Children's books should deal with kids' stuff.

BUDDING children's books authors should be careful to avoid discussing issues which may be too serious and too difficult for children to understand."An author of children's books should be able to look through the eyes and perspectives of children," said Ruzanna Zulkipli, who spoke on behalf of participants at the Writing Children's Novels Workshop, which drew to a close at the Language and Literature Bureau yesterday. Ruzanna suggested that the workshop become an annual event and further expressed her hope in seeing the organisation of a similar workshop for writing novels catered towards teenage and adult audiences. Authors inadvertently share the responsibility of promoting and strengthening the use of the Malay language in the country and should take care in crafting their novels, said the acting director of the Language and Literature Bureau.

"The choice of reading material given to children will determine their ability to master language," said Aminah Hj Momin, the guest of honour at the ceremony. Hjh Nortijah Hj Mohd Hassan, the organiser of the event, mentioned that only three children's novels have been published by the Language and Literature Bureau. "This workshop was held to encourage and motivate more authors to delve into children's literature," she said. During the four-day workshop, participants were advised and educated on the proper techniques and methods used specifically in children's stories. Hjh Nortijah said it is essential that proper usage of language and sentence structure are implemented to cater for an audience below the age of 12. Participants were presented with certificates at the end of the event. The Brunei Times