Category Archives: Non Fiction

Nov13

That Can Be Arranged: A Muslim Love Story by Huda Fahmy

Posted on November 13, 2020 by islamicschoollibrarian

I’m not entirely sure why I didn’t review and highlight the first book, “Yes, I’m Hot in This: The Hilarious Truth About Life in a Hijab” I really should have, so to cut to the chase if you don’t follow the author/illustrator on social media you really should and you should read both her books. Both are for all ages and while meant for adults, teens and tweens love it as well, I should know I’ve purchased and gifted over a dozen of them. I find my kids thumbing through both books a lot: my (early) teen girl and my tween boys. Part of is it because the comics are funny, relatable, but more importantly as I’m learning from my kids, because they are curious. In this book particularly, it is a great example of how Muslim marriages can happen, sure my kids know how my husband and my marriage was “arranged,” but they are constantly surrounded by ideas of dating and crushes and even divorce that I never realized that a book like this, featuring Muslims, actually Islamically contextualizes some of their gleamed information. The fact that the book is hilarious and clean and rings with such honesty, makes it easier for them to articulate their questions and removes some of the taboo as well. So, buy it for yourself to enjoy and if you have kids 11 and up in your home, you are ok to let them read it too.

SYNOPSIS:

It isn’t a chapter book, it is part comic book, part story, part info-graphic, and all biographical. The book opens with an ayat about spouses from the Quran and follows with an informative and funny message to the reader. Seriously, I laughed as she explained about drawing herself with hijab in bed and noting that most people don’t read the notes to the reader at the beginning. There are also a list of helpful terms before the introduction begins. Her story is broken up in to sections to pace and move the story along. It starts with the ground work of expectations and cultural norms and then tells her story of how she eventually met and married her husband. Not that it is straight forward, the book is 192 pages. There is a decent amount of explaining Islam and the role culture plays in the many pitfalls and big decisions along the way.

WHY I LOVE IT:

I think any female, born Muslim, over the age of 20 will relate to a lot in this, lots of others will as well, but that demographic specifically will find parts very reflective of their own experiences. I love that it shows the banter between the protagonist and her mother, truly that to me was the heart of the story. I love that it shows female empowerment and vulnerability at the same time within an Islamic context and unapologetically. This book is by a Muslim for Muslims, but non Muslims will enjoy it as well. It dispels and illustrates what an “arranged marriage” can mean for Muslims and shows that there is more than one way to understand the label.

I love the size of the book, the binding and the page quality. I had no problems with “Yes, I’m Hot in This,” but after seeing the larger size of this book 7 x 8 and the thicker pages, I really preferred this presentation.

FLAGS:

Clean

TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:

Obviously not really a candidate for a book club, but I think teen girls would enjoy reading this and laughing about it with a group of friends.

So fun and so good, alhumdulillah.

Nov2

The Cat Man of Aleppo by Irene Latham and Karim Shamsi-Basha illustrated by Yujo Shimzu

Posted on November 2, 2020 by islamicschoollibrarian

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The Cat Man of Aleppo by Irene Latham and Karim Shamsi-Basha illustrated by Yujo Shimzu

This 40 page true story about Mohammad Alaa Aljaleel of Aleppo aka the Cat Man shows how one person can make a difference even in the middle of a war. The amount of text on the page, the topic covered, and the detailed illustrations will most appeal to second graders and up, but younger kids, particularly those that love animals, will enjoy the story as well.

Alaa loves his city: the markets, the foods, the people. When war comes, he doesn’t flee, he keeps working as an ambulance driver. He has a big heart. His sees destroyed neighborhoods where everyone has left, except for the cats. There is no one to feed them and give them water, and Alaa feels for them.

After his shift he buys meat, and feeds over a dozen cats. He does this everyday and soon a dozen turns in to fifty and he realizes that he can no longer care for the cats alone. He needs a place for them.

Word spreads and volunteers and donations start pouring in. He purchases a building with a shaded courtyard and soon cats are everywhere. When people leave Aleppo they bring their beloved cats to him, and even other animals start arriving. Alaa even builds a playground for the children and digs a well so everyone can have fresh water.

The book is pretty straightforward and steady, it doesn’t have much emotion for such a powerful true story, but it will still hit the mark in inspiring children to show kindness and compassion for animals and others.

There are notes from each other and the illustrator at the end that share light on their connection to the story and the situation in Syria. There is nothing religious in the book other than a few females in hijab.

Oct12

Solar Story: How One Community Lives Alongside the World’s Biggest Solar Plant by Allan Drummond

Posted on October 12, 2020 by islamicschoollibrarian

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Solar Story: How One Community Lives Alongside the World’s Biggest Solar Plant by Allan Drummond

Set in Morrocco, the fictionalized framing of a children’s story about solar energy and sustainability at the the world’s largest solar plant in Ghassate will appeal to curious children in kindergarten and up. Told through the every day life of Jasmine, a little girl living near the plant, the concepts are not technical, but give a broad overview allowing readers to understand how impressive solar energy is, as well as the disparity that exists in the world. Over 40 pages with factual sidebars and an author’s note at the end, children who enjoy the story and are curious about the reality of it all will find an easy opportunity to learn more.

Jasmine and her friend Nadia live in Morocco between the High Atlas mountains and the huge Sahara desert. It is always sunny where they live.

They talk a lot about making energy from sunshine as they watch trucks going and coming from the world’s largest solar plant. Their teacher likes to ask them about the big changes happening in their world.

As the villagers tend to their sheep and cows, they cook on open fires and bake bread in clay ovens all while keeping an eye on the workers making the largest solar tower in the world. Jasmine’s dad rides a mule to work and many classmates parents work at the state of the art plant. The contrast is obvious.

The next day at school Miss Abdellam the teacher asks the students about sustainability. And the book doesn’t define the concept right away. First the class goes on a field trip to the solar plant.

At the plant the size of 3,500 soccer fields they see the 660,000 mirrors that follow the sun like sunflowers and bounce the rays to the 800 ft tower. The tower gets to a thousand degrees on top and heats water whose steam powers turbines and is turned into electricity.

The kids go home to work on their sustainability homework. With no internet or computers even, they have to think for themselves. The remaining pages define and provide examples of how solar power is changing life for the villagers and improving life for people not just in Morrocco or Northern Africa but potentially the entire world.

I love that the concept of sustainability isn’t just a definition it shows how it is in every day things, and those every day things lead to big things that are both tangible and ideological. The author/illustrator acknowledges his own surprise and bias when he learned that the largest solar power plant was in Nothern Africa. I love that some of the females wear hijab, and some do not, and that the teacher and some of the parents at the solar plant are female. There is nothing religious even mentioned in the book, but the visibly Muslim characters are empowering and honest for a story about science and Morocco.

Oct5

Yusra Swims by Julie Abery illustrated by Sally Deng

Posted on October 5, 2020 by islamicschoollibrarian

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Yusra Swims by Julie Abery illustrated by Sally Deng

This 32 page biography told in sparse rhyme about Yusra Mardini is powerful in its minimal text and realistic illustrations. Children as young as six could easily read it, but I think older kids will be more moved by the story of a 17 year old girls Olympic swimming dreams being derailed by war, and the difficult journey her and her sister took to escape. With no more than 10 words on each two page spread, the vocabulary is more suited to perhaps third grade and up.

Yusra lives in Syria and dreams of the Olympics. She trains even as conflict grows in the country. When it gets bad, she has to flee, her father can only afford to send her and her sister. Smugglers are paid and they leave. They take on the open sea, and her and her sister steer the boat through the water when the engines stall. Once they reach land, and pray, they are stared at. A kind stranger offers her shoes. They continue on land by foot, bus and train. They finally reach Berlin.

Once settled, she resumes her training, and a fact page at the end shares how the International Olympic Committee invited her in 2016 to join the Refugee Olympic Team and compete in Rio de Janeiro. And thus she achieved her dream and was able to swim in the Olympics.

There is nothing religious in the book, except when she is leaving and is hugging a woman in hijab. Presumably it is her mother, and thus I’m assuming that she too is Muslim. When you google it some articles say she grew up in a muslim family while others say she is Christian, so I really have no idea.

Sep25

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

Posted on September 25, 2020 by islamicschoollibrarian

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

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!

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.

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.

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

Sep14

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

Posted on September 14, 2020 by islamicschoollibrarian

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

This 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Sep11

Betty Before X by Ilyasah Shabazz with Renee Watson

Posted on September 11, 2020 by islamicschoollibrarian

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Betty Before X by Ilyasah Shabazz with Renee Watson

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.

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.

Aug3

A Girl Called Genghis Khan: How Maria Toorpakai Wazir Pretended to Be a Boy, Defied the Taliban, and Became a World Famous Squash Player by Michelle Lord illustrated by Shehzil Malik

Posted on August 3, 2020 by islamicschoollibrarian

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A Girl Called Genghis Khan: How Maria Toorpakai Wazir Pretended to Be a Boy, Defied the Taliban, and Became a World Famous Squash Player by Michelle Lord illustrated by Shehzil Malik

This children’s biography of Maria Toorpakai Wazir, Pakistan’s world famous squash player, is simplified and suitable for children 2nd grade and up. At 42 pages with bright illustrations older kids will understand a little bit more about the cultural norms that were being oppressive and the strength and risks Maria took to play a sport she loved and defy the Taliban while disguising herself as a boy. Younger children will probably only get her determination and perseverance, which is impressive in its own right.

In 1990, Maria was born in the mountains of the Tribal Areas in Pakistan. Conservative society and strict gender roles amplified by the control of the Taliban in 2001. Maria’s parents supported rights for their sons and daughters, and allowed Maria to cut her hair, dress like a boy, and play sports.

Her father called her Ghenghis Khan after the great warrior and when the family moved to the city of Peshawar he even introduced her as his son to people. As Ghenghis, Maria was always picking fights and encouraged instead to play sports to channel her wildness.

She fell in love with the game of squash, and when she went to join the Squash Club she had to submit her birth certificate which revealed that she was a girl. The director let her join the club, as the only girl among 400 boys. But now her secret was out.

She was bullied and her family ridiculed, but she kept playing and kept winning. The President of Pakistan awarded her honors for her outstanding achievements, but that infuriated the Taliban and they threatened her family.

As a result Maria had to hide, and would practice at night, in secret, and for 3 years she played against the wall in her bedroom. Appealing to squash clubs around the world for help, she finally heard from Jonathon Power in Canada, willing to help her get away from the Taliban and be able to play.

She left behind everything she knew at 20 years old to train in Toronto. She still represented Pakistan in tournaments. She studied, she prayed, she succeeded. She now is back in Pakistan establishing health clinics, sports clubs, and schools for girls and boys.

The story is inspirational, and well told, it shows how culture limited her, not religion, and that in a larger city, culture was a little less conservative. Muslim and non Muslim children will be inspired by her efforts, her willingness to look like a boy and her determination to excel. Muslim kids will enjoy that it shows her praying, but might be surprised to see her in shorts and tank tops. The book would be a great conversation starter about women’s rights and how it isn’t just in Pakistan that women struggle to have equal opportunity and respect. It also might many children’s first exposure to the sport of squash.

There is an afterward at the end with more information. A list of additional reading about other inspirational women, a selected bibliography and a highlight timeline of female firsts in sports.

Islamic School Librarian

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

Category Archives: Non Fiction

That Can Be Arranged: A Muslim Love Story by Huda Fahmy

The Cat Man of Aleppo by Irene Latham and Karim Shamsi-Basha illustrated by Yujo Shimzu

Solar Story: How One Community Lives Alongside the World’s Biggest Solar Plant by Allan Drummond

Yusra Swims by Julie Abery illustrated by Sally Deng

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

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

Betty Before X by Ilyasah Shabazz with Renee Watson

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

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

A Girl Called Genghis Khan: How Maria Toorpakai Wazir Pretended to Be a Boy, Defied the Taliban, and Became a World Famous Squash Player by Michelle Lord illustrated by Shehzil Malik