Wahid in the Street

ABOUT THE BOOK
FAMILY ACTIVITIES

The cat “Wahid” wanders alone in the neighborhood streets, introducing us to its inhabitants and to the relationships between them through the food that it eats from their homes. This is a story about loneliness and friendship, and about values such as compassion and kindness to animals

Family Activities

The book allows us to have a rich conversation with our children about several values and topics, such as: our belonging to our environment and surroundings; compassion and kindness to animals; friendship and reciprocation; diverse relationships within the family and among our neighbors.

Video

Dear Parents,

The lonely cat takes us to his neighborhood with its small and beautiful details, and we discover various familial and social relationships: the human-animal relationship; The mother’s relationship with her children; the relationship between spouses; and the role and task divisions in the family. Moreover, the book draws our attention to animal welfare through the friendship formed between Wahid the cat and baby Yara.

The book also deals with the subject of loneliness, as the name Wahid suggests (in Arabic, Wahid means lonely), even though he lives in a neighborhood with many houses that provide him with food. But his loneliness vanishes when he finds someone who loves him and considers him a friend.

Family Activities

Let’s talk
about our child’s relationship with their name: The cat lived alone and was named so. with our child, we can discuss the meaning of their name; Who called them that? Why were they given this name? What are their personal characteristics?
about our child’s relationship with their environment: The book introduces us to the cat’s relationship with its neighborhood and the objects around it, in its many details: the views of the houses; the laundry; the different smells and sounds; Many details are missing to us, but they connect us to the neighborhood in which we live. We can talk to our child about the features of the neighborhood or street in which they live, and ask them what they like about it.
about animal welfare: Yara, Um Saeed and Abu Alia sympathized with the cat Wahid. We can talk about the animals in our surroundings, and what we can do to take care of them. We can suggest several ways to do this.
about our societal relations: Several houses were mentioned in the story in details. We can talk about homes and neighbors in our neighborhood: what do we know about our neighbors? How do we deal with them? What is our relationship with them?
about friendship: Yara and Wahid are friends. We can talk to our child and ask them: What is a friend? What do they do for us? And what do we do for them?
Let’s communicate
We can contact the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to adopt an animal. We can explore which animals we like and look for information about them with our children.
With our children, we can take care of stray animals in our neighborhood, and we can put food and water for them.
We can contact our neighbors, and together, we can clean and decorate the neighborhood.
Let’s play
We can play popular games with our child - the neighborhood games that we used to play in our childhood with the neighbors’ children, such as hide and seek; “The Seven Stones,” and others.
Let’s create
The book’s drawings present our neighborhood. We can use coloring pencils, wax colors and paint to draw our neighborhood or any special place we love in it.
We can go out to our neighborhood with our children and take pictures of a beautiful place we love. We can talk to our child about what makes this place special.
Enjoy your reading!