TEHRAN – Golden Books, a series published in Iran for children 58 years ago, have returned to bookstores across the country to delight new generations.

The Amir Kabir Publishing Company first published the collection comprising about 80 great classics of the world’s literature with front covers in gold.
    
The streamlined stories attracted Iranian children at that time and even appealed to adults.

Now, a leading Iranian publisher led by the translator Mohammadreza Jafari, has recently published 16 books of the series, including “Treasure Island” by Robert Louis Stevenson, “The Prince and the Pauper” by Mark Twain, “Moby-Dick” by Herman Melville and the fairy tales “Snow-White and Rose-Red” and “The Brave Little Tailor”.

In a press release published by the publisher, Jafari said that like Iranian adult readers, he is also interested in reading children’s books.

“I have read most of the children’s books written or translated into Persian, and for a long time, I wanted to provide some books for people in my generation and my child friends,” he added.

To fulfill his dream, Jafari began learning English.

“I entered the world of stories written in this language and found them interesting and instructive. I thought that translating some of the books in a collection would be useful for children, therefore, I decided to present the Persian translation of the stories and Golden Books were published,” he explained.

He noted that he has avoided literal translation, and has streamlined the stories. 

Abdorrahim Jafari, father of Mohammadreza and the director of Amir Kabir, also said, “Over 50 years have passed since the publication of Golden Books… many of those people who read the series in their childhood at that time are now the parents of present readers of the new edition.”

“There are many instructive lessons about life in these stories written by the great writers of the world, therefore, stories will never die; for children, stories are not lifeless writings, they liven up children’s imaginations and they live within them,” he stated.

He also expressed his hope that the stories would bring children deep insight and courage, and protect them from disappointment and meanness.

“Over a half century after its first edition, the new series has been published to encourage reading among children. Perhaps some great writers would emerge from the competent readers,” Jafari said. 

Photo: A combination photo shows the front covers of some books from the Golden Books series.

MMS/YAW