Children’s book writer Mostafa Rahmandust honored

TEHRAN -- Mostafa Rahmandust, the Children’s book writer who is mostly known for his poem “A Hundred Rubies” about pomegranates, was honored during a ceremony in his home town of Hamedan on Thursday.

The ceremony was held by the Institute for Intellectual Development for Children and Young Adults (IIDCYA) to celebrate the lifetime achievements of the 64-year-old author and poet.

“I was in fifth grade when I learned that I could compose poems and I created my first work in that year,” he said at the ceremony.

He said that he left Hamedan at the age of 20 to study Persian literature in Tehran. 

“During the last days of my education, I was acquainted with children’s literature and I decided to work in this field,” he stated.

“Today, I have been working for children over the past 30 years and every position I have taken was concerned with children’s literature,” he added.

He said that so far, 160 books of his poems have been published in 5.5 million copies.

“All children have the right to an education and we should provide all facilities for those Afghan refugee children in Iran to familiarize them with Iranian culture and Persian literature,” Rahmandust added.

The director of the Hamedan branch of the IIDCYA, Mohammadreza Javadi, also praised Rahmandust for his works in a short speech that he delivered at the ceremony.

“According to many Persian literati, Rahmandust has had a key role in the development of the contemporary Persian literature, particularly in the field of children’s literature,” he said.