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In:Geopolitics and Activism in Children’s and Young Adult Literature
Edited by Giuliana Fenech and Justyna Deszcz-Tryhubczak
[Children’s Literature, Culture, and Cognition 18] 2026
► pp. 134–153

Chapter 9
Ecoliteracy on the Nile

Egyptian picturebooks on protecting the Nile river

This content is being prepared for publication; it may be subject to changes.
A waterway of major geopolitical and environmental importance, the Nile River also has special historical/cultural, material, and spiritual significance in the Egyptian psyche, which in turn offers a vital foundation for cultivating eco-citizenship and ecoliteracy in young people. This chapter focuses on a selection of picturebooks produced during the new wave in Egyptian children’s literature (2000–2020), which focus on the Nile River, asking how these texts promote environmental understanding. Drawing on Greta Gaard’s three kinds of ecoliteracy necessary for developing an ecopedagogy, the analysis examines the books’ capacity to foster an emotional bond with nature, advance bioregional environmental literacy, and equip children with critical skills for ecocritical engagement. This chapter also examines how contemporary environmental discourses, particularly those concerning the Nile River, shape childhood in Egypt, assessing the child’s agency in addressing ecological challenges.
Article outline
  • The significance of the Nile river
  • Educational responses to concerns around the river
  • Eco-pedagogical strategies in children’s literature
  • Children’s literature and ecocriticism
  • A case study: Rania Amin’s Ikhtifa’ nahr al-Nil (2006) and Nahed ElSayed and Ahmed Ibrahim Hegazy’s Arous al-Nil (2008)
  • Fostering a connection with the river
  • Bioregional environmental literacy
  • Critiquing unsustainable cultures and understanding sustainable cultures
  • Critiquing the impact of neoliberal policies on the environment
    and building momentum for a movement
  • Conclusion
  • References
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