TEHRAN -- Excerpts from “Good Stories for Good Children,” featuring a collection of written tales based on some classical Persian works have recently been published in Chinese by the Ningxia Company in Beijing.

Veteran Iranian children’s author Mehdi Azar Yazdi wrote the Persian edition of the book, consisting of eight volumes, and Lee Dong-lee translated the Chinese version, which includes only 46 tales from the original collection.
The process of translation and publication involved collaboration with the Iranian cultural attaché office in Beijing.
“Good Stories for Good Children” won a UNESCO prize in 1966 and was selected as Iran’s best book of the year in 1967.
The book provides children with access to some of the great works of Persian literature, such as the Gulistan (The Rose Garden), the Masnavi-ye Manavi, the Marzban-Nameh, the Sinbadnameh, and some stories from the Holy Qur’an and the life of the Prophet Muhammad (S) and his Household (AS).
The Iranian Society of Cultural Works and Luminaries honored octogenarian writer Azar Yazdi, who is currently writing his biography, for his lifetime achievements in children’s literature in February 2007.
Photo: Iranian children’s author Mehdi Azar Yazdi reads a volume of his “Good Stories for Good Children” in an undated photo. Excerpts from the book have recently been published in Chinese in Beijing.