Coming soon: The Poet, a children’s poetry collection by Egyptian poet Ashraf Aboul-Yazid with illustrations by the legendary artist Helmi El-Touni, to be published by Dar Al-Nasher within the Silk Road Creations series dedicated to literature for young readers.
The collection presents a unique poetic experience that merges luminous simplicity of language with deep aesthetic reflection. Aboul-Yazid revisits childhood as a space of imagination and wisdom, where verses explore themes close to a child’s heart—nature, friendship, school, the seasons, and home. Written in musical, fluid rhythms, the poems invite both recitation and contemplation. The poet weaves a world where emotions and beings intertwine in a simple yet philosophical expression, nurturing a child’s early sense of beauty, language, and wonder.
Helmi El-Touni’s artwork extends the poems beyond illustration, forming a visual dialogue with the text. His vivid colors and folkloric Egyptian and Arab symbols expand the reader’s imagination, turning every poem into a self-contained visual scene.
From a critical perspective, The Poet exemplifies the modern Arabic children’s poem—faithful to its emotional and rhythmic roots while opening itself to visual art. It stands as a meeting point between poetry and painting, uniting the imagination of a traveling poet with that of an artist who finds in color a twin to the word.
About the author:
Ashraf Aboul-Yazid was born in Benha, Egypt, on March 13, 1963. Since childhood, he loved reading, drawing, and traveling, dreaming of writing stories that would take readers around the world. He has written and translated over forty-five books—more than ten for children and young adults—building bridges between East and West. His celebrated children’s works include Children of My Arab Homeland, Arab Travelers, Korean Tales, Underwater Postman, and My Cat Writes a Book, which won the Sawiris Award for Children’s Literature. His young adult novel My Father, the Mapmaker, published by Bayt Al-Hikma, continues his legacy of inspiring adventure, knowledge, and respect for diversity.
Aboul-Yazid’s writings transcend storytelling to illuminate hearts with universal values of love, equality, and tolerance. His poem My Palm Tree is included in Lebanon’s Arabic curriculum, and several of his poems are used in India to teach Arabic. He created the series Majid’s Adventures on the Silk Road for Majid Magazine, taking readers through 54 journeys from Xi’an to Venice, and wrote folk tales for Al Jazeera Children’s “The Narrator Said.” His literary achievements have earned him numerous international awards, including the Manhae Prize in Literature (Korea), the Arab Journalism Award (UAE), Egypt’s Cultural Medal, and gold medals in Nigeria and Turkey. His works have been translated into over ten languages—including English, Russian, Spanish, Korean, German, Persian, Turkish, Sindhi, Azerbaijani, Urdu, and Malayalam—allowing global readers to meet the Arab child who became a storyteller of light.
About the artist:
Helmi El-Touni (1934–2025), born in Beni Suef, Egypt, was captivated by color and form from an early age, spending hours drawing on paper and walls. He studied set design at the Faculty of Fine Arts, Cairo, graduating in 1958. Before completing his studies, he worked as an illustrator for Al-Kawakeb magazine and later as Art Director for Dar Al-Hilal.
In the mid-1970s, El-Touni moved to Beirut, where he worked as an art director and held exhibitions in 1975 and 1985 before returning to Cairo. His artwork, filled with the warmth and spirit of the East, has been shown worldwide—in Germany, Portugal, Japan, Lebanon, India, and Saudi Arabia.
A devoted artist for children, he designed books, posters, and the beloved puppet character Sahih Lamma Yengah (by Salah Jahin). He illustrated over 3,000 book covers, each one a world of color and story.
El-Touni received numerous honors, including the Suzanne Mubarak Award for Children’s Books (three times), UNICEF’s Prize, and the Bologna Children’s Book Fair Award (2002). His works are preserved in the Egyptian Museum of Modern Art and in collections around the world.
Helmi El-Touni taught us that color is a language of joy and that art can make life more beautiful. Though he passed away this year, his illustrations remain alive, carrying his enduring love for beauty and childhood imagination
