Sep11

Betty Before X by Ilyasah Shabazz with Renee Watson

Posted on September 11, 2020 by islamicschoollibrarian

This 248 middle grades (AR 4.9) fictionalized biography of Betty Sanders, later to be Betty X and then Betty Shabazz, is the early years of her life in Detroit during the 1940s and how she understood her place in her family, and in the community. Written by her daughter, the book hops around to major events in her life and doesn’t detail a lot of the whys, but rather keeps an 11 year-old-perspective, allowing readers to identify with her family stresses and anger at the racial discrimination and violence that is rampant. Showing disagreements within the black community allows young readers to broaden their horizons and not see the civil rights as a monolithic point on a timeline, but something that is still ongoing and part of culture still today. There is nothing Islamic in the book, as this is a glimpse of her childhood long before Nation of Islam, her conversion to Sunni Islam or her Hajj, in fact the majority of the book focuses on her involvement in the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church.

SYNOPSIS:

Betty was born in Georgia, as the story goes, but before she was even a year old, Betty’s grandma took her away from her mother and gave her to her aunt, Fannie Mae, to raise. Having seen a bruise on the baby girl’s neck Grandma Matilda didn’t feel that the young mother was capable to care for Betty. Fannie Mae showered Betty with love and consistency and treated her like her own daughter. Betty saw her first lynching while in Fannie Mae’s care and the image stayed with her her whole life. When Betty was seven her aunt died and Betty went to live with her biological mother, Ollie Mae, in Detroit.

In Detroit, Ollie Mae has married and has three daughters with her husband, Arthur, who also has two sons. A full house that is religious and disciplined, but for Betty not full of love. She prays that her mother will look at her the way she looks at her sisters, but that never seems to happen. The family attends Bethel AME church and at age 11 that is when the story gets going. Betty and her friends sneak out of church to get candy and the cost will probably be a whipping. Luckily a few of the church ladies like Betty and realize how hard Ollie Mae is on her. They work to get Betty permission to hang out with girls her own age and try and convince her mother to let her join the Jr. Housewives’ League. Ollie Mae doesn’t agree with the work of the Housewives, a strong group of women that work to convince others to only support businesses that hire Negroes. This organization is a major division within the community and the church. Mrs. Malloy and Mrs. Peck are leaders in the organization, and one of Betty’s friends is for it, while another is against it. This rift affects Betty in many ways.

At age 11 Betty leaves home to go and live with the Malloy family. A husband and wife who have no children and own a shoe repair shop. One night turns into two and then she is living there full time and only seeing her siblings and mom at church on Sunday. She even gets to calling Mrs. Malloy, Mother. As she comes of age with a new family, and splintering friendships she seeks to make her own family with those that love her, and seeing violence targeted against blacks when a young boy is shot by police in the back, and working with civil rights activists- the icon and leader we know Betty Shabazz to be, is shaped and inspired.

WHY I LIKE IT:

I love that she gets her own story and own voice, not just to be left as someone’s wife. She is a force before she meets Malcolm and after he is murdered. Her story is shaped by so many outside influences, but ultimately it is her own and even in her early years the reader feels that. She seeks out those that love her the way she should be loved, but she doesn’t give up on those that try and leave her either. She fights for her mother’s praise and doesn’t abandon friends that believe differently than her, which is powerful to see from an 11 year old. She sees the world around her and takes a stand against that which is wrong, she feels and hurts and doubts, but she gets back up.

I like that she questions if what she is fighting for will make a difference, while simultaneously doesn’t want to take racism quietly. The day-to-day nuances flesh out the struggle of the civil rights and give a unique perspective that biographies that cover adult lives or larger portions of one’s life don’t necessarily spend time on. Seeing activism affect a young girl’s friendships will stay with readers, as well as how desperate she is for her mother’s love, just as seeing how she is treated on a shopping trip will create a sense of universal struggle that make equality in society resonate as being the responsibility of us all, not just those that are being oppressed.

FLAGS:

Racism, violence, murder, lynching, abuse, Betty being born out of wedlock.

TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:

The book would work for a book club, and would definitely be a great historical fiction touchpoint to bridge with the Black Lives Matter movement. A classroom discussing Civil Rights and Malcolm X would perhaps get more value from it than a half hour lunch chat, but either way the book should be read, the ideas discussed, and people made aware of Betty Shabazz’s life.

Sep7

The World is Not a Rectangle: A Portrait of Architect Zaha Hadid by Jeanette Winter

Posted on September 7, 2020 by islamicschoollibrarian

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The World is Not a Rectangle: A Portrait of Architect Zaha Hadid by Jeanette Winter

This non fiction book spread over 56 pages on an AR 4.0 level is the biography of the famed Iraqi architect’s inspiration, triumph over obstacles and accomplishments. It doesn’t go in to great detail of her life, but gives enough information for children to become familiar with her and be inspired by all that she accomplished not only as an Arab, Muslim woman, but as an architect and trail blazer of design and structure. The pages are beautifully illustrated and the simple text flows and dances around the pages like her buildings in real life.

Born in Iraq where rivers flow, wind swoops across sand dunes, and cities existed thousands of years ago, Zaha finds designs and shapes throughout her home and the city of Baghdad. She has ideas about arrangements of furniture and designs of clothing, she loves that dunes and rivers and marshes don’t have corners.

She is a Muslim that attends Catholic school and loves math. She goes to London for college to study to be an architect. She is relentless in her passion and fills notebooks with plans, paintings with what she sees in her mind and graduates with honors.

She opens her own office and with a few friends, she designs buildings that swoosh and zoom and flow and fly. The world is not a rectangle, but unfortunately no one wants to build her designs. She keeps entering competitions, and winning, but they refuse to build her buildings.

She designs buildings that come from her memory of grasses swaying, and wind blowing over dunes, and shells being cradled. She designs an opera house like a pebble in the water, with the singer the pearl. A ski jump that reaches the sky like a mountain.

One by one, Zaha’s designs become buildings all over the world. She has over 400 employees and designs buildings, shoes, doll houses, furniture, she does what she likes and urges others to do so as well. Zaha passed away in 2016, but her visions are still carried out.

Sep4

The Girl and the Ghost by Hanna Alkaf

Posted on September 4, 2020 by islamicschoollibrarian

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A book meant for middle grades, 8-12 year olds, that has depth and layers and culture and strength is not something you find very often. Over 275 pages, the book is at times dark and haunting, but what is truly remarkable is that it doesn’t talk down to young readers and with its pop cultural references and relate-ability, the book is not dreary. In fact, the true “haunting” occurs after the book is finished and the concepts of friendship, being alive, and forgiveness stick around and require thought and consideration. The book is based on a Malyasian folktale, how much is a fleshing out, or simply a starting point, I do not know, but I do know that the characters are memorable, the concept thought provoking, the writing flawless, and the intertwining of Malay culture, Muslim characters and the supernatural, a combination that makes for an enjoyable read.

SYNOPSIS:

When an old witch dies, her pelesit, her ghostly demon, is passed on to her granddaughter Suraya. Suraya lives with her mother, a teacher, and is lonely and emotionally neglected. An adventurous girl, the pelesit, keeps the small girl safe, but waits to reveal himself to her in the form of a grasshopper when she is older. When he does reveal himself to her, she asks him his name, and he doesn’t know it, so she names him Pink.

Suraya and Pink become best friends, and he provides company for her as she receives very little from her mother and has no friends. Suraya had no knowledge of her grandmother and Pink modifies the stories to leave out how evil, cruel and vindictive she was through him. As an evil being with no heart these acts never bothered him, although he stopped enjoying them long before she died. With Suraya however, he feels things. He is sad that she is unloved by her mother, teased by the other children, and that she doesn’t have the things other kids have. Suraya is kind, and forgiving, and tries so hard not to let things bother her. Pink however, with a twitch of his antenna can make things happen. Bad things. Things that might at first seem like a part of life, but when Suraya catches on, she scolds Pink. She makes him promise never to use his magic to hurt people, ever. He reluctantly agrees, she is his master after all. Unfortunately he doesn’t keep his promise.

On Pink’s prodding, Suraya makes friends with a new girl at school, Jing, and their friendship makes Pink jealous. He harms Jing and Suraya decides she no longer wants to be his master. As a result Pink is determined to make Suraya’s life miserable. As desperation mounts, Suraya tells her mom about Pink and a pawang is called in to separate the spirit from Suraya. Something seems off about the pawang, and when Suraya investigates, she realizes that she must save Pink from him. Together with Jing, Pink and Suraya are off on an adventure against the pawang and might just learn more than Pink’s backstory in their efforts along the way.

WHY I LIKE IT:

I love that Suraya and her family are Muslim and that Jing is not and they are best friends. Suraya and her family pray, celebrate Eid, give salams when at the graveyard, but obviously also believe in magic and ghosts, and somehow in the story it doesn’t seem to be contradictory or odd. I love Suraya’s strength. None of the relationships in her life are good. Yet, she is good, and she forgives and fights to make those close to her better. Pink is manipulative and controlling and abusive, but she still fights for him to be treated better and that says more about her, than whatever he is. Suraya’s mom is distant and neglectful, but yet, there is still realistic hope that their future can be and will be better. I love that all these layers are there and yet are subtle too. Kids are smart and they will bring their own experiences, understanding, and expectations to decipher these relationships, and that is amazing. I love that the characters in the story may be so different than the typical western reader, but they will still see themselves in this poor Malay girl from a small village, in her best friend Jing who lives and breathes Star Wars, or even in the religions pawang who is a power hungry charlatan; toxic friendships and family secrets make the book universal.

FLAGS:

Pink makes it look like blood is on a girls back side, implying a girls fear of leaking, but it isn’t explicit or named. There is death and dying and supernatural and lying.

TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:

I am thinking strongly about using this as a book club book, as the discussion would be delicious and varied among the participants.

Interview with the author: https://thequietpond.com/2020/08/20/our-friend-is-here-an-interview-with-hanna-alkaf-author-of-the-girl-and-the-ghost-on-writing-friendship-malaysian-childhoods-being-true-to-your-stories/

Aug31

Your Name is a Song by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow illustrated by Luisa Uribe

Posted on August 31, 2020 by islamicschoollibrarian

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Your Name is a Song by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow illustrated by Luisa Uribe

An amazingly empowering simple story that breathes pride and beauty in to names and our identities. The 40 pages are a celebration of the rhythm of our names and the dreams and hopes that they contain for us. Perfect for kindergarten to second graders, readers of all ages will find something valuable in this book. Those with “common” names might reevaluate what their names mean or why they were so named, children with “unique” names will find the music and confidence to ask others to learn their name correctly, older kids might reconsider shortened nick names, and we all inshaAllah will make more of an effort to get people’s names pronounced right.

A little girl has had an awful first day of school. As she stomps toward her mom at dismissal. No one could say her name. Not even the teacher, it got stuck in her throat. Her mom gently reminds her stomping is only for dancing, and tells her that her name is a song.

The little girl is skeptical, but as they say people’s names on their way home, and find the magic and rhythm and beat in each one, they address the horrible things that have happened to the girl that day regarding her name. At lunch girls pretended to choke on her name, and later one boy said her name was scary, some even tell her, her name sounds made up.

Her mother explains that some names come from deep in the heart, not the throat and cannot be choked on, that names are fire and strong, and that names are made from the sky when our real names were stolen and so new ones have to be dreamed.

All the way home they go through names, diverse names, beautiful names. The next day she doesn’t want to go to school, but she has a song to teach. When her teacher starts calling out names, the little girl starts tapping the rhythm, when Ms. Anderson starts to struggle on the little girl’s name, she starts to sing it. She explains that her name is a song, and that she will teach it to them. The other children then ask her to sing their names. And with a smile on her face, it is music to Kora-Jalimuso’s ears.

I love that there are three pages of the names mentioned in the story and their origins and meanings listed. I also like that the little girl’s name is not revealed until the end. The pronunciation of the names is in the text, all of them, even Bob. And when I read the name Trayvon, I felt an added weight of saying people’s names, breathing them into our lives and not forgetting them.

The family could be Muslim based on the mom’s head wrap. The author is Muslim and there are Arabic and Islamic names included in the story.

Aug28

The Battle by Karuna Riazi

Posted on August 28, 2020 by islamicschoollibrarian

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This claims to be a companion book to The Gauntlet, but it does rely heavily on details from the first to make sense of who some of the characters are as this book does little to explain them and advance their story. In reality the book is very similar to the first book, but sadly not as fun. I was disappointed in the 295 page AR 5.2 book, but my fourth and fifth grade boys enjoyed it as they had few expectations and the fast pace kept the book fun.

SYNOPSIS:

It has been four years since Bengali American Ahmad Mirza has left the game world, Paheli, with his sister Farah and her friends. The old board game has been destroyed and the reboot focuses on a new video game setup. This time around Ahmad is the main character and with his ADHD he finds himself getting in trouble a lot in school and desperate for a friend. When a mysterious package holding a video game shows up and Winnie sticks up for him, things are possibly looking up. When all of New York freezes at the insertion of the game, however it clearly is not. Winnie and Ahmed are off to battle the Architect and MasterMind to unfreeze their beloved city and escape Paheli.

Different battles and characters inch the duo closer to winning, but facing their fears and being sidetracked by remnants of the last game trying to return make everything complicated. Ahmed’s uncle returns to the game, giant mice try and help, crazy monkeys distract, and flying rickshaws populate the eastern inspired world filled with Bengali, and Arab references.

WHY I LIKE IT:

I love that it is a Muslim kid with some struggles at the helm, but there is really so very little character building that it ultimately doesn’t count for much in the long run. Just like the first book, the characters are taken from the “real” world and transported to a game world and they must win the game to return home. The book is fast paced and fantastical, but I constantly felt confused. The challenges were disjointed, there wasn’t a clear objective, Ahmed didn’t recall being there before or that Vijay bhai had somehow come back with them, the mice help and then they are absent, and there wasn’t really a big reveal or explanation resolving any of it. It felt all over the place and with little world building I didn’t feel like I could even picture what Paheli looked like, so forget feeling what the characters felt or imaging the intensity that that the game was running on. It seemed like an updated version of the first book, but not done as well at all.

FLAGS:

Pretty clean, some intensity, some fighting/battling, death, nothing detailed nor grotesque.

TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:

I think the book is great to have in a classroom or on a home book shelf especially if the Gauntlet was enjoyed, but I wouldn’t use it as a book club book because it doesn’t offer much to talk about. There isn’t a cathartic release or even an under current of family and friendship and loyalty, it really is just surface level story telling.

Aug24

Let it Go: Learning the Lesson of Forgiveness by Na’ima B. Robert and Mufti Menk illustrated by Samantha Chaffey

Posted on August 24, 2020 by islamicschoollibrarian

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Let it Go: Learning the Lesson of Forgiveness by Na’ima B. Robert and Mufti Menk illustrated by Samantha Chaffey

This 32 page rhyming book follows a little boy around as he is weighed down by a lot of things not going his way. He doesn’t want to forgive until he is the one that hurts someone else and realizes we all make mistakes, forgiveness is not a weakness, and we all feel angry at times. The book breaks from the story to ask the reader to think about their emotions in various situations, and encourages the reader to talk about their feelings. The framework is Islamic and the repenting to Allah swt is part of the message. I found it awkward to read independently, but I read it to a small group of my own kids and their cousins, seven in all, ages four to thirteen, and it worked very well to discuss what the boy was feeling and how they would react. I think this book would be great in a classroom or as a book an adult reads to a child at bedtime to encourage conversation. I had to point out to the little ones, that the knapsack was getting bigger with the little boys anger, and explain what it was, but as a tool to foster dialogue it was incredibly powerful.

The book starts out with a poem/du’a by Mufti Menk that sets the tone for the book. It makes clear that we are all human and feel things and that this book is a tool to understand and emotionally grow from. No one is going to get in trouble or be reprimanded.

The story stats with the little boy waking up happy and ready to have a wonderful day. But then when he comes down for breakfast, his sister has eaten the last piece of toast. The book asks the reader, “how do you feel when things don’t go your way?” and asks the little boy to let sorry make it better so that he can let it go. But the little boy doesn’t want to let it go, he wants to hold on, and as a result it makes his heart feel heavy.

This pattern is followed throughout the book giving examples when the boy doesn’t get included in a game at school with his friends, when his friend kicks his football (soccer ball) in to the road and it gets popped by a passing car, and at dinner when his older brother laughs at him.

He then picks on his sister at bedtime, and doesn’t even know why he is doing it, and realizes that he too has made a mistake. He learns that “it takes a strong person to let it go,” and that “forgiving is like taking off a heavy bag that I’ve been carrying all day long.”

The book ends with some verses and hadith about forgiveness. Has some facial expressions with emotions to discuss, and space to write down things that make you feel angry, hurt, or sad as well as a place to share what makes you happy, grateful, and safe. There is also a glossary of Islamic Arabic terms on the inside back cover.

Aug21

Leila and the Sands of Time by Shirin Shamsi

Posted on August 21, 2020 by islamicschoollibrarian

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Leila and the Sands of Time by Shirin Shamsi

This 127 page book has a lot of potential, but ultimately didn’t win me over. It is one of those that needs a good editor to encourage the author to flesh out the characters, take advantage of a potentially cathartic resolution, and fill the gaping holes in the story. Meant for ages 8-12 the tiny font, and tight spacing, make the book really dense and intimidating to look at and read. The book, as written, should be well over 200 pages, if spaced appropriately for the target audience. Once you accept the presentation and get in to the story, it isn’t an awful read, it just could have and should have been so much more. I hope the author revisits it and polishes it up- the time travel, the science DNA component, and the death of the protagonist’s parents, offer a lot for Muslim and non Muslim readers to sink their teeth in and be swept away by, but ultimately, I don’t know that most readers will be motivated to finish the book, and those that do, won’t remember anything about it.

SYNOPSIS:

Laila’s dad has recently died, and with her mother having died years earlier, Laila is now 13 and an orphan living with her stepmom and baby sister. Feeling resentful that her dad remarried and had a child that took time away from her in his final span of life, doesn’t make Laila a very kind person at home. Her best friend Beth, even points out how cold she is to her family. With school vacations approaching, Laila is headed for Umrah with her dad’s brother, her uncle, and his wife. While making tawaf, Laila loses her aunt and uncle in the crowd and finds herself transported to 7th century Arabia. She hears a baby crying and learns that the baby’s life is in danger. To save her, she must get the baby, the baby’s mom and baby’s sister from Makkah to Yathrib. The only way to do that is to join a caravan, and they can only join a caravan if they have a male escort. So Laila chops off her hair, acts like a boy, and gets them in the caravan. They meet bandits along the way, but nothing too scary, they arrive in Medina and right before they meet RasulAllah, Laila finds herself back in the present. She is in a hospital, but the doctors do not know what is wrong with her so they release her. She returns to the US, relays the story to Beth, and decides that at an upcoming field trip to study DNA, she is going to submit the baby’s hair that she still has for dating. The results show it is from 1400 years ago and a family heirloom of her step moms reveals that the baby is a great great great great… grandmother of her’s. Resolved to open her heart to her family, Laila is a changed person, alhumdulillah.

WHY I LIKE IT:

I love the premise, it is like Sophia’s Journal and When Wings Expand thrown together and scrambled. Laila is struggling with her faith and is trying to find it, while also finding a way to move forward after losing her father. There are just a lot of things that aren’t answered, are contradictory, or don’t make sense. It says she learned Arabic because her mother spoke it, her dad is desi, but really no hiccups speaking in 7th century Arabia other than forgetting the word for scissors? She at one point said she was a cousin from the north, but while on the caravan mentioned that she had never travelled through the desert. There really should have been more action with the thieves and the regrouping when the men came back. Similarly, her gender reveal should have been a bigger deal than it was. I was hoping there would be a mention of if her hair was long or short when she awoke in the hospital, I don’t think I missed it, but maybe, or maybe it wasn’t there. Once back home, there really needed to be a reunion scene with Laila and her stepmom and half sister, I mean the whole point of the time travel was to save a baby. Really? Nothing? I was disappointed that it was glossed over and mentioned as a retelling to Beth and pushed aside. The second climax is when the DNA testing is being questioned, but I didn’t get the need for the babysitter and everything to be rearranged for a two second conversation with the principal accusing Laila of theft, a phone call should have sufficed, plus when Laila and Beth mention it to the scientist, it seems everyone was questioned, but Beth wasn’t, something wasn’t consistent there either. Overall, the book needed more action for a book that involves time travel and more emotional attachment and character connection for a book that involves a newly orphaned young teen girl.

I like the conveying of Islamic facts and information and history in a fairly smooth way. At the beginning, Umrah being explained was a little text bookish, but it smoothed out as the book progressed. I love the little flashbacks at the beginning of each chapter, I wish there would have been some information about the remarriage of her father and her emotions on the matter at that time. It is one thing to be grieving, but really she is a brat to her step mom, and if the uncle and aunt live right there, not sure where they live, someone should really be working on getting them all some family therapy, not a quality situation for anyone.

FLAGS:

none

TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:

I wouldn’t use the book as a book club selection, nor would I think it would get read if on a classroom shelf. I might use the premise of going back in time to meet Prophet Muhammad, as a writing prompt though. Would be a good assignment with factual and Islamic references to get kids stretching their imagination to make it all come together and work.

Aug17

Our Favorite Day of the Year by A.E. Ali illustrated by Rahele Jomepour Bell

Posted on August 17, 2020 by islamicschoollibrarian

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Our Favorite Day of the Year by A.E. Ali illustrated by Rahele Jomepour Bell

A great book about inclusion for back to school, except well with Corona, we aren’t doing things how we always have. None-the-less this book about the first day of kindergarten for Musa and the friendships and celebrations of diversity (Eid al-Fitr, Rosh Hashanah, Las Posadas, Pi Day) that will take place over the school year, connect the kids and their cultures in a beautiful and heartwarming way. The book is 40 pages with engaging illustrations and text perfect for 5-7 year olds.

It is the first day of school and Ms. Gupta tells the class it is her favorite day of the year. She also tells the children that the people around them will become their best friends. Musa doubts this as he looks around at the strangers at his table.

He also wonders how the first day of school can be any ones favorite day, clearly Eid al-Fitr is the best holiday. Luckily, every show-and-tell will be about someone’s favorite day, so that the class can join together in celebrating it. Moises can’t believe that Christmas isn’t the most fun until he learns that not everyone celebrates it.

When it is Musa’s turn to teach about Eid, his mom and he bring in food and decorations and teach the kids to say Eid Mubarak. They learn what Eid is like and can see why it is his favorite.

Up next is Mo’s turn. He tells everyone about Jewish New Year and how to say Shanah Tovah. On Rosh Hashanah they light candles and share food with friends and family.

Moises explains how Las Posadas is how his family celebrates Christmas. It lasts nine days and there are songs and pinatas and presents.

In the spring it was Kevin’s turn and he shared his love of Pi Day as his family celebrates science. On March 14 (3.14) they make different pies and learn about scientists and their discoveries.

On the last day of school, the children are sad, but their teacher hopes they will remember each other always throughout the year as she hands out calendars for them to keep.

The book concludes with information about each of the four holidays mentioned. It is possible that on the Rosh Hashanah page the family is two gay men with two children, but it could be just two men as well, and doesn’t say anything in the text that suggests who and how the family is comprised.

Aug15

Back to School Thoughts

Posted on August 15, 2020 by islamicschoollibrarian

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No matter where you are in your school journey, there is a good chance that this year is not going to look like anything you have ever known or experienced before. This is true for children, teachers, administrators, and parents. There is a lot of discussion about educational standards, some discussion about mental health, and in my opinion not nearly enough discussion about the lacking socialization and community building that occurs when diverse people interact.

Now, more than ever perhaps, books have an incredible role in showing children different cultures, religions, viewpoints and ultimately the unifying humanity that binds us all.

With children stuck inside for months now, and only seeing the same people day-after-day, chances are children aren’t learning about the diversity around them that comes from just seeing people at the library or grocery store or on their soccer teams. Someone isn’t eating a samosa for the first time when they go over to work on a school project at Fatima’s house or learning about the sport of cricket when they see Harry and his dad playing in the yard, they aren’t seeing Mustafa’s mom in hijab at the park, celebrating Chinese New Year with their neighbors or helping a friend plan her sister’s quinceanera. So many stereotypes can be broken down when we get to know people different than ourselves. So what happens when we are holed up in our homes and not challenging ourselves, not showing our children other people’s experiences?

Teachers and parents are adapting and coping with a lot of educational and routine changes, but the power of literature has not changed, it has just been amplified during this pandemic. As a critical tool to growing and learning, fictious friends can open windows into diversity that a Zoom window may have slightly closed.

If you are trying to find diverse books for your children and feel overwhelmed, Bates College has a wonderful easy to use resource that can help you identify and explore multicultural picture books. This free resource has a searchable database that anyone can use to locate and explore children’s books featuring Black and Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) characters and see what roles and messages are depicted in the story. https://diversebookfinder.org

Public and School Librarians, particularly those who might have a lighter load with fewer kids coming in person, can further take advantage of the Collection Analysis Tool (CAT). An online tool that allows you to upload your picture book database and receive a report detailing your collection’s racial and cultural strengths and weaknesses. https://cat.diversebookfinder.org

Back to school is not the same as it has always been, but the literary resources available today are better and more diverse, so please take advantage. Representation matters, but only if we are interacting with the representation. Teachers, parents, librarians, you got this, Happy 2020-2021 school year!

Aug14

Thorn by Intisar Khanani

Posted on August 14, 2020 by islamicschoollibrarian

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I finished this book, all 512 pages, and before closing it at 12:44 am, I picked up my phone and sent the author a thank you message on instagram. Yes, it was that good and that fun, and so well written and so encompassing that I don’t feel like I read a book, I feel like I got to know a friend. There is abuse, and death and sexual assault, but I think thirteen and up can handle and appreciate the crimes and the severity of them, as they are not taken lightly. The book has magic and royalty, but is so much more about choice and justice and making life meaningful, that Thorn will stay with you as you imagine her life, long after you turn the last page. ***I did not know it was a retelling of Goose Girl by the Brothers Grimm prior to reading the book, and only read it after writing this review, so forgive me for being so swept away by Falada and Kestrin and loathsome to Corbe’ and Valka, if it so irks you that I am.***

SYNOPSIS:

Princess Alyrra is set to marry Prince Kestrin in a neighboring country. Unloved and unwanted by her own mother and abused by her brother, none of the royal family can figure out why the King of Menaiya would be coming to see her and appraise the match. One possibility is because the royal Menaiyan family tends to disappear at alarming rates, and Alyrra might just be a princess that no one will miss. When a Menaiyan mage comes to warn her and is pushed aside by a magic Lady, Alyrra may be leaving an abusive brother, but getting herself a much bigger nightmare to manage.

Alyrra is known for her honesty. She stood up for a servant against a Lord’s daughter and prospective wife for her brother, and since then, the royals despise her and the servants adore her. She spends her time with the holsters and cooks and they keep her aware of her cruel brother’s locations. When the visiting entourage comes, they see her tormentor and give her a security detail, as well as see how she is beloved by the staff.

Once the match is arranged she is off to Menaiya with Valka, the girl she revealed to be a thief. Along the way, the Lady presents herself again and switches Valka and Alyrra’s bodies, to give Valka another chance to be queen and to use the real Valka as a tool to destroy the royal family. The only person in the traveling group aware of the switch, and that can see through it, is Falada a white talking horse, that only speaks to the real Alyrra and refuses to be ridden.

When the girls arrive at the palace, the pretend princess dismisses Alyrra, who has decided to rename herself Thoreena, Thorn. She asks the king if there are any available positions and thus becomes the Goose Girl.

Thorn is still summoned to the castle to write letters home for the imposter and the prince and former security quad find something off with a former lady of the court finding such contentment in manual labor. As she settles in to life with the other employees she finds laughter and companionship and only Falada prods her to reclaim her position as princess and save Prince Kestrin from the Lady.

When Falada is killed, and street justice is called on to avenge the brutal rape and killing of a friend, Thorn must decide to enjoy her quiet life or step up and be the change the people and royals of Menaiya need.

WHY I LIKE IT:

I love that it isn’t a sappy love story, it really could have been, but Thorn is calling the shots and she is enough without anyone or with everyone. I love that she is secure in any role and that her sense of loyalty and obligation comes from within. The writing is seamless, so often things are repeated and forced upon in a first person present tense story, but this read easily and held my interest. I love the titles and some of the sprinkling of made up words, it gave depth and richness, as well as the struggle that Thorn had to go through to speak the language. I loved that she had to work to acquire the skills to communicate and that it was a part of the story, it didn’t just happen, nor did it get swept aside.

Thorn is religious, but no idea what religion or what it means, she seeks going to the temple for peace and clarity, and we know she takes off her shoes, but that is about it. The author is Muslim and the book is superb. I had my daughter read it before I read it, and she in turn made me read it, even watching her younger siblings so I could sneak away.

FLAGS:

Death, murder, public execution, hanging, sexual assault, rape, abuse, violence.

TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:

I am thinking to do it as a book club book if and when we return to school. It would depend a bit on the group, but I think older middle school could handle it toward the end of the year. There is a lot to discuss, a lot that readers could understand differently regarding the Lady, when her secret identity was blown, the value of love and choice, that I am confident that the conversation would be rich and enlightening.

Islamic School Librarian

Reviewing Children & YA Islamic Fiction, Books by Muslim Authors, & Books Featuring Muslim Characters

Betty Before X by Ilyasah Shabazz with Renee Watson

The World is Not a Rectangle: A Portrait of Architect Zaha Hadid by Jeanette Winter

The Girl and the Ghost by Hanna Alkaf

Your Name is a Song by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow illustrated by Luisa Uribe

The Battle by Karuna Riazi

Let it Go: Learning the Lesson of Forgiveness by Na’ima B. Robert and Mufti Menk illustrated by Samantha Chaffey

Leila and the Sands of Time by Shirin Shamsi

Our Favorite Day of the Year by A.E. Ali illustrated by Rahele Jomepour Bell

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Thorn by Intisar Khanani