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.
I love the illustrations of this book and have been trying to get it since it released in Australia to no avail, it finally is being released here in America and the 32 page hardback book is so cute to look through. The story is, well, sigh. It isn’t bad or wrong, but for a religious centered book, it has no Islam, no Eid feels, no faithful reliance. Rather than using religion to bring the sighting of the moon to little Muslims and non Muslims, and blending it with the protagonists desire to be an astronaut as the framing of the story, it just focuses on the celestial intrigue. “Cosmic compasses,” “galactic goggles,” and a cheering squad are needed for “Operation Galaxy Gaze,” there are no “Bismillahs” or “Alhumdulillahs” when looking for the moon, and ultimately seeing it. Again, it isn’t wrong, it just seems a little unfortunate. This book will be read in Islamic and public schools, libraries, and everywhere else children, preschool to early elementary, gather with hopes of hearing a Ramadan or Eid story. I’m just fairly confident, none will leave knowing what Eid is, or why it is important to Muslims. They will get that Maymoona loves the stars, there is an “inshaAllah” when she dreams of being an astronaut some day, but even the backmatter entitled, “Why is Seeing the Moon so Important for Eid?” focuses on just that, the seeing of the moon, not the month of Ramadan ending and Eid joy prevailing. I know I’m harsh when it comes to Islamic rep, this one just skirted the line of telling us about searching for the moon, leaving Ramadan behind, and the excitement of Eid, when it so easily could have shown us, and left a lasting impression long after the book closed.
The book starts with the sights and sounds of Eid approaching. There is only one thing left to do and that is something Maymoona takes very seriously, looking for the moon. It is the most exciting part of Eid for her, as she dreams of being a future astronaut. She assembles her team to plot and plan, her gear to give her the best chance of success, and she squashes her nerves and makes her ascent to the best vantage point. And then she waits, patiently to see if the wind will move the clouds, if her dreams of landing on the moon will come to fruition, if tomorrow will be Eid.
The large 8.5 x 11 pages with a matte finish make this book easy to share in small groups or at bedtime, and really let the pictures charm the audience on each and every spread.
I have read this book dozens of times and I honestly don’t know how I feel about it. If you remove the title and second to last page and just READ the words, the book could be about any holiday that you might clean and decorate for, that would involve giving gifts, putting on henna, wearing new clothes, praying, and sharing food at. The illustrations imply that it is a Muslim holiday with about half the women in the pictures wearing hijab, and a few decor items that say Eid Mubarak in English and Arabic, but readers that are unaware or unfamiliar might not grasp that it is faith based at all, and the Author’s Note mentions, but doesn’t detail much about the religious significance either. During one reading, I felt it also could almost seem like a mystery, that the title just happens to ruin. The cat Nylah goes to different houses on the street seeing and hearing the tidying and banner hanging and gift wrapping occurring, but doesn’t know why no one has time for her, until the big reveal that it is Eid. I think for little non reading kids that actually might be my approach, to share the book without the title and back blurb and see if they can figure out why everyone is too busy to play with Nylah. I don’t know that it is tokenism, or that Islam is left out to make the book palatable for the Western gaze, I could be wrong though, I really just think this is the author’s style. Having read her chapter books that always center animals, feature community, and include Muslim names, I think this is just an extension of her lyrical writing in her debut picture book. The book would work for either Eid, but the backmatter is the author’s reflection on Ramadan and Eid al Fitr. I know I’m the minority that struggles with Islamic holiday books that leave out the Islam, so for those of you that do not find it disappointing, the book is sweet. Nylah is a cat that is welcome and known to the entire neighborhood, to come and go as she pleases, the age engaging illustrations complimented by the cadence and rhythm of the structure, lines, and diction are easy to read aloud to groups of all sizes, and hold the attention of 3 year old children and up.
The book starts with a family “wiping and scrubbing, tidying and sorting, everything in sight.” When no one has time to play with Nylah, she heads outside under the crescent moon, and goes next door to Bilal’s house, where he and his family are decorating. When she tries to play with the ribbon, she is once again told they are too busy to play, so she slips into Reem’s house where they are doing henna. This continues from one house to another until the next morning when her family all dressed wakes her up to go to the park with them for prayers and Nylah realizes it is Eid. Now the children are not too busy and everyone plays with Nylah.
Yeah, I know, taking a cat to Eid prayers sounds wild to me too, kids love imagining though what chaos might ensue. There is enough hinted at that Muslim families can find the clues and make the book more religious or holiday centered, but I wish it showed the cat seeing praying or reading Quran, hearing the athan or thikr, or something that would ground the book in Islam, but alas, it does not.
The book concludes with an Author’s Note and scanable QR Code for a free audio reading.
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.
I would not know where to shelve this 40 page in a library, it has beautiful pictures, it is informative, resourceful, useful, and interesting- I’ve only delayed sharing it because I really have had to think, how best to use this book to its maximum potential, to make it truly effective. It is formatted externally as a picture book, but it reads much like an chapter book anthology with the stories connected by the road the diverse folks live on, Rahma Road, all coming together for a communal iftar, with some fasting and some not. The spreads feature vignettes on the left of what each house is making, including tidbits of culture, facts about Ramadan, insights about method or ingredients, with the facing page being the recipe. The book is incredibly meticulous and intentional in appealing to Muslims and non Muslims alike, as well as a variety of ages. It works as a book for Muslims to see themselves in, non Muslims to get a peek at iftaar excitement through, messages about community and diversity celebrated, foodies to see new recipes that they can try, cultures to explore through food and native words, a story framing to feel connection, I really could go on and on with the layers and inclusions this book provides, alhumdulillah. I think the best way to use and share the book is going to be for me to read it with my 5 and 9 year old children a week or so before Ramadan. Where I can read the story portion, getting us excited for Ramadan, slipping in some reminders, appreciating Islam’s global presence, and then talking about the recipes so that they can pick dishes to try in Ramadan and add needed ingredients to the shopping list (I wish I made the effort to be this organized all year long). I then will plan to leave the book out and have my teens flip through to find any recipes that they think sound good and will commit to making. The book would work all year long, but as a new release, I’m sharing my plan with hopes that it can help your family as well.
The book contains 25 globally inspired recipes, featuring 11 with accompanying stories. I absolutely love that at the bottom of the recipes are page numbers for additional items that would pair nicely, or be condiments or beverages or desserts for the dish. This allows easy personalization, fusion meals, and more importantly a way for different age groups to be able to help each other in the preparation. Maybe koshari is a bit advanced for your kid, but the mint lemonade paired with it might be something they can tackle a bit more independently.
The framing of everyone on the road coming together book ends with the neighbors sharing a meal at the end, I love the backmatter explaining Ramdan, about the recipes, even about Rahma Road. The message to the reader and the naming of consultants really is a credit to the time and effort put into this book.
A few of the dishes and countries featured are: Atayef from Palestine, African American Sweet Potato Pie, Nigerian Puff Puff, Japanese Temaki Sushi, Morrocan Harira, Uyghur Lamp Stir-Fry, Guatemalan Dobiadas, Turkish Chicken Gozleme, Malaysian Teh Tarik, Australian Mini Strawberry Pavlovas, South African Bunny Chow, Mexican Elotes .I can’t wait to report back if my plan was successful, if the dishes prepared were a hit, and ideas for further maximizing the use of the contents it contains.
I really had no idea what this book was going to be about, and the first page or so seemed a little off with the child not knowing about the quilt he was wrapped up in, but. oh. my. heart! Every subsequent turn of the page was a hug from Saif’s patch made quilt straight to my cynical soul. The infusion of Islam as such a part of his daily activities, his loving family and environment, and the reminder that labels can both hurt and inspire is beautifully done. The illustrations, the tone, and the messaging, is great for kids that have been called “just shy” and everyone who has ever doubted themselves (i.e. everyone) with it’s relatable emotions, and reminder that like a quilt, we are still growing. I cannot wait for this book to be released and I can enjoy a physical copy to share in classrooms, libraries, and bedrooms. One of the best picture books I’ve read in a while, thank you.
The book starts with Ami asking Saif why he isn’t outside playing basketball with his friends. He replies, that he “is shy.” His mother shows him that the quilt is made of patches of Saif: experiences he has had. She shows him a patch and helps him recall the memory attached to it, starting with last Eid when he was brave and went down the big slide. As he joins in the recollection, he then owns the label that he is brave. It isn’t that easy though, he tries to be smart like his brother and read a lot, but reading is hard, his brother reminds him he is smart and points out the patch from when he won the scavenger hunt. Swimming, helping at the masjid, reading Quran, calling the athan, all help Saif to realize he is more than just shy, more than one label, and that he is still growing.
I love the relatability of what Saif is going through, and even though so many of the settings and examples are Muslim centered, the book will resonate with all readers, of all ages. A tear or more two may have stumbled out as I saw little me in the illustrations and the scenarios, and I have never been called shy. The book releases in March and is traditionally published, meaning plenty of time to pre-order a copy and request your library to shelve it, as it will be available wherever books are sold.
At 224 pages, this middle grade graphic novel has a whole lot of heart. Seventh grade is not easy for anyone, and Hassan is balancing school, grades, soccer, fasting, and taraweeh every night, while dealing with friends, video games, cousins, and falling asleep in class. I love that this OWN voice book really centers Islam. It doesn’t shy away from showing the stresses that the character and presumably the readers of immigrant kids in public schools might encounter, right alongside stresses with Muslim cousins and friends at the masjid trying to pressure you to do something you don’t want to do. And as in any coming of age story, young Hassan does not want any special treatment or parents to get involved. SPOILER: Hassan does hide his faith and that he is fasting for Ramadan at school, he also does make mistakes, notably among them is when he breaks his fast in what he is told is a loophole of sorts, but by the end he grows and trusts and realizes he doesn’t have to do it all, all the time, and that he isn’t alone. The book is not heavy, but it has layers that serve as relatable mirrors and windows for kids who are going to thoroughly enjoy this richly illustrated book.
SYNOPSIS:
The story starts with seventh grader, Hassan dreaming about food, drooling on his arm, and then being woken up by his teacher, again. It is Ramadan and Hassan is fasting, going to taraweeh at night, trying to keep up with school and soccer, and on top of it all, he doesn’t want anyone to know. He also doesn’t have the latest version of the popular video game that all his friends have, and he has to explain to his childhood friend Rosie why it is no longer appropriate for them to hang out together. Nights and weekends with family and at the masjid should be a reprieve, but somehow even there he is the odd one out, opting to pray instead of play, and being unsure if closing your eyes while sneaking food really prevents Allah swt from seeing you eating like his cousins claim. Threaded through it all are soccer practices, games, and falling grades that are going to get him tossed off the team, making this a Ramadan to remember.
WHY I LOVE IT:
Wahoo, some Yemeni representation, I loved the flashback/dream longing for Yemen. I like that Hassan isn’t expecting adults or others to speak for him, and his heart is really in the right place. I did feel a bit of a disconnect though when his friends knew he fasted the previous year, why he wouldn’t just explain it was time again for him to do so. Increasingly even the most isolated western cities are aware of Ramadan, so I didn’t feel that hesitation for Hassan to own it, even when a friend explicitly asks. SPOILER, On a similar thread, his soccer coach is Muslim and their isn’t a huge sigh of relief and immediate kinship when the information is revealed. If Hassan really feels he is shouldering it alone, why wouldn’t this empower him to step into himself so to speak. I also didn’t understand why the end of the season pizza party wouldn’t have just been at iftar time. The book really had a chance to model how others can support their Muslim friends, and moving a food based celebration a few hours is an easy accommodation, but the Muslim coach didn’t even do it, so why would non Muslims.
When Hassan does sneak food during his fast, he gets away with it, but it doesn’t sit right with him and I think it is powerfully done, him coming clean also is not punished as it really is something between Hassan and Allah swt and I love how it is left to that. Regardless of if you feel it is required of a 7th grade boy or not, the ownership of faith I feel is more important than the getting in trouble by your parents in this case.
FLAGS:
Lying, failing grades, sneaks food during fasting, boy girl friendship, hints at internalized Islamophobia.
TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:
I wouldn’t do this as a book club, but would absolutely have it on shelves for kids to easily access, and I would absolutely discuss with them, what their takeaways were.
I have five children, I have taught second grade, I have shelved, recommended, and read aloud a number of early chapter books for the better part of the last 20 years, so when I say that this book changes the standard of what a book (series) for this demographic can and should be, I do not say it lightly. Yes, I am bias, the author is a dear friend, but Amina has layers, growth, insight, struggles, warmth, heart, and all the other glowing adjectives normally associated with beloved books and characters for older readers. This book is the first in a series of four, and each book is somehow better than the previous. At 126 pages with a robust backmatter that includes scientific extensions, a recipe for ful mdamas, and a note from the author, I am confident that children of all ages, everywhere, caregivers, parents and educators alike will all fall in love with Amina, cheer for her, laugh with her, and be enamored with her attitude, perseverance, and joy.
SYNOPSIS: Amina loves having a plan, a formula in fact, and when she arrives in Indiana as a refugee from Syria she is determined to make friends in 3rd grade. Things don’t always go as expected, but alhumdulillah Amina doesn’t stay down: classmates, family, and determination combine to help the clever, yellow-loving protagonist find a way to rework her experiments, accept what she can and cannot control, and succeed in making this new country feel a little bit like home.
WHY I LOVE IT: I adore the humor, unapologetic Islam, the rich Syrian culture woven in, and Amina’s approach to life. So often early chapter book protagonists are obnoxious, annoying, crude almost, bratty, arrogant, and repetitive, Amina is none of those things. She is vulnerable and strong, confident, yet nervous, hopeful, but worried, she is tangibly real in a way that readers will see themselves and relate. I love the humor of idioms being confusing, and the heart of seeing what the parents have sacrificed and are willing to sacrifice by starting over in a new place. The illustrations add to the experience of drawing reluctant readers in and will help those transitioning from picture books to chapter books be immersed by the story. As always the author’s writing is impeccable and the story well-crafted.
FLAGS:
There is some teasing, reflections on why Syria was left, the journey to America, and hardship.
TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION: This book is ideal for classroom, library, and home shelves. It would be a wonderful classroom read aloud and works equally as well at bedtime. My children college to elementary have all read and loved Amina, and I highly encourage preordering so that your children will get a chance to fall in love with her too.
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.
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.
This basic 10 page board book, is simple, and age appropriate to teach toddlers the order, name, number of rakats each of the five prayers are, and the time of day that they should be offered. The gift on each of the two page spreads lifts to reveal the name of the prayer and the repetitive refrain will allow the audience to jump in on cue to supply the answer to the question being asked. We have a lot of high tech and fancy lyrical options to entertain and teach our kids these days, but sometimes a solid book, that can teach and reinforce such a foundational concept is a just what our kids need. I do wish the flaps were a little thicker, but the 6 x 6 inch size is great for little hands, alhumdulillah.
The book is consistent with each two page spread discussing the time for each of the five prayers on the left, with the number of fard rakats and the refrain of “Do not miss/ Do you know which salah is this?” I think some punctuation would help, but none-the-less, the present is then meant to be lifted for the name of the prayer to be revealed.
The illustrations do not have faces, and show the little boy praying from different angles and in different positions.
Islamic School Librarian 