Category Archives: Elementary Fiction

Sep28

The Ghoul by Taghreed Najjar illustrated by Hassan Manasra

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The Ghoul by Taghreed Najjar illustrated by Hassan Manasra

the ghoulThis 36 page book for ages five through eight is a cute story about being brave, facing your fears, challenging your perceptions, celebrating differences and giving friendship a chance.  Recently translated and published in English, this Arabic inspired folktale is timeless and important for readers of all ages to learn from.

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Hasan the Brave is a young boy that lives in a mountain village.  The children are told not to laugh out loud, the adults tiptoe to their fields, and the fear of being eaten by the ghoul that lives in a cave on top of the mountain consumes them all.

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But Hasan isn’t buying it and starts asking questions. Why is everyone afraid of the ghoul, he asks his aunt one day in the olive grove? She tells him because he is covered in hair, has one eye, long claws, sharp teeth and his favorite food is little boys and girls.  Unconvinced Hasan asks his dad if anyone in the village has been hurt by the ghoul.  His dad can’t think of anyone.  He asks his mom if the Ghoul ever ate anyone in the village? She can’t think of anyone, but has heard plenty of rumors and wants him to not disturb the ghoul none-the-less.

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Hasan is tired of being scared and decides he will climb the mountain.  Everyone in the village tries to warn him against it, but he is Hasan the Brave after all and is determined to go.  When he gets to the top of the mountain and relishes at the beautiful view he proclaims that he is fearless and that he won’t be afraid of the ghoul.  Then he sees the ghoul, and after the ghoul sizes him up, the ghoul runs away.

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Hasan goes to investigate why such a monster is scared of him and learns that the ghoul is scared of people because they have two eyes instead of one, they do not have thick hair like him, they have strange hair, small teeth, and they eat ghouls.  Ghouls, Hasan finds out are vegetarians.

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The two laugh at their assumptions, and run off to play together.  From that day on the two are best friends and the people in the village pass on stories to remind future generations to celebrate differences and not let fear rule them again.

There are a few women in hijab, the villagers say inshaAllah, but there is nothing religious in the book.  The illustrations are detailed and colorful in a muted manner.  Overall a fun book with a great lesson.

 

Sep25

Alia’s Mission: Saving the Books of Iraq by Mark Alan Stamaty

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Alia’s Mission: Saving the Books of Iraq by Mark Alan Stamaty

alia

Based on the true story of Alia Muhammed Baker, the Basra librarian who saved 30,000 books in 2003 from the destruction during the Iraq War, this 32 page graphic novel, is an AR 3.9 and while it isn’t a chapter book and isn’t just a picture book, it works well for 2nd through 4th grade readers that will enjoy a bit of history, a lot of excitement, and detailed panels that make the story come to life.  The story, as it is based on fact, is very similar to The Librarian of Basra, but with it’s different presentation style, might appeal to a larger audience to appreciate and celebrate what she did to save such precious books, naturally, I’m a huge fan!

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SYNOPSIS:

Alia is the Chief Librarian of Basra Central Library and has always loved books and learning.  As war draws closer, she tells her husband she is worried that the library could be bombed or set ablaze.  She goes to the government to voice her concerns and ask that the books are relocated, but her request is denied.  So she takes matters in to her own hands, and starts smuggling books under her shawl and in to her car, and stacks them in her home.  Every day she does this for a week, soon closets are over flowing and she starts stacking the books in her guest room.  Worried that she isn’t making fast enough progress, she gets the restaurant owner next door to help her when looters start taking the pencil sharpeners and furniture from the library.  She has a plan to have everyone possible come together to move the books, and many people come to help.

Eventually the library is set on fire, the news gives Alia a stroke.  When she recovers she learns she saved 30,000 books, and up next for this real life super hero? Building a new library, inshaAllah.

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WHY I LIKE IT:

I love that it shows the value of libraries and books, the determination of one person, and the support of a community.  People are awful during a war, yet, sometimes they are pretty amazing too.  The illustrations are detailed and varied, with inviting text and clear concise language.  It really is well done.

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FLAGS:

Destruction of property, sneaking, looting.

TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:

I think it would be great to have kids read this story and the librarian of Basra and discuss

 

Sep21

Yeti and the Bird by Nadia Shireen

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Yeti and the Bird by Nadia Shireen

yeti

What a sweet story about assumptions, loneliness, friendship and kindness.  An AR 2.0, this 32 page simple picture book tells the story of an accidental meeting, making friends, and the opening of hearts of the forest critters as a result.  Written and illustrated by a Muslim author, the adorable illustrations make the story come to life and provide smiles for kg-2nd graders along the way.

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Yeti is the biggest, hairiest, scariest beast anyone has ever seen.  So no one comes near him, making him very lonely.  But one day a lost bird thunks him on the head.  The Yeti growls, but the bird doesn’t get scared. At all. Instead the little bird tells Yeti about her journey and how she was headed to a hot tropical island for the winter.

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Yeti doesn’t know what to do with the sad little bird, so he picks her up and takes her home.  The next day the two play and laugh.  The forest animals look on in surprise and curiosity.

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As it gets colder, Yeti knows his new friend will need to leave so he studies the map and helps give her directions for the long journey ahead.  Once she leaves, Yeti is even lonelier than before.

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But, alas, new friends are ready to play and the little bird stops by to play when she can.

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Cute and fun and great for littles, to be brave and give a new friend a chance.

Sep14

The Bee Tree by Stephen Buchmann and Diana Cohn illustrated by Paul Mirocha

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The Bee Tree by Stephen Buchmann and Diana Cohn illustrated by Paul Mirocha

bee treeThis is one of those books that it is hard to know who the target audience is and who would most enjoy the text heavy 40 pages about a boy coming of age in Malaysia by harvesting honey in a traditional manner.  The two page spread illustrations are rich and inviting, and with an AR 5.7 level, the book would work well for children that enjoy other cultures, honey, insects, or children that you hope will be inspired to start seeing the world a little differently than they are used to doing.

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The story starts with a boy talking about his grandfather and how every year he goes to collect the honey from the tualang trees.  The bees travel hundreds of miles and arrive just as the rainforest starts to bloom.  The trees that they build their nests in are higher than the eye can see and grandfather, known as Pak Teh, is the leader of the honey hunting clan.

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He tells everyone what their jobs will be: some will carry ropes, others pails, others torches.  One day, he tells them, someone will have to take his place as the one who climbs all the way up to the top to gather the honey.  He believes Nizam, the narrator, is the one.

To prove himself, Nizam has to practice climbing 120 feet into the sky.  Nizam and grandfather spend a lot of time together praying five times a day and walking through the dense rain forest.  He reminds Nizam that the forest doesn’t belong to them, but to the unseen protector. They enter the forest as if they are visiting a neighbors home.

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At night all the hunters sit together and Grandfather tells the traditional story of the bees.  A story that involves a beautiful servant girl named Hitam Manis who worked in the Sultan’s palace and how the Sultan’s son and her were in love.  When the Sultan found out he ordered the girl run out from the kingdom.  As she and her loyal friends fled she was hit by a metal spear.  She did not die, but her and her friends were magically transformed into a swarm of bees.  Because it was metal that harmed her, she ruled that metal was never allowed to touch the honey.  Hence, when the bee hunters harvest they use a bone knife, leather pouches, and a wooden ladder.

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When it is time to enter the forest, it is pitch dark with no moonlight.  The hunters tap their glowing torches against the trees sending light sparks to the ground to tempt the bees and leaving their nests free for Nizam to collect the honey from.  For seven nights they climb the trees, and then they return home.  With greetings of salam, peace be upon you, Grandfather informs the family that when he can no longer climb the tree, Nizam will carry on the tradition.

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The book ends with factual information about Malaysia, the rainforest, giant honey bees, honey hunters, and the future.

Aug31

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

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

song

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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The Battle by Karuna Riazi

the battle

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

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

let it go

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.”

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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.

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Aug17

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

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

favorite day

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Aug7

Be Sure to Pray, Zain! By Humera Malik illustrated by Gonmuki

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Be Sure to Pray, Zain! By Humera Malik illustrated by Gonmuki

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A very relatable 31 page early elementary chapter book about not only establishing salat, but doing it for the right reasons.  The book is not preachy or reprimanding, and even with a moral purpose, Zain manages to connect with readers and be funny and likable along the way.  Told from the view of the young narrator, realization is achieved, confessions made, understanding gained, and inshaAllah regular prayer established.  A great book to share with your own children when salat integrity is in question, and a great reminder of the power of salat that kids will enjoy reading even when it is not, alhumdulillah.

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SYNOPSIS:

Zain starts off by introducing himself as a kid who lives with his parents and is having an  awful week.  He rewinds and begins with recapping Monday.  Right away he acknowledges that Monday actually started out ok as he was having an awesome dream, but that sometimes when he is mad he only sees and remembers the bad things.  Because of his awesome dream he didn’t want wake up and pray Fajr, but his parents reminded him that when you pray you can ask anything you want from God and that praying protects us from bad decisions.  He drags himself up to pray and asks God to help him on his spelling test.  Later that day he took his test, said Bismillah, and aced it.  So he concludes that maybe Monday wasn’t so bad, and Tuesday wasn’t either.

On Tuesday, Zain sticks up for his neighbor Joey who is being picked on by some older bullies.  Later that night Joey’s parents come over to thank him and take him out for ice cream in appreciation.  Wednesday, starts out great at school, and after school he gets to bake blueberry muffins with his mom.  When the muffins are done he was suppose to pray Asr and then take the muffins to his friend Ali’s house.  His mom reminds him to take the safe way and not cross the busy street.  But, Zain forgot to pray Asr and sees no cars coming and chooses to take the short cut across the road.  When he gets to Ali’s house his backpack is open and the muffins are missing.

The rest of the week continues with highs and lows.  Many of the lows coming when he doesn’t pray.  At one point a friend comes to tell him to come to the park to play soccer, and he knows his mom is going to ask him to wait a so they can pray together, so he pretends not to hear and rushes out the door.  Another day he chooses to not miss the end of a show he is watching to pray and heads off to tutoring without praying at all.

When the book rejoins Zain in the present he is feeling bad about kicking a friend playing soccer, cheating on a math test, and not getting to taste his muffins.  He unloads everything that has happened over the week, and his parents calmly and patiently ask him if he has been praying.  When Zain realizes he has been neglectful his mom likens prayer to bricks in a wall that help keep bad things out.  His parents tell him that when we miss our prayers, we end up with holes in our wall and bad ideas can sneak in.  Resolved to stay strong, Zain wakes up the next morning to pray Fajr and have a good day, inshaAllah.

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WHY I LIKE IT:

I love that it stays with a young kids perspective and doesn’t get weighed down with hadith and ayats and lectures.  The parents let him learn from his mistakes and he comes to his own realization, not through their reprimanding or catching him in his deceitfulness.  The book is a great way to remind kids that it is their responsibility to pray and that Allah swt knows everything, so that connection has to be made between the person and their creator, it isn’t something you do only when someone is watching or telling you to do it.  I do wish that when he did resolve to pray that there would have been a bit of an outpouring to Allah.  I love that he had tears in his eyes when he told his parents everything, but I think it would have been really powerful to see Zain ask Allah to forgive him and to help him keep his wall strong.

The book reads smoothly, and the illustrations are well done and inviting.  Early chapter book readers will enjoy the font and format and knowing where the story is going with the days of the week chapters.  On one occasion I wish the word “wudu” would have been used instead of ablution, and I’m not sure what Zain has against carrots, but nothing too major will keep kids from enjoying the story and understanding it.

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FLAGS:

none.

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TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:

This book is for children learning to pray and realizing how important salat is.  So while it won’t work for a book club, I really hope teachers in Islamic Schools and Sunday Schools will read the book aloud or assign it to their students.  It is a great teaching tool, a great reminder, and a fun story too.