The children frowned in deep concentration as they rendered their paper fish shapes in vibrant hues at the “My Mobile Theatre” workshop at the Sharjah International Book Fair. Held by Dr Anissa Daoudi, a professor at Birmingham University UK, the interactive workshop is centered on merging artistic, reading and oratory skills.  
The children began by coloring and cutting out premade card templates which were then stuck onto Popsicle sticks, creating their very own delightful customized puppets.  After that, the children were given a script and were instructed to read and act out stories as part of a group effort.
“By encouraging the children to work together by psychically narrating out the play, they are not only developing their reading skills, but simultaneously working on their social skills too” Daoudi explains.  
By participating in the activities, it is enjoyable for the children but it is also an effective way of making them more confident in communication particularly regarding public speaking.  
“Learning how to be a captivating orator at a young age can really be a confidence boost and it also serves as a highly effective life skill to acquire.
During the fair, kids were also treated to a dynamic, interactive musical production, Jad in Four Seasons. In the entertaining and informative show, a lazy magician steals the four magical threads that make up the seasons from Jad, the tailor of seasons.
In his quest to find these threads, he ventures into the Land of Magic where he meets the magical creatures and fairies of every season and starts to look for the four threads: blue, for the blue summer skies, yellow, for the colors of the fallen autumn leaves, white for the snowy winter and red for the blooming flowers of spring.
During the show, the characters carry out scientific experiments creating clouds and snow. Children were also a part of the production, as they played games with the characters both on and off stage. At the end of the play, the characters sang a final song telling the children that “beauty is everywhere”.