Children and Intellectual Stories of Shahnameh

Since long ago, man has tried to provoke the interests and thoughts of listeners and readers through story telling. This technique has always been used as an important tool in the field of education and training. A story is a means to provoke thoughts, questions, and creativity in human beings and help them to learn about more profound concepts. In Shahnameh, the stories easily absorb the addressees and make them begin thinking to discover the answers to their questions. Childhood is the beginning of the process of responding to questions and receiving a correct and disciplined training for a lifetime. Regarding its attention to children, Shahnameh can be discussed from three aspects: 1. Explanation of the characteristics of childhood 2. Effects of childhood on other periods of life and the importance of such effects 3. Advantages of introducing a collection of simplified stories of Shahnameh to children’s literature and familiarizing them with thinking, responding to questions, being creative, and training their minds in life. The stories should be in harmony with the native, national, and religious culture of children. This point can be observed in the stories of Shahnameh provided that they are rewritten in a simple and fluent language, so that they can persuade children to think, have dialogs with others, and become involved in philosophical inquiry. In this way, they will be able to taste the sweetness of wisdom. It is at this point that thinking begins in society. At higher ages, it is not necessary for a group to think and decide for another group at all times. However, we should not forget that Qur’anic teachings are above all recommendations and suggestions in showing the right way to human beings from childhood to old ages. In this paper, while examining the above-mentioned points and providing some examples from Shahnameh, some strategies for disseminating the reading of Shahnameh in today’s world will be presented.