Category Archives: preschool

Dec12

“Granny, Where Does Allah Live?” by Yasmin Kamal illustrated by Citra Lani

Posted on by
Standard
“Granny, Where Does Allah Live?” by Yasmin Kamal illustrated by Citra Lani

 

This 32 page picture book for 3-6 year olds takes readers and listeners on a car ride with Granny as questions are asked, sights are seen, and love is spread.  The rhyme is actually pretty decent, the explanation of Allah swt being on a throne above us wherever we are adhered to, and the illustrations are bright, bold, and have a lot to hold little one’s interest.  Overall, the banter between the kids and their Granny, the drive to the mosque being filled with joy and love, make me overlook a lot of little annoyances.  The book packs a lot in, but the voice and tone is easy and I think most kids will see the connection of asking where Allah is, to asking why we have to go to the mosque, to why it is important to talk to Allah swt in our prayers, etc., as a way to have their own questions touched upon.  I do wish the book was a little bigger and perhaps hardbound, to make story time sharing a possibility, the book is 7.5 x 7.5, so good for little hands and sufficient for in lap reading.  The book concludes with three activities that incorporate a few of Allah’s beautiful names.

The book starts out with a young boy and girl excited to be spending the day with their Granny and going on a ride in her special car.  No idea why it is special, but it is purple and has flowers painted on it, so lets go! The kids love to ask Granny questions when they drive.  So after saying bismillah, they wonder why people don’t have tails or shells on their backs, or where they are going, or if they can have ice creams. 

As they head to the mosque to meet Grandad  they wonder if that is where Allah (swt) lives.  Granny tells them no, so they ask if He lives in the sky, when she says no, they wonder about in the trees or in the sea.  Finally she says that they “don’t have to go anywhere to find Allah, His throne is above us where ever we are.”

She then details how we can be reminded of Allah in things around us, nature, animals, land formations and then tells the children Allah is the most generous friend and it is important to talk to Him in our prayers. The children ask what we can tell Him, and Granny shares that we can tell Him everything and anything because He always hears.

Granny then explains that when we do good, we make Allah swt happy and when we aren’t nice we make him sad.  So then the kids want to know why we have to go to the mosque, Granny replies, to be part of a community.

The book is a string of questions, so it doesn’t come across as overly preachy, even though it is Islamic fiction, and the voice is natural.  It sounds like a conversation a grandma and some kids would have, I’m guessing the book was spawned by some real life experiences.  My kids and my mom definitely have this relationship.

 All this though, isn’t too say the book is perfect.  If  you read my reviews, you know there is always going to be a little nudge to try and elevate it from my perspective for the next go round. So with that in mind, the book does read a little long, the tangents get a little away from the simple articulate answer of stressing where Allah swt is, the text runs over the pictures a few too many times, and the people praying are not foot-to-foot shoulder-to-shoulder.  There are no salutations, saw, or asterisks after Allah. The word Jummah is not used although they are going to the mosque on Friday and a lot of people are gathering in the day, and the word mosque is used, not masjid.

The pictures are fun and will appeal to kids, especially when the car goes all magic school bus and starts flying, and going underwater.  I hope this is the first book in the series as it really does have potential to present answers to kids questions in a joyful colorful way.

Book available on Amazon 

 

Dec9

A Sense of Gratitude: Exploring the Five Senses by Halimah Bashir illustrated by Laila Ramadhani

Posted on by
Standard
A Sense of Gratitude: Exploring the Five Senses by Halimah Bashir illustrated by Laila Ramadhani

img_4855

As a story time host for littles, you always need books about the five senses.  Additionally as a story reader at an Islamic school, thanking Allah swt while talking about your senses and the world around us is a staple year after year.  So purchasing this book with large adorable pictures and claims of rhyme was an easy decision to make, and while it will get used, sigh, the rhyme and lacking rhythm is terrible.  There’s also frequent illogical sentence structures and a bizarre tangent- two pages on wafting.  The book is for toddlers through kindergarteners, not kids learning experiment safety protocols.  @muslimkidsbooknook did a wonderful Instagram post regarding rhyme in kid’s books, and this book really would have benefitted from some additional editing and outside eyes reading the book aloud repeatedly.  That being said, the book will still be used and will be enjoyed with real time editing.  A positive about the book, in addition to the illustrations, is Allah (swt) in Arabic script.  But overall, it really could have, and should have been so much better.

The book starts with a note to grown ups reminding them to stress the importance of being grateful and exploring God’s creation.  It starts with what eyes can be used for, stressing the beauty in nature. and moves to the nose, and has the pages on wafting chemicals, enjoying baked goods, and saying please pardon when passing bad smells.

Tongue is next and stresses that sweets are not nutritious, and then assumes that veggies and fruits are unliked by children, but the narrator admits that they enjoy consuming them.  Hands and skin- touch and feel, and also convey love.  As an FYI- the text states and illustrations show kids petting a dog. The final sense of ears and the gift of hearing wraps up the book.

I’m terrible at grammar, really bad, but even I know not to say “colors like purple,” it should be colors “such as” purple, not “smells like Teta’s baked cookies,” but smells “such as” Teta’s baked cookies.  The formatting on a spread seems off as well with “Like slimy frogs” being under a a two line refrain and the rest of the sentence, “and hairy dogs…” being on the next page with another line and a half, it throws you off when reading aloud to keep some rhyme and rhythm going, every. single. time. On some pages the chopping of normal speech structure to make the “rhyme” is difficult to understand, and I don’t think the glossary, nor putting (God) in English was particularly necessary.

My favorite pages are when they tie directly back to ibadah and Islam, hearing the athan, using your hands to make dua and the little rhyme that starts and concludes the book. Truly the concept makes the book important on a shelf and the illustrations make it attractive, the text needs some editing.

img_4866

Nov25

Iman’s Sunnah Adventures: Mama Once Told Me by Sharifah Huseinah Madihid illustrated by Lakhaula S. Aulia

Posted on by
Standard
Iman’s Sunnah Adventures: Mama Once Told Me by Sharifah Huseinah Madihid illustrated by Lakhaula S. Aulia

img_4560

This adorable 36 page board book had me laughing as a mom watching the increasing exasperation and dishevelment of the poor mother in the book page after page.  The book focuses on the sunnahs of welcoming guests, but the interpretations are the efforts and understandings of a small child being overly helpful, and the toll it takes on his parents.  The humor, the presentation, the introduction to various sunnahs is well done for little ones and their caregivers alike.  The book has not released yet, I viewed an e-version and I’m assuming the final spread is a lift the flap review of sunnahs.  Nothing is sourced, and salutations on Prophet Muhammad ﷺ are denoted by an asterisk throughout the book with a footnote at the end.  There are two books in the series and both share sunnahs, humor, and the main character Iman.

img_4561

The book starts with Iman feeling bored as his parents prepare for the arrival of guests.  Iman then remembers something Mama once told me (him), “That the Prophet* said cleanliness is half of eeman…” and with that the little one is off to help clean. Bubbles and more mess later, Iman is proud of himself and his parents are shocked and the bigger mess that greets them.

img_4562

Up next is recalling that Prophet Muhammad ﷺ “would make a special seat to honor his guests” and Iman decides that glitter will be a great way to fulfill that sunnah.  When Iman is sent to get himself ready, more fulfillment occurs until Mama is exhausted and Iman finds a way to fulfill the sunnah of making his parents happy.

img_4563

The book might be a little above level of a toddler, but I think the silliness makes it a great introduction to sunnahs and will be a joy to read over and over again.

For more information about availability you can check the publisher’s website

Nov14

Basking in My Brown by Fatima Faisal illustrated by Anain Shaikh

Posted on by
Standard
Basking in My Brown by Fatima Faisal illustrated by Anain Shaikh

This picture book celebrating brown skin, particularly in girls, and specifically from a Desi culture point of view, takes on the notion of dark brown skin not being as ideal as compared to lighter skin.  If this is not a concept you are familiar with, I don’t think that the book will hit home, but as someone who has heard this refrain of staying out of the sun to not get darker since childhood, aimed at my friends and cousins (I turn red and burn in the sun), I do appreciate this owning and pushing back on a ridiculous colorist mindset. I don’t love the “magic” diction choice, and there is nothing Islamic in the book, save some covered heads that could be religiously inspired, or culturally, or even weather related, and I’m not sure if the author or illustrator identify as Muslim, but I’m sharing anyway because I know young Pakistani girls particularly, hear this colonial mindset messaging still, and I support undermining it.  This book is not about systemic oppression and racism and taking up space, this book is internal cultural acknowledgement of a pointless beauty notion.

A young girl begins the book telling of things she loves: trips to Pakistan to fly kites with her Dada, her mother’s dinner parties, swimming, climbing trees, but most of all she loves basking in the sun.  One day while playing with her friend Zoya in the warm sun, Zoya abruptly says she should go in before she gets too dark.  The protagonist counters that she loves all the shades her beautiful brown turns and equates it to magic.

She holds out her hand to show her magical brown skin shimmering, and connects the beautiful brown to the brown clay pot her Nani used to carry water in, the brown shawl her mother wore when coming to a new home, the brown of the henna her sister puts on, etc..  She says her brown skin has its own story of being proud, brave, courageous, soft, sweet, and fearless.

Zoya decides she likes the magic and decides to stay and bask in the sun. The author on the final spread raches out to brown girls to own, embrace, and celebrate their brown skin.

Oct31

Call Me By My Name: 99 Names of Allah by Ayesha N. Rahmaan illustrated by Azra Momin

Posted on by
Standard
Call Me By My Name: 99 Names of Allah by Ayesha N. Rahmaan illustrated by Azra Momin

If you are going to put out a book that has been done hundreds of times before; think numbers, alphabets, Islamic phrases- then be sure and make your book stands out.  And while yes there are numerous English and Arabic books of all sizes about the beautiful names of Allah, this book does in fact stand out.  The shiny cover, with or without the dusk jacket, the sturdiness in your hands, the illustrations, the large font and easy to read English and Arabic (with harakat), is an absolute joy to read, look through, and talk about with children four and up.  The book works in a lot of settings for a lot of ages because of its simplicity, presentation, and appeal.  Kids will pull this off the shelf and look at it without prompting, just as adults can discuss the names, and build lessons off of the ayats included.  The versatility of the book is why I’m stretching out of my comfort zone of fictional reads to review this Islamic non fictional book.

The book starts with establishing that the 25 of 99 names included are those “specifically mentioned in the Holy Quran, with a reference to the surah and aya where each name can be found.”  It shares an aya about the Asmaa Al Husna and a hadith narrated by Abu Huraira and then starts right in.

Most of the names are given a two page spread, a few are only given one, and the English, Arabic, aya, and source are provided.  The illustrations are joyful children and nature scenes.  The book concludes with a spread of all 99 names in English and Arabic with the translations.

You can purchase a copy here.

Oct10

My First Book About Salah: Teachings for Toddlers and Young Children by Sara Khan illustrated by Ali Lodge

Posted on by
Standard
My First Book About Salah: Teachings for Toddlers and Young Children by Sara Khan illustrated by Ali Lodge

img_3719

Looking at the books in the series, reading them to my children, getting the latest one delivered to my doorstep: every step along the way makes me smile, alhumdulillah.  The soft warm illustrations and impressive amount of information lovingly conveyed in board book form really makes the series a staple for young children.  The newest addition to the series is about Salah, and I love that the framing is that prayer is a blessing, it doesn’t open with listing the five daily prayers, it begins with Isra wal Miraj.  It sets the tone that prayer is special and beautiful and a gift.  It does eventually list the five required prayers, the words of the athan, Fatiha in English and Arabic, steps of wudu, and parts of salah, but the way it is woven together is seamless and so much more than just lists of information.  With ayats from the Quran sprinkled in, the book flows from one focus to the next, leaving the end as always, for facts and questions.  Appropriate for ages two and up, this 26 page board book can and will still inspire and teach older kids.

The only pause this book gave me were the illustrations.  There is not a single page where the people praying are standing shoulder to shoulder, foot to foot.  I could see if in a few pictures the creative liberty, or Covid reality manifest itself in the pictures, but whether it is a family praying, or people in a masjid, there is a gap between the individuals, and that seemed off to me.  Additionally because of the spacing in all the pictures, the pictures where perhaps the people are not praying together, but are just shown to be making tasleem or the illustration that all Muslims of all colors and all professions and all abilities pray, it almost seems to show men and women praying together.  I don’t know that the toddlers in the audience will notice, but perhaps be aware of it if when reading it to your children.  Aside from that the illustrations show the global faith of Islam and the beauty that we all worship together.

Available to purchase here and I’m sure it will be stocked by Crescent Moon as well.  Oh PS it also comes with a sheet of stickers.

Sep27

Dear Black Child by Rahma Rodaah illustrated by Lydia Mba

Posted on by
Standard
Dear Black Child by Rahma Rodaah illustrated by Lydia Mba

dear black child

This beautiful 32-page picture book by Muslim author Rahma Rodaah radiates joy through the text and illustrations.  The powerful and lyrical words on the page inspire confidence to take up space and encourage celebration through their messaging and tone.  My three-year-old enjoyed me reading it aloud, it kept his focus and his interest, and my seven-year-old read it over my shoulder and then numerous time on his own.  The sway and images painted by the text are so well refined that you could truly read this book a dozen times and still be moved by the passages.  The illustrations compliment the author’s message in their reflection of Black children of all shapes, sizes, shades, and mobility.  There is even a visibly Muslim woman in hijab (#muslimintheillustration) that looks like the author herself.

img_3431

I look forward to sharing this book with various story times in the community, in my children’s classes, and in regular rotation at my own home.  Framed as a letter to a beautiful Black child, the book speaks to “you.”  It starts with encouraging you to stand in your own light, take up space, say your name proudly, and proclaim your native tongue.

img_3430

It inspires the Black child to speak confidently, roam freely, to be rooted, yet move swiftly. To write the books and tell the stories that only they can tell, and to trust their inner compass.  It also reassures them that they are not alone, that there are those that will always help, always cheer them on, and remind them of their glory.

img_3432

The book is as powerful as it is beautiful and I hope it finds a home on every classroom, library, and home bookshelf.  I purchased mine here.

img_3434

Sep5

Egypt by Aya Khalil illustrated by Magda Azab

Posted on by
Standard
Egypt by Aya Khalil illustrated by Magda Azab

egypt

This sweet board book is part of a series, the other two books are Japan and France, releasing in October.  All are brightly illustrated, 20 page books for ages zero to four and take the littlest of readers into a country, through sights, experiences, foods and language.  This particular book does not feature any visible #muslimsintheillustrations but the author is Muslim, and so I am reviewing and sharing it here.

egypt5

The framing of the book is a day in the life of a little girl, who wakes up with bosas from her mama and baba and greetings of Ahlan.  Some of the words are written in Arabic script with the English transliteration and pronunciation provided, other times it is just the English transliteration of the Arabic with the pronunciation asterisked and written smaller immediately below the text.

egypt3

Once she is awake, she gets dressed, brushes her teeth and is off with her baba to buy pita and ful.  The busy street offers sights to see and fruits to pick from.  She ponders and asks herself and the readers which one to choose.

img_2209

At her Teita and Geddos there is dancing and tabla playing before walking back home along the Corniche.  Dinner is served and bedtime has arrived. The book concludes with a summary of her day linking the Arabic words to the illustrations and English meaning, as well as some pronunciation tips for the Arabic sounds.

egypt1

As a Muslim reviewer I had to hope there might be one hijab clad woman in the illustrations, I know many Muslims don’t cover and Egypt is diverse, but considering the lens I review from, I feel obligated to state that opinion.

egypt2

A little more critically, I was a bit surprised on the page with the colorful boats that the color names yellow, blue, and purple, were not included in Arabic and only in English.  Seemed that would have been an naturally and easy inclusion.

Overall, the book did a good job of celebrating Egypt without over explaining, keeping it bright and engaging for toddlers.  I really like the language being shared in a story context, not just a book with a picture on it and words in different languages.  I also liked that while the details were Egypt specific, there were also pages that were universal.

Available for preorder and purchase here

Aug29

Mona’s Scrapbook Adventure by Nouha Deliou illustrated by Kadhima Tung

Posted on by
Standard
Mona’s Scrapbook Adventure by Nouha Deliou illustrated by Kadhima Tung

mona

Algerian culture, as far as I’ve seen, is incredibly underrepresented in western literature and not represented at all in children’s books.  I love that this author, who felt the same- did something about it.  This 40 page colorful story incorporates Algerian traditions and culture with universal themes of sibling love, wedding excitement, and being sad about change.  The OWN voice warmth shows Muslim characters in America holding to traditions and making new ones.  The book is long, but is not text heavy.  For toddlers and preschoolers up to second grade, I can see readers enjoying the detailed descriptions of the dresses and foods, and feeling the feelings of little Mona as her beloved older sister prepares for her wedding and ultimately leaving with her husband.

img_2564

The book starts on the morning of the big day, Layla’s engagement.  Mama explains to Mona that the Imam will do the kitab and that her older sister is excited because she has known Ahmed since school and likes him a lot.  Once dressed Mona watches Layla get ready in traditional Algerian clothes.

img_2565

When Ahmed and his family arrive, he and Layla announce that after the wedding they will be moving from New York to Arizona.  Mona is devastated, as the women start to zaghreet in celebration. She wonders if she can go with them, but decides she can’t leave her parents.  Later that night, Layla and Mona chat and decide that Mona will help plan for the wedding and they will make a scrapbook.

img_2566

Over the next few months, clothes are bought, cakes are tasted, flowers are decided upon, and Arayech is made.  The night of the henna is fun, but then it is the wedding, and then time for Layla and Ahmed to go. Happy tears and promises to always be connected conclude the story before a scrapbook page for the readers is revealed to make their own designs.  That is followed by a glossary, and information about the author and illustrator.

img_2567

I love the detail about the different cultural and regional Algerian dresses in the illustrations, the Algerian traditions shared through the text, and the connection between the two sisters. The book is available in hard back or paper back and I got mine from Crescent Moon Store  

https://crescentmoonstore.com/products/monas-scrapbook-adventure?sca_ref=1601585.fIPhoqtScY

Aug22

That’s Not My Name by Anoosha Syed

Posted on by
Standard
That’s Not My Name by Anoosha Syed

not my name

I have been looking forward to this book, as I’ve enjoyed so many of the illustrations the author has created for other authors, and was anxious to see what kind of story she would write for her own authorial debut.  Unfortunately, the book didn’t wow me.  It is rather forgettable, the book conflates notions of not being able to pronounce someone’s name with not being memorable and with not having a “normal” name, and then recognizing how so many classmates have unique names too.  A bit scattered in messaging, and overall reading like an adult talking, not a young girl of four or five, on her first day of school.  No doubt the illustrations are beautiful, and the book isn’t “bad” or a “waste of time,” but it isn’t a strong clear story.  I’ve seen reviews where people find the little girl rude, and I don’t know that I’d agree with that, she is frustrated and wants to scream, “that’s not my name” when people say it wrong, but I do agree that she could model what to say better and how to handle it.  Not that I expect those with uncommon names to have to carry the weight of making things easy, but the little girl at the end remarks that she has so many new friends at school with “unique, beautiful names, and she always makes sure she says them right,” implying that some dialogue, both about her name and about theirs, takes place to ensure pronunciation is correct, and some “showing” of how that is achieved would be nice.  Before the story starts, on the title page, there is a pronunciation breakdown of Mirha, but not in the text itself. There is nothing Islamic in the book, the Grandmother wears a scarf loosely draped over her head, there is a crescent and moon wall hanging in an illustration, and the girl’s name is claimed to be Arabic in origin.

img_2433

The book starts with it being Mirha’s first day of school.  She is excited to learn, to play, and to make friends, but when no one seems to be able to say her name, she starts to feel shy. Frustrated and sad she decides to change her name, and tells her mom when she gets home.  Her mother tells her, her name is beautiful and why she was named what she is named.  She builds her up and the next day armed with her mother’s words she is ready to make friends and teach them how to say her name. By the end of the book Mirha has friends, and wants to be your (the reader’s) friend too.

img_2434

The voice of the book is inconsistent at times it feels very older kid, almost adult, even though the 40 page book is meant for three to five year olds.  The examples read like an adult reflecting on their childhood struggles with their name, not as a young girl finding her voice and appreciation for the name she has.

img_2435

When Hayden asks if he can call her Maya instead of Mirha it is because Maya is easier.  Kids are hearing all sorts of names for the first time when they enter school, that conversation seems so forced.  Whether the kids are in preschool or daycare or kindergarten, most of the names they are hearing of their classmates are being heard for the first time.  If they watch a lot of tv and YouTube and movies, they have heard a whole variety of names, they are not going to have a dialogue that sounds like that, at that age, just not realistic.  Similarly after the first day of school she wants to change her name to something “normal?” What is a “normal” name even, then the mom even reinforces that notion when saying she knows she named her something “unique and different.”  A concept that returns at the end when asserting that Mirha has friends with lots of unique names.  Seems to go in circles.

img_2436

I appreciate that examples are given about not seeing your name on keychains or having the barista get it right, but again, she is under the age of five, are these really her points of reference for having a less common name than those around her?  When her mother is making the case that she shouldn’t change her name she references that names such as Beethoven and Tchaikovsky and Michelangelo are memorable.  First of all, what (under) five year old knows those names or who those people are, and second of all, now her name is not memorable? I thought it was hard to pronounce? Has she done something worthy of history books and admiration? I get what the author is trying to do, I often tell my students that they need to demand people say their names right.  If they can rattle off names from Pokemon, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and Beyblades, they can say the beautiful names they have been given.  But the kids I am saying it to are not in preschool, nor am I conflating the pronunciation of their names with being names of famous people that are memorable. Additionally, I do not speak Arabic, but a quick Google search does not show that Mirha means happiness in Arabic, and I have heard from native Arab speakers that they also found the meaning off.

img_2437

The illustrations are engaging, the broader message of getting people’s name right and demanding people get your name right is important, it just needed a more age aligning voice and connecting with the reader.

img_2438