordon is the one who usually lands the other boys in trouble and good pranks. Paulo is comfortable with using a variety of tools and lives on a farm with his parents and Narrator is the storyteller of the series. His name is not mentioned throughout the whole series.   

“The way the children who sometimes make mistakes and receive punishment are treated, and the way they behave toward police and their parents are really attractive for children and can be very constructive,” Meftahi said.

The books in the series have been published separately to give low-income families some choice, she added.

Meftahi is also the translator of “The Miller’s Daughter” by Margaret Dickinson, “”The Goldfinch” by Donna Tartt, “Me after You” by Jojo Moyes and several other books.

Photo: This combination photo shows translator Maryam Meftahi and her Persian rendition of the series “And Then It Happened”.

MMS/YAW