Year by year

His father, Youssef Ahmed Youssef, enrols at the new Beni Suef Teachers' School, paying his own way

His father begins teaching in the village schools of Beni Suef province

Starts school at six in the village of Nana, Beba district, where his father is headmaster

The family moves to the town of Beni Suef, where his father teaches at the Orphans' Institute

Enters the Nile Primary School and reads the weekly Qissati booklets and the School Library series

The Second World War breaks out in his fourth primary year; exercise books soar in price, and bread and kerosene run short

Trains at Rose al-Youssef, publishes his first piece, ‘Love at the University’, and answers the ‘Letters of the Heart’ column at eighteen

Chooses political science in his third year at university

Joins the daily Al-Asas, sharing a desk with Anis Mansour, translating and editing

Graduates from Fouad I (Cairo) University in political science, with the grade ‘Good’

His father, the teacher, dies and is buried in Shenra; he alone takes charge of his mother and three sisters and brings them to Cairo

Begins the preliminary year of a master's in political science under Dr Boutros Ghali

Serves as cultural supervisor of the first secondary-school ‘Environment Service’ camp in a village

Becomes engaged to Notaila Rashed, a Faculty of Arts student, on his birthday

Writes, with Saad Labib, a radio special on the nationalisation of the Suez Canal within days of the decree, narrated by Dr Suhair al-Qalamawi

Notaila joins Dar al-Hilal's new children's magazine Samir, which she later edits

Becomes head of the Ministry of Education's division of journalism, radio and television (until 1971)

His first journey abroad: a UNESCO course in Khartoum on radio and development

His translation of Andersen's The Red Shoes, as a play, is published

‘The Moment of a Lifetime’, the seed of My Father Was a Teacher, appears in the collection Why We Teach

‘The Moment of a Lifetime’ is published in English in New York

Notaila becomes editor of Dar al-Hilal's children's books

Proposes Al-Firdaws, the first Islamic magazine for children, as a supplement to Minbar al-Islam

Presents the paper ‘Children's Culture’ at the Conference on Childhood Services in Cairo

Coordinates and chairs Egypt's First Conference on Children's Culture

Presents a paper on children's theatre at the Beirut seminar on the national culture of the Arab child

The Ministry of Education sets The Scarecrow for sixth-grade pupils; more than three million copies are printed

First Prize for Rural Child Culture from the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports

Visits England with an Egyptian delegation studying libraries, schools and bookshops

Becomes head of the Ministry of Education's culture division (until 1975)

First symposium of the Children's Culture Committee of the Supreme Council for Arts and Letters, whose first member he became at Dr Suhair al-Qalamawi's invitation

His mother dies in Cairo, after twenty years living with him, and is buried in Shenra

UNESCO honours his literacy work; Egypt's ambassador in Tehran accepts the award on his behalf

Founding member of the Egyptian Writers' Union; he later serves about twenty years on its board and three as secretary-general

Presents papers at the conference on children's culture in the Gulf, in Kuwait, and at a conference on writing for new generations in the Philippines

First visit to the Frankfurt Book Fair

His wife, Mama Loubna, wins the State Prize for Children's Literature

Iftah Ya Simsim, the Arabic Sesame Street, goes on air in the International Year of the Child; he had co-written episodes in Kuwait the year before

Gold Order of Giving from the Ministry of Education and the gold medal of the Arab States Broadcasting Union

UNESCO expert on children's television and theatre in Qatar (until 1983)

Begins his annual Children's Day radio programme, introducing a great world author for children each year

International Year of the Child medal (Baghdad), Egyptian Radio and Television Union medal, and an ALECSO certificate

Starts writing Competitions and Prizes, a daily summer radio book quiz (until 2010)

Pioneer Broadcasters certificate and a certificate of merit for his children's programme

Visits the Children's Literature Center at the Library of Congress in Washington

Member of the Family and Child Committee of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs

Arab Pioneers and Western Scientists in a Strange Encounter is published in English by the General Egyptian Book Organization

Resigns from government service after some thirty-five years

Lectures in Ohio on the role of Arab literature in writing for children, during a US lecture tour

UNESCO expert on educational technology in Qatar

The idea of a children's literature research centre at Rawda is born after he is refused entry, as an adult, to the children's section of the Rawda library

Presents papers at the International Symposium on the Child's Book: Past, Present and Future, in Cairo

Publishes Children's Poetry, a volume of eight studies he edited

First edition of his autobiography, My Heart, My Mind and My Pen, from Dar Thaqafat al-Atfal, Baghdad

Award of the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO)

Armed Forces first prize for October War literature, for the novel The Cubs of 6 October

The television series Uncle Abdeltawab's Tales (Let's Think) goes on air

The Noble Nile is published in the Friends of Water series

Writes 7 Stories for Pioneers for the Reading for All festival

Begins contributing to the Family Library series (until 2003)

First prize as best writer for children

His reading-promotion series Let's Read appears

Certificate of merit, Suzanne Mubarak Prize for Children's Literature

Suzanne Mubarak Prize for Children's Literature

Chairs the scientific committee of the children's literature centre at the National Library for five years

His series The Masterpieces, forty-five retold world classics, begins appearing from the General Egyptian Book Organization (until 2003)

Youssef Rakha profiles him in Al-Ahram Weekly as ‘An Older Child’

Writes Astrid Lindgren's obituary in Al-Ahram

Attends the Frankfurt Book Fair, with the Arab world as guest of honour, and a children's literature symposium in Dubai

The Ministry of Culture publishes Abdeltawab Youssef: Half a Century of Creativity in Children's Literature

The Bibliotheca Alexandrina nominates him for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, three years running

Grandpa and the Computer is published

Dr Maha Ghanem's bibliographic study of his children's literature is published

His translation of Andersen's account of the Prophet's birthday celebrations is published

Takes part in the Sfax Children's Book Fair in Tunisia

The Literature of the Muslim Child is published

Great Are You, Egypt is published

His translation of Andersen's account of the Prophet's birthday is placed on the IBBY Honour List for translation

Comes out of retirement once to write a radio serial on values for a young presenter who has been blind from birth

An expanded edition of My Heart, My Mind and My Pen appears in Riyadh; My Father: An Egyptian Teacher is published in Loubna Youssef's translation

Al-Ahram publishes his obituary on his birthday, calling him ‘the dean of children's literature in Egypt and the Arab world’

The Children's Culture Committee of the Supreme Council of Culture holds a memorial celebrating his life

His family and a team of young researchers begin organising his library as the core of the Abdeltawab Youssef Center for Children's Culture

Beni Suef University marks ninety years since his birth

A commemoration is held under the title ‘Honouring the one present though absent, pioneer of children's culture’

A ‘Lived Here’ plaque for Mama Loubna is placed on the family home in Manial, under the National Organization for Urban Harmony project that also honours him with a plaque

Announced as the first-ever Personality of the Children's Book Fair at the Cairo International Book Fair

The General Egyptian Book Organization publishes the complete edition of his autobiography, My Heart, My Mind and My Pen

The Cairo International Book Fair celebrates his career in its Children's Wing

Cairo University presents The Digital Library of Arab Children's Culture for Sustainable Development, built on his works; its research found that they address all seventeen UN Sustainable Development Goals