• Dr. Nadee Dissanayake on stories, screens, and rebuilding the reading habit

In a time when children are increasingly growing up with screens, short-form content, and constant digital distractions competing for their attention, author Dr. Nadee Dissanayake believes the habit of reading must begin earlier than ever. 

Through her newly launched collection of four children’s storybooks, Dr. Dissanayake hopes to encourage young readers to see books not as schoolwork, but as a natural and joyful part of everyday life. 

Written for Grade 1 and 2 readers, the stories combine simple storytelling with gentle lessons on friendship, discipline, unity, imagination, and togetherness. The books, originally written in Sinhala and later translated into English and Tamil, also reflect her belief that stories should cross language and cultural boundaries. 

Following are excerpts:

In an age where children are growing up with screens in their hands, why did you feel this was the right time to launch four storybooks for Grade 1–2 readers?

Because this is exactly the age when the reading habit must begin. Reading storybooks should start in early childhood, when curiosity is naturally at its highest and the mind is most open to imagination. If children meet books early, reading later becomes a practice, a comfort, and a natural part of life, rather than something introduced only for schoolwork.

That is why I created these story books. They are simple, playful, visual, and emotionally meaningful.

As I often say, a reading habit planted in early childhood grows into a lifelong companion. And in today’s world of fast digital attractions, that early start matters even more.

Tell us about the four stories. Each seems to carry a life lesson beyond entertainment.

Yes, each book was written to gently plant a value in the child’s heart while keeping the storytelling joyful.

The first, ‘Hide and Seek,’ is about an unlikely friendship between a star and an owl from different worlds who meet and play hide-and-seek. It reminds children that friendship can grow beautifully even across differences.

The second, ‘Ants in a Jam,’ focuses on unity. A challenge that seems impossible becomes manageable when everyone works together.

The third, ‘Little Duckling,’ is a gentle story about how happiness often grows out of discipline, good habits, and simple routines.

The fourth, ‘Tortoise and the Candle,’ carries a message very close to my heart: togetherness can light not just one small corner, but the whole world.

All four books are available in Sinhala, English, and Tamil. Was this a conscious cultural decision?

Certainly, and quite intentionally. I wanted these stories to travel beyond language boundaries. A child in any home should be able to enter the same world of imagination, regardless of whether they read in Sinhala, English, or Tamil.

Stories are one of the most beautiful ways to build shared understanding across communities. For me, this trilingual approach is about more than accessibility; it is a celebration of togetherness. A story read in three languages still carries the same heartbeat.

You often speak about reading as something that should not be forced. What do you want parents to understand?

Parents do not need to turn reading into pressure. Sometimes the simplest act creates the biggest habit.

Put a storybook into the child’s school bag. Leave one near the study table. Keep one beside the bed. The child may first only look at the cover. Then the illustrations. Then a word. Then a sentence.

Soon curiosity does the work for us. One of my strongest beliefs is, ‘Do not push the child towards the book; let the book quietly enter the child’s world.’

When this begins in early childhood, it naturally becomes a daily practice later in life.

Many people still think reading is mainly about improving literacy. You seem to see it much more broadly.

Absolutely. Reading is not just about words. It is about what happens behind the eyes and inside the mind.

A child reading a story is simultaneously building images, predicting events, questioning outcomes, imagining colours, hearing voices, and sometimes even wanting to draw the next scene.

A good storybook quietly strengthens a child’s creative thinking, language, imagination, drawing ability, emotional sensitivity, visualisation, concentration, and the confidence to think independently.

In simple terms, a storybook teaches a child to see words as pictures and pictures as possibilities. That is a powerful way the mind learns and grows.

Your launch event itself sounds highly interactive, with storytelling and drawing activities. Why was that important to you?

Because stories should be experienced, not just read.

Launching these books with Lanka Television and Radio Academy Founder and CEO Athula Ransirilal as well as the academy’s students gives me the perfect space to transform reading into an event children can feel.

Storytelling helps them listen. Drawing helps them visualise. Speaking about the characters helps them express emotion and confidence. When a child draws what they heard, they are showing us their inner cinema. That is where imagination becomes visible.

Behind every meaningful book project, there are often people and institutions that quietly make it possible. Is there anyone you would like to acknowledge as this collection reaches children?

Absolutely. A children’s book may begin with one writer’s imagination, but it reaches young hands through the kindness, creativity, and collaboration of many.

I am deeply grateful for the support received in the printing and publishing process from Richard Trading Company Ltd., whose assistance helped transform these stories from manuscripts into books children can now hold, read, and cherish. 

I also wish to warmly acknowledge my dear friend Dilani Wijethunga for her encouragement and thoughtful support throughout this journey. My sincere appreciation also goes to Dharshani Shakthivel for the Tamil translation, which helped ensure these stories can reach more young readers across language communities, and to Harsha Gomes for the valuable comments and reflections that enriched the final work.

This collection is a beautiful reminder that when minds come together for children, stories travel far beyond the page.

Finally, what is the larger dream behind this collection?

My dream is to help rebuild a culture where books once again become part of a child’s everyday life from the earliest years.

A book should live in the school bag, rest on the study table, and wait beside the pillow.

If children begin this relationship with books in early childhood, they grow up carrying reading as a habit, not a burden.

And that cultural shift can begin with something as small as one bedtime story.