Mohammad Reza Yousefi
Writer
Mohammad Reza Yousefi, writer, was born in Hamedan in October 1953. Yousefi has majored in history at the Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Tehran University. He is one of the prolific Iranian writers of children’s and young adult literature. He was a board member of the Iranian Association of Writers for Children and Youth for a term.
Yousefi has been writing for children and young adults of different age groups for more than three decades. The topics he deals with in his works are diverse, e.g. child labor, children with special needs, the history and culture of Iran. He has also written some movie scripts, plays, and theoretical discussions of children’s literature. Moreover, he has rewritten and recreated some old Persian literary texts, such as Shahnameh, for children. In some of his works, he has used Persian folkloric literature.
Selected Works:
Sea Traveller (1994), Madrese Publications
A Star Called Giant (1998), Ghadyani (Banafsheh)
The Girl from the Green Planet (2002), Shabaviz
The Smell of the Rain (2002), Madrese Publications
Children of the Soil (2005), Ofogh
Wolves Don’t Cry (2010), Ofogh
Prince Rhinoceros (2010), Soroush
The White Horse (2010), Behnashr
If I Were Rostam’s Child (2011), Amirkabir (Shokoofeh)
Call Me When It’s Story Time (2011), Kanoon
Selected Awards and Recognition:
IBBY Honor Diploma from the Netherlands, Islamic Republic of Iran’s Book of the Year Award, Best Book Award from the Children’s Book Council of Iran