Category Archives: islamic fiction

Mar16

My First Salah Book: Why and How we Pray by Learning Roots

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My First Salah Book: Why and How we Pray by Learning Roots

Over 91 pages this informative book tells “The Story of Salah” through the miraculous night journey, how to do wudu and its benefits, step by step how to make salah, and then a story style portion of “Life with Salah.” I do not have the digital “kitab” pen that allows readers to have the book read to them and activities made interactive without parental involvement, but even with out it, the book is a pretty solid resource.  The hardback binding, and full color pages are not crowded, they introduce nine characters at the beginning and feature them throughout the pages learning the steps, imagining witnessing the events, and putting the lessons into practice.  Some of the recent Learning Roots books have the characters watching or imagining themselves in story’s of the Sahabas and Prophets, that make me uncomfortable.  The first chapter of this book, is more limited as it illustrates a light in the sky as the Buraq being seen by some children, not the characters in the book, and a silhouetted tree as Sidrat al-Muntaha.  As I am not knowledgeable enough to know if it is “right” or “wrong” to have a child seeing the silhouetted tree and pointing to it, or who it is meant to be, I’ve included pictures for you to decide what is best for your family.  I particularly like that on the pages where Arabic is spoken it is found written in easy to read Arabic with English translation and transliteration.  Within the text there are attributions of hadith and after each chapter there is an activity and questions.  The book concludes with a glossary.

Whether as a tool to learn for the first time, or a book to revise with children already praying, the approach is gentle and easy, inviting children to engage with the pages.  The four chapters are packed full of information, but the illustrations, diagrams, and steps, also allow the book to be referenced, or read cover to cover.

The last chapter, “Life with Salah” shows the character group engaging with salah in a very idyllic way, but given the tone of the book, it works, and will allow readers to see salah as more than just an obligation, which is important.

I got my copy from crescent moon store, if you use my initials (ISL) at checkout you can save 10%.

Feb18

What Shape is Your Mosque? By Jenny Molendyk Divleli illustrated by Zeynep Begüm Şen, Ayşenur Kazan, Hümeyra Yograncı, Hatice Leyla Arslanbenzer, Gökhan Özdemir, Özlem Güneş, Rumeysa T. Karaca, Şüheda Başer Yılgör, Aybüke B. Aslanoğlu, M. Ahmet Demir, Fatma Betul Akbal

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What Shape is Your Mosque? By Jenny Molendyk Divleli illustrated by Zeynep Begüm Şen, Ayşenur Kazan, Hümeyra Yograncı, Hatice Leyla Arslanbenzer, Gökhan Özdemir, Özlem Güneş, Rumeysa T. Karaca, Şüheda Başer Yılgör, Aybüke B. Aslanoğlu, M. Ahmet Demir, Fatma Betul Akbal

Framed the same as the author’s book entitled What Color is Your Mosque? The readers are taken all over the world to see masjids in a variety of shapes: conical, spiral, oblong, flower, boat shaped and more.  Each two page spread has a child introducing themselves, where they are from, the name of the mosque and some bits of information to engage the reader.  It isn’t a literary masterpiece, but I don’t think it attempts to be.  It is a fun informative book to show children the diversity of architecture, the universal practice of Islam, and be motivated by the prompt at the end to ponder how they might design their own masjid. I particularly like that the author points out that the first mosque she ever prayed in was a converted house.  This book is great in small groups and story times, where the pictures can be looked at, and lends itself to further research of looking up pictures of the mosque’s included, building mosques with blocks or legos, or paired with a similarly inspired craft.

The book starts with a note to parents, some hadith, a dedication, and then the author, Jenny introducing herself to the reader, and starting the journey.  The book shares mosques in Kuwait, Qatar, Indonesia, Germany, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Croatia, Kazakhstan, China. Each spread is illustrated by a different artist, but all are beautifully done.

I found the pages smile inducing, as I Googled to see real photographs of the mosques mentioned.  One of my favorites was the Rijeka Mosque in Croatia that was designed by a sculpture and changes shapes depending on the vantage point.  And I was shocked I had never seen or heard, or somehow noticed, the Kashti Wali Masjid in Karachi, Pakistan.  I masjid that is boat shaped and very near to my familys’ homes.  

I purchased my copy from Crescent Moon and if you use code ISL (my initials) at checkout you can save 10% on your entire order.

Feb14

Huda F Wants to Know? by Huda Fahmy

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Huda F Wants to Know? by Huda Fahmy

Huda Fahmy books always make me laugh, but this is the first one that made me cry. Centering mental health and her parents divorce, we see Huda grappling with change, loss, anger, and resolve in a raw vulnerable way. While ever hopeful, and at times comical, the book is also incredibly moving and insightful.  Whether as part of the Huda F series or her two graphic novels prior, her autobiographic books always tackle heavy topics in a joyful, hilarious, honest way that appeal to girls and boys from middle school and up.  I know at 263 pages, this book is a YA read, but in my house my kids (daughter and sons) have loved reading her perspective about hijab, arranged marriages, identity, and sibling relationships. The unapologetic Muslim authenticity is unparalleled, and that non Muslims champion her books as well, truly shows the value of good story telling, and gives me hope in an often bleak world. Huda’s books are staples: new books are anxiously awaited, previous books are regularly reread, and Huda F Wants to Know? continues in that tradition.  This book isn’t just fun, it is important- it normalizes mental health, empowers families shaken up by change, and makes us all feel seen and less alone. SubhanAllah.

The book starts with Huda’s plan for her junior year in high school, her friend Nabz and her are determined to buckle down and get scholarships.  When Huda’s parents call a family meeting, she thinks she just might be getting a car, but instead she and her sisters learn, their parents are getting a divorce. The book then rewinds to show a little lead up before Huda’s world shatters, and junior year’s blue print is tossed aside.  We see her going to the masjid for weekly halaqas where Sr Amal discusses topics like societal pressures, family expectations, gender bias in education, and other relevant topics.  At one such gathering, Dr Haifa came to talk about mental health.  We also see her crushing on a boy at school, fighting with her mom and sisters, and the girls going on a road trip to a Muslim convention.

Every storyline, every twist, every page really, has Islam woven in.  It is the way the characters see themselves, see their world, handle stresses, find peace.  Mental health is not separate from the hadith and sunnah, it is blended and approached in a holistic manner.  Divorce is understood Islamically, and the clarity in which it is articulated will, I imagine, be so reassuring for Muslims who have gone through it, and seen others go through it.  Just as my boys years ago read That Can Be Arranged, and became incredibly curious about marriage in Islam, I have no doubt that this book, will also be a powerful conversation starter for so many.  I don’t know if that is part of why Huda write, but it definitely is a result of her books.  I wish I could ask her, I’d also want to know how she decides what to share of her own life, where the line of reality and fiction for her is and how she sets and maintains those boundaries? I also desperately would like to ask her if she plans to write forever, because the world benefits from her books, needs her books, I know I do.  No pressure or anything.

 There are resources for mental health at the back of the book, some even specifically for Muslims. Please preorder this book and/or request it at your local public library as a show of support, it releases in April.

Jan25

Join Us for Ramadan by Sana A. Faqir illustrated by Amna Asif

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Join Us for Ramadan by Sana A. Faqir illustrated by Amna Asif

This 18 page chunky board book is about 7.5 x 7.5 inches and a little over an inch thick.  Each spread features interactive touch, feel, lift, slide, and rotate features that keep little toddler hands engaged, while the text shares Ramadan basics. Interestingly enough though, the back says it is not for 0-3 year olds, presumably because parts could tear and be choking hazards, but making it unusable for the demographic(?).

It starts with a slider that reveals the Ramadan moon and encourages readers to find the moon in the sky. The next spread has you lifting a cover to see what Mummy has made for suhoor.  The prayer mat is then pulled out, The Qur’an opened, Sadaqah collected, dates and chocolate rotated, masjid doors opened, and once again the moon slides into view to know it is time for Eid.  

The illustrations are cute, the manipulatives are clever and not repetitive, but the flaps on any of the lift the flap reveals are incredibly thin, and the outer strip that holds the entire book is similarly skimpy and I don’t know how long it will hold up with regular use considering the thickness of the actual pages.  

Jan22

Owl & Cat Learn about Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) by Emma Apple

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Owl & Cat Learn about Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) by Emma Apple

img_8455-1I have loved many an Emma Apple book over the years, but it has been a minute since a new one has been published. So imagine my delight and anticipation to see my soft spot for Prophet Muhammad (saw) kids books combined with the silly doodling antics of Owl and Cat? And then I read the first page. “Prophet Muhammad  peace be upon him was born in the city of Mecca in the year 570 on a Monday in April.” I think it is widely understood there is a level of uncertainty as to the date of his birth, and that’s really quite specific for no apparent reason. This is precisely why I’ve recently become a HUGE advocate of sourcing non fiction. Once something rubs you the wrong way in a book, or accuracy is questioned, it is really hard to move past it, even in a book meant for preschoolers.  The rest of the 66 pages read at times like a sentence from a biography and at other times are filled with general characteristics of what RasulAllah taught, how he treated people, and how he lead. The illustrations are cute, more serious than funny in this book, as the topic is a bit more demanding of love and respect. I think for basic information, or to add to the uniform yellow cover collection, this book is a good addition.  With the mix of specifics and generalized vagueness it isn’t going to hold attention of young readers without some embellishment, my nine year old honestly got more out of it than my five year old did.

I haven’t gone back and checked if Ramadan and Hajj and Islam have held up over time, so maybe my standards were lower.  None-the-less there are a lot of really cute spreads, and good information in the book, unfortunately I just found it a little disappointing, that it wasn’t sourced.  Even basic information benefits from the reassurance that it is accurate.  I purchased my copy here from Crescent Moon Bookstore and if you think it will be a good fit, I highly encourage you to shop small as well.

Jan4

MetalGhost: Kashif and the Echoes from a Past Life by Ali Mohammad Rizwan

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MetalGhost: Kashif and the Echoes from a Past Life by Ali Mohammad Rizwan

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This 350 page YA book (14/15+) does not hit the ground running, but once it finds its stride, it is a lot of fun.  I handed the book to my son, who loves Islamic fiction, and at 30 pages he brought it back saying it was terrible. I upped the ante and bribed him with goalie gear to read to 100 pages, but he couldn’t stop, he finished the book, and returned the favor by encouraging me to move it to the top of my TBR pile.  Like him, I truly wanted to dnf it early on. There are too many names, too many line edit errors (mistakes, repetitive phrases, adverbs), and a little too many forced cheesy (halal) romance scenes. And then the writing gets a little better, the plot strengthens, the Islam is more than just the character’s religion, but something that actively engage with, humor is woven in, twists develop, emotional threads are pulled, and you find yourself absorbed and invested in the story.  The writing at the end unravels as well, it feels  forced, much like the beginning, but perhaps that is the vigilante/superhero genre’s norm to get readers to pick up the next book in the series for answers and clarity. I’m glad the book was nominated for the Muslim Book Awards, I may not have heard about it otherwise, and I love that my son, who is currently re-reading it, found a book that is relevant, appealing, and has an Islamic heart.  Think a mix of Batman and Green Arrow, with a splash of Ironman all wrapped up in a thobe, and being advised by his mother and the local imam to go pray.

SYNOPSIS:

Life is going pretty well for Kashif Razvi, he is about to marry his longtime crush, with both families’ blessings and excitement, he is busy at work but enjoys it, and he hangs out in his free time with his tech friend Samir, developing robotic and cutting edge devices, but then everything falls apart.  When his father dies because of a mysterious power outage in the ICU, Kashif can’t let it go, and starts looking for answers.  He comes up empty following the legal, traditional routes and decides to take matters into his own hands.  He throws on a suit designed by Samir and takes to the streets as MetalGhost, becoming the city’s new hope.  He follows leads to avenge his loss, uncovers corrupt police, cracks down on human trafficking, and seeks to set right other ails of the city.  No matter the crime, a few names always seem to be in the mix, and as the city starts to fall apart, copycat vigilantes start popping up, and MetalGhost finds it won’t be as easy as he thought to hang up his thobe and leave his crime fighting life behind.

WHY I LIKE IT:

Everyone wants a Muslim super hero, but usually they come across as overly juvenile, or their faith and culture performative. This book finds a nice balance of action, contemporary relevance and Islam. The structure feels formulaic, but it works as it seems to track with superhero movies.  You get the emotional tragedy, then the plot, then the resolution. The middle of the story flows and draws in seerah, sahaba inspiration, humor, and action.  The beginning and the end, though are just really stilted.  I’m not going to spoil anything, but the end was not as strong as it should have been, the reveals and twists were not articulated well and they should have been, they were so shocking.  The numerous names and characters at the beginning really need to be edited and simplified, they linger in the middle, but honestly the reader stops caring and just reads for the plot, hoping that it will get sorted.

FLAGS:

I love that the relationship beats are halal, there are a few tinges that might lean into the line, but are gray at most.  There is killing, death, torture, human trafficking, crime, lying, vigilantism.  For teens it is fine.

TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:

My son and I have chatted about the book, but I think to take to a larger group, I really would want it to have another round of edits.  The idea of the story is wonderful, and to read by yourself I think it excels at what it is.  But to have teens, sitting around picking it apart to discuss and reflect on, will need the writing to be cleaner and stronger.

Dec31

Our Neighborhood: Excited for Eid by Marzieh Abbas illustrated by Anoosha Syed

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Our Neighborhood: Excited for Eid by Marzieh Abbas illustrated by Anoosha Syed

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Like the first book in the Celebrating Islam from the Our Neighborhood series, Friday Fun, this 26 page 7 x 7 board book is delightfully done in capturing the joy, sentiments, and traditions of the day. The mix of specifics and generalized parts of an Eid day experience offer both a window and mirror for toddler to early preschool kids. My concerns is that while maybe families will sense that henna/mendhi is cultural fun, and balloons and ice cream are not a religious requirement of the holiday, the two page spread dedicated to gathering at graves is a lot of space given to a cultural practice, not an Islamic one. I’m not a scholar and the book with its minimal words does not indicate if these families are visiting all graves, if they visit on days other than Eid, if they are grieving recent deaths and acknowledging that holidays can be hard. It shows multiple families at multiple graves some with flowers, some bare, some placing flowers, under the words, “gather together” and “love forever.” It is uncomfortable to me because of the space it takes up and the implication that it is a major part, or perhaps that it is a requirement of the religious holiday, when it is not.

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Similarly, the absence of going to the masjid or even praying is also glaringly missing. The family goes past the “lit up mosque” to get to the “fun kiosk” later at night for fun and games, but again no Eid prayers, five daily prayers, or really any worship is shown to take place on Eid other than in the illustrations reading Quran and making dua at graves. Hijab is shown on numerous women and mentioned in the text. For a book about a religious holiday, positioned to celebrate Islam, I would have hoped for some clear religious acts to be shown and articulated as being joyous parts shared by a global faith.

I enjoyed the little baby’s desire for ice cream that stretches through the story. It will add a layer of joy to even the youngest audience members. The gathering to eat and share and have fun is beautifully illustrated under the simple rhyming text, but Eid is a religious holiday, and that point seemed unfortunately absent.

Dec24

Our Neighborhood: Friday Fun by Marzieh Abbas illustrated by Anoosha Syed

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Our Neighborhood: Friday Fun by Marzieh Abbas illustrated by Anoosha Syed

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At 26 pages and 55 words, this adorable board book conveys Jumu’ah sunnahs, joy, Islam, and community.  The simple rhyming words and bright engaging illustrations are meant for babies to three year olds, but I have a house full of older kids and this book made them all smile.  The book is part of a larger non fiction series, “Our Neighborhood,” that focuses on different communities, and the first of two that celebrate Islam.  “Excited for Eid” will be released before the end of the year.  The 7 x 7 size and thick pages can work in small groups in addition to bedtime.  Whether your audience is Muslim kids learning about Jumu’ah, or non Muslims learning about what Muslims do on Fridays, the book will have a large appeal and be a joy to read over and over.

The book establishes it is Friday and then the characters get ready for Jumu’ah at the masjid.  They shower and groom, and trim, and head to the mosque for a talk before the adhan signals the time to pray.  After duas they give charity, hug their friends, and share a meal.

The little kids, male and female, pray together, but I took it to be realistic as often little kids are with one parent and are not segregated like the adults.  The illustrations show some of the kids in hijabs, others not, some of the adults in duputta style head coverings, others in hijab, and some in niqab.  “Allah” is written in Arabic above the mimbar, and the word “sadaqah” is on a box under donations and above mosque.  All the other words are the English versions of the word, except Adhan is in the text and not defined as the call to prayer.  There is no glossary.  The book really is for Muslims, by Muslim, but as a mainstream published book, it also is an easy window to open for non Muslims to see us in our element on Jumu’ah, alhumdulillah.

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Dec4

Doctor Bear and Helpful Bunny: The Travelling Dentist by Emma L. Halim & Her Mum Mary Tucker illustrated by Alissa Mutiara

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Doctor Bear and Helpful Bunny: The Travelling Dentist by Emma L. Halim & Her Mum Mary Tucker illustrated by Alissa Mutiara

Sometimes you just need a sweet little story about a traveling (sorry one l I’m not British) dentist going under the sea to help a hammer head shark with a toothache.  This rhyming story for toddlers is perfect for the demographic as duas are said to get through the pain and fear and the reliance on Allah swt that all will be well.  The Muslim animals and the fun illustrations make the story appealing whether your child is afraid of the dentist or not, and the focus on the duas in the backmatter, makes the book a good tool for repetitive use.  It is worth noting that their are 32 pages in the book, but the story is only 20 pages.  There is a glossary, multiple dedications, scanable codes for activities, ads for other books, duas, sources for duas and author bios in the back.

The book starts with Doctor Bear and Helpful Bunny introducing themselves as traveling dentists for all animals, even those under the sea.  When they get a call from Sonny, they set an appointment time, gather their gear on a boat and then head underwater to the shark village.

Sammy is glad they are there, as he is in pain. They clean his teeth, but need to remove the wiggly one, and that scares him.  He says a dua and before he knows it the huge tooth is out, alhumdulillah.

The book then has a two page spread about duas that help when you are “feeling funny inside” in Arabic, English transliteration, and their meanings in English.  A fun book with a great mix of story, silliness, education, and heart.

Nov23

Vultures in the House of Silence by A.R. Latif

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Vultures in the House of Silence by A.R. Latif

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This 312 page richly imagined Islamic fantasy is both engaging and compelling.  It is too advanced for me to review as it weaves a complex tale based on history, religion, fantasy, and imagination.  I do know that it was for the most part well written, I have some issue when the character’s diction would include words that felt too contemporary slang, but it didn’t happen too often.  The pacing though, unfortunately for me, was definitely off.  Undoubtedly the author has tremendous skill.  The emotional pulls, the world building, the consistent cliffhangers at the end of each chapter, kept me curious to see what would unfold.  The story beats just dragged more often than they should have for no clear reason in developing the plot, defining character arcs, or adding to the rising action.  I don’t think I ever stopped reading at the end of a chapter, those hooks were well placed, but when I stopped in the middle of the chapter, it often took four or five days for me to be motivated enough to open the book back up.  I truly think it just needs a good editor to help cut certain scenes, and smooth out the tempo.  The idea and layers are great, and if I, as someone who struggles with middle grade fantasy, couldn’t walk away from this YA/Adultish read, I’m sure lovers of fantasy, jinn, monsters, Islamic history, found family, gray characters and action, will find this book an enjoyable read, even the slow parts, that  I struggled with.  So no this is not a negative review,  I am hopeful my teenagers will read it and enjoy it, I just really hope the author will consider working with an editor to elevate the text as it truly has potential.

SYNOPSIS:

I don’t know that I can retell the story, it has a lot going on and I’ll probably inadvertently spoil something, so here is the summary from the back of the book:

“A boy wakes up surrounded by corpses. Unable to move, he is assaulted by vultures who stop pecking at him only when he speaks. To survive this nightmarish ordeal, he tells them the story of how he ended up on their menu…

What follows is the wild tale of the young gardener Khurafa, coping with the aftermath of the Mongol invasion of Baghdad and the death of his parents amidst the bloodshed. After a vivid dream and several supernatural encounters, he becomes convinced that an ancient group of nine sorcerers called the Servants are bent on world domination. Accompanied by his scholarly mentor Shaykh Nariman, and the sly, uncannily perceptive Zakiyya, he seeks saintly help against the Servants, but finds mostly monsters instead.”

WHY I LIKE IT:

I love the opening, it really grabs you, the emotion of Khurafa and the loss of his parents and his predicament with the vultures connects you to him and his vulnerabilities.  The twists are also well developed and keep the book interesting.  I feel like the end needed more, and the middle needed less.  SPOILERS: I didn’t get the cat, or the going from village to village.  All the names, and all the drama at each village, dragged for me.

It appears the book is meant to be a series, so I wonder if many of the characters that died will return, but I feel like the final battle was a little disappointing, and anti-climatic.  All the build up and then it went so quick.  I appreciated the full circle on the House of Silence, and the answering of some of the questions, but for all the emotion  at the start, the end didn’t mirror that in the cathartic way I hoped it would.

I say all this with full acknowledgement that I am not drawn to fantasy, I am not well versed in Islamic history, and it is absolutely possible, that I just don’t get it. In brief, I am not the target audience.

TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:

I think this book could be a good book club selection, with some motivation to get to the end, I think readers will be happy that they did, and I would imagine they would be willing to read the next book in the series. For many I would imagine it would be the first Islamic fantasy they will have read that has the layers, richness, and intrigue that this book does, and inspire them.