03
Jun 2025
2:45 PM to 4:15 PM
Drama Workshop
Mayoor Private School, 42th St, Al Wathba South, Abu Dhabi- UAE
Peek A Book Children’s Literature Festival 2025
A one-of-a-kind literature festival for children from 4 to 12 years, Peek A Book celebrates the latest books, stories, and great literature for children. Continuing our long-standing collaboration, Avid Learning is proud to curate the festival’s workshops, offering unique experiences for festival goers.
Workshops at Peek A Book Festival 2025:
Between the Lines: A Sensitization Workshop for Parents
Children are always communicating, sometimes in words, often in silence. The things they want to say but struggle to express, the fears they hesitate to voice, and the trust they are still learning to build. In this sensitization workshop for parents, learn how to create emotionally safe environments where children feel free to speak. Led by Filmmaker and Editor Poorva Bhat and Impact Producer Anupama Mandloi, this session will offer practical tools, conversation starters, and reflection exercises to help parents recognize signs, listen without judgment, and respond with empathy.
The Moving Line: Creating Movement from Text
This unique workshop invites participants to experience poetry and prose through movement. Led by Classical Dancer and Founder-Director, Junoon, Mythili Zatakia, the session will use guided exercises to turn words into gestures, rhythms, and improvised movement. Participants will explore how stories and emotions can be expressed with the body, responding to the mood and imagery of different texts. No prior dance or writing experience is needed, just an open mind, a free spirit, and a willingness to move and connect with literature in a whole new way.
Poorva is a documentary filmmaker and editor based in India, and works primarily in Indian and American productions. Her latest film “What’s the Film About?” was awarded the “Best Youth Documentary " at IDFA and won. A special mention by the European Children's Film Association. Her work has been screened in major film festivals around the globe, and covered by international press such as Indie wire and Variety among others. Poorva’s work can also be viewed on OTT platforms including Prime Video. She is an alumni of DOCNYCxVC’s “Storytelling Incubator”, Scottish Documentary Institute’s “Connecting Stories” and Bitchitra Collective Documentary Film and Media Fellowship.
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Anupama Mandloi is an impact producer and a leading advocate for sustainability in the film and television industry. Through initiatives like India Green Set and the India Sustainable Entertainment Alliance, she champions the adoption of sustainable practices in media production. She is deeply committed to exploring storytelling as a catalyst for change, designing workshops that spotlight the power of documentaries to inspire awareness and action. Anupama’s debut as a producer was marked by the award-winning documentary Aunty Sudha Aunty Radha, a poignant and humorous exploration of ageing and community. Before she transitioned into impact-driven storytelling, Anupama built a distinguished career in the Indian television industry, holding leadership roles at major networks including Sony, SAB, and STAR. As the former Managing Director of Fremantle India, she helped establish the company's reputation for integrity and creative excellence. She later worked as an independent content consultant, collaborating with clients such as Zee5. Anupama is an alumna of Harvard Business School’s Executive Education program.
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Mythili Zatakia is a professional Classical Dancer and the Founder-Director of The Junoon Foundation, an arts institution rooted in the Gurukul tradition and committed to creating formal, professional spaces for Classical Dance and allied arts. Trained in Bharatanatyam under Dr. Rathna Kumar (Houston) and Classical Ballet at Danceworks London, she continues her artistic refinement under mentors from the English National Ballet, Turkish State Ballet, and Birmingham Royal Ballet. She initiated The Junoon Gurukul in Bavdhan, Maharashtra, a parallel arts curriculum integrating dance, literature, music, and movement theory. Through global collaborations in Turkey and Azerbaijan and outreach programs in Kashmir, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu, Mythili has taken Junoon’s inclusive, highly standardised arts education to diverse and underserved communities. Her work stands for the belief that Classical Art is a right, not a luxury, and must be nurtured with both discipline and access.
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Why Workshops and Reading Sessions Matter
Beyond books themselves, one of the most powerful ways to nurture a child’s love for stories is through interactive experiences. Workshops, live readings, and storytelling sessions allow children to step inside a narrative, not just as listeners but as participants. A read-aloud session can bring characters to life, while a creative writing workshop might encourage a child to imagine and pen their own worlds.
These kinds of activities help kids grow in empathy, communication, and creative confidence in addition to providing entertainment. For instance, storytelling workshops enable young readers to make the connection between words and emotions, so transforming reading into a lived experience. While theater-based or movement-based activities demonstrate that stories may also be lived through performance, illustrator-led sessions encourage youngsters to view art and language as complimentary means of expression.
These moments matter because they transform books from static objects into living companions. A child who attends a workshop often walks away not only with a new book but also with the confidence to create, question, and dream. Festivals and libraries that host such sessions become spaces where reading grows into a habit, and eventually, into a lifelong relationship.
Exciting Events at Peek A Book Festival 2025
This year, the festival is back with an amazing range of events, including book events and engaging storytelling sessions. Some highlights of the festival include:
● Meet national award winning animator Suresh Eriyat who’ll narrate ghost story sagas from P.N.K Panickers Ghost Stories
● Meet award winning children's authors Asha Nehemiah for The Grand Chapati Contest
● Explore the wonders of the ocean with JGII’s Ocean Are Us programme and dive into stories with Bhavna Faizullulabhoy
● Explore how stories and emotions can beexpressed with the body with Founder-Director, Junoon,Mythili Zatakia
● Learn how to create emotionally safe environments where children feel free to speak led by Filmmaker and Editor Poorva Bhatand and Impact Producer Anupama Mandloi
