Clean heart, clean mind!

A POPULAR Bahraini children’s author is hoping to spread a little love and understanding in the nursery and classrooms with her latest work.

Instilling a touch of empathy and compassion in her young readers is the aim of Shampoo of Wonderful Feelings as the words and images wash away any negative and destructive thoughts.

Nada Fardan, former architect and now full-time author of Arabic children’s books such as Faris in the Pearling Age, Sunny Smile and Little Dream has added this delightful and humorous story to her portfolio.

Shampoo of Wonderful Feelings was unveiled at a recent ceremony at the Bahrain National Museum. “I wanted to write a story that would help build emotional intelligence in children,” Nada told GulfWeekly.

She began working on the tale last year after being inspired by a TV commercial for a shampoo. “It claimed that it could soften your hair. So I thought to myself, what if there was a product that could soften someone’s heart? That was when the idea for the book came to me,” she said.

Nada spun her magic with a mundane everyday item in a story that was enjoyed by children and adults alike at the launch ceremony. Set in a classroom, the story begins when a teacher asks her students to pretend they were innovators and draw an amazing invention of their own.

The children let their imaginations run wild, coming up with ideas such as a travel capsule that can take you to any country in minutes and a robot gardener who can plant a hundred seeds in seconds.

The standout, however, was Ghada, the protagonist of the story, who drew a shampoo bottle. She reveals that this was no ordinary bottle, but a ‘shampoo of wonderful feelings’, which does not clean a person’s hair, but rather the heart.

Whoever uses the shampoo ends up gaining an emotion they struggled with, and all the students and the teacher learn the value of empathy thanks to this mystical ingredient.

“Life can be more beautiful if we can just understand each other better,” said Nada. “For that to be possible, our hearts, just like our hair, need to be cleaned and tended to. Compassion is one of the most important traits a person can have and that is what I hope the children learn when reading the tale or having it read to them,” she added.

Nada began writing when she was in primary school. Impressed teachers discovered her talent, marked her work and motivated her to continue developing her skills. She was also inspired by a ‘bookworm father and a mother’ who loved telling stories to Nada and her siblings.

In 2016, she published her first book, Faris and his 10 Armours, a story about a boy who learns about the virtue and morals of knights in order to gain shields that protect him from mistakes and help him correct his behaviour.

Her literary endeavours have won her several accolades, most notably the Rashid Bin Hamid Prize for Culture and Science in 2022 for her story Mother has a Magnet.

Scent of Jasmine, a story about a girl’s love and gratitude towards her mum, was released last year.

Although her stories have been penned in Arabic so far, Nada is aiming to write a book in English in the near future. “I have non-Arab friends who have asked me to write something for their children as well,” she explained.

“They have even come so far as to support me at book launches, so I would like to do something for them in return. After all, children’s books should be for everyone, regardless of what language they speak.”

Shampoo of Wonderful Feelings and all of Nada’s other works are available for purchase online at alnadaworkshops.com and, for more information, follow her on Instagram @nada.fardan