Over 300 children, parents and distinguished guests were in attendance during the book launch of Respect held at The American School of Doha (ASD) recently. During the welcome ceremony the student writers and illustrators of Respect were introduced and read excerpts from the book. A song about respect was sang in both English and Arabic and, to everyone's surprise, the book’s hero, Jessy, arrived as the guest of honour. The students were overjoyed.
The book Respect tells the story of Jessy, an Alien on a secret mission to Earth, as he visits The American School of Doha. Jessy must learn about humans, but he is taught so much more along the way, such as respect and kindness! Respect is the second book written and illustrated by ASD students comprised in a four book series of the school's values. The first book, published in 2012, was titled Compassion.
“The book captures the essence of what it means to be treated with respect at school. This book is especially meaningful because the children wanted the proceeds to be contributed to charity,” Deborah Welch, Director of ASD. The charity chosen was the Al Faisal Without Boarders Foundation.
Ali Mare, Executive Director of Al Faisal Without Borders Foundation, said: “Al Faisal Without Borders Foundation is a pioneering humanitarian global foundation, which promotes sustainable development and improved quality of life for people around the world.”
He continued: “The American School of Doha Values book series illustrating the school’s values echoes our belief in the importance of self and mutual respect as common goals and guiding principles for people everywhere. Thus our foundation seeks to educate and instil in young people an appreciation for other cultures and beliefs whilst respecting the values of Islamic teaching.”
Five student artists were selected after interested students were asked to draw a detailed picture of a toad and a frog in a boat on water with landscape around them. Those artists were, Veronica Lemus Velasquez, Isabel Montiel Castellano, Annie Jun, Valeria Gutierrez and Arub Siddiqui. “I purposefully chose hard subjects for them to draw because I wanted to see how creative they could be within these parameters," explained Samantha McGuinness, LES Art Teacher and Respect illustration guide.
A magical moment was when the three writers of Respect, Anna Selfridge, Andreas Van Acker and Sahej Panag, began to read the book to the children in attendance. Guided by a former ASD 5th grade teacher, Anne Deitch, the students worked after school to write a story that was relevant to their lives and the values that they follow on a daily basis.
Anne said that they all "learned how to compromise and communicate their ideas effectively [and] how to stick with a long term project and stay committed even though they had to spend time after school and at recess to complete the book." Once the story was completed and shared with the student illustrators, who then brought the story to life through images, the result was Jessy and about the Respect shown to him as a guests at ASD.
To purchase a copy of Respect, please send an email to [email protected].
The Peninsula
