Category Archives: preschool

Jul27

Poe Won’t Go by Kelly DiPucchio illustrated by Zachariah Ohora

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Poe Won’t Go by Kelly DiPucchio illustrated by Zachariah Ohora

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This silly book has an abrupt ending, but plenty of giggles along the way that make you forgive the sudden conclusion.  Additionally there is a lot of diversity in the illustrations, a little hijabi girl of color that steals the show, and a lesson about asking and listening that children 4-7 will find sweet and enjoyable.  It is an AR 2.5 and has 36 pages.  Some are text heavy, but my 4 year old had no problem sitting through it with the silly pictures and large 9 x 11.5 size.

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Poe is an elephant that has planted himself in the middle of the only road in Prickly Valley.  The citizens do everything they can think of to get him to move.  They honk, write him a ticket, bang pots and pans, play trombones, blast megaphones, tickle, beg, and bribe.  They even bring in mice, and magnets, and motivational speakers.  Clowns and copters, cranes and pastors, magicians and the mayor, no one can get him to move.

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After lots of discussions involving coffee in stryrofoam cups, a little girl named Marigold, asks the mayor if anyone has asked Poe.  Such an obvious suggestion, the Mayor laughs and says she doesn’t speak elephant.  Little hijabi Marigold says, “anyone can speak elephant if they just listen hard enough.”  She is also fluent in kitten and hedgehog.

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Marigold discovers that Poe is waiting for a friend that is very late.  A reporter asks if the friend could be wearing a polka-dot-tie, it is determined that it is possible and that also perhaps he is sitting on his friend. At that Poe stands up, finds his friend Mo and the two walk off.

The randomness of Poe sitting on his friend made me have to read the story a few times checking to see if a page was missing or stuck together, but alas no, it just suddenly is resolved and ends with no clues indicating that the elephant is sitting on a monkey.

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I love that the name in the text for the little girl is Marigold, and that the illustrator chose to depict her as a little Muslim girl of color.  On many of the other pages with the town folk trying to move the elephant, there are people of all colors, body shapes, hairstyles, head gear, eye wear, facial hair, body art, etc shown.  Marigold seems to be at work with her father at their flower shop, and the mayor is a female.

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There is nothing religious in the book, save a pastor trying to persuade the elephant to get behind him, and it doesn’t appear that the author or illustrator are Muslim (it is published by Disney Hyperion) which in someways makes the normalizing of a girl in hijab all the more sweeter.  Sure, someone her age wouldn’t be required to cover, but the message and representation is deliberate and appreciated.

Jul20

The Green Dinosaur Umbrella: A Hajj Story by Amina Banawan illustrated by Rania Hasan

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The Green Dinosaur Umbrella: A Hajj Story by Amina Banawan illustrated by Rania Hasan

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This 36 page Hajj story covers the steps of Hajj by following a green dinosaur umbrella as it gets passed around to those that need it more than the person who currently holds it.  A great story for ages 4 to 8, the large 8.5 by 11 colorful pages-full of diversity, kindness, and bits of information help inspire and amuse our little Muslims.

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Ibrahim is getting ready for hajj and picks out a green dinosaur umbrella to take to Makkah.  When he gets separated from his father while making tawaf, it his umbrella that his father sees to find his grateful son again.

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Outside Ibrahim sees an old man sitting in the hot son and gives him the umbrella realizing the old man needs it more that he does.  The old man takes the umbrella to Mina and makes dua’as for the generous boy at Arafat.

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When a tour leader comes around to hand out water and juice, the old man determines that he needs it more than he does and passes it on.  The leader carries it toward Jabal Ar-rahma and Muzdalifah.  He is awoken from his sleep by two men arguing and uses the dinosaur to defuse the tension.

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The next morning he sees a mother carrying a young child and gives her the umbrella as the rain starts to come down.  She and the baby are kept dry as they go to throw their pebbles as the jamarat, and kept them dry as they walked back to Mina.

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After they trim their hair and prepare for Eid, she sees a little girl looking sad and gifts her the green dinosaur umbrella. After performing the Sa’ee, her father offers to take her to feed the pigeons and she runs off forgetting the umbrella, as it rolls under a book shelf of Qurans.

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After making his farewell Tawaf, Ibrahim goes to get a Quran for his father and finds his special umbrella peeking out from under the shelves.

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A beautiful fun book that shows the steps of hajj for even the little ones to enjoy all while teaching lessons about generosity, selflessness, and worshipping Allah swt, alhumdulillah.

Jul6

Salma the Syrian Chef by Danny Ramadan illustrated by Anna Bron

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Salma the Syrian Chef by Danny Ramadan illustrated by Anna Bron

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This 40 page picture book meant for 4-7 year old children is full of diversity, community and love.  The only thing missing, is a recipe for the dish, foul shami, that Salma recruits everyone at the refugee Welcome Center to help her make to cheer up her mom. Possible flag is there is a gay couple featured in the text and illustrations.

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Salma and her mom are refugees from Syria living in Vancouver, and desperately missing Salma’s dad who still has not been able to join them.  When Salma shares her sadness with Nancy at the Welcome Center, she is encouraged to draw her good memories.  And then Salma has the idea to cook a dish from home for her mom. The other kids at the center mention foods they miss, Ayman from Egypt, Riya from India, Evan from Venezuela.   Then the translator, Jad, from Jordan helps her find a recipe online.

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Convincing herself that she can do this, Salma  draws a picture for each of the ingredients since she doesn’t know the names in English.  She then heads to the market with Ayesha from Somalia, an older girl that helps her cross the street, and get the needed groceries.

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Back at the Welcome Center to cook. Malek and Amir, a gay couple from Lebanon help her chop the vegetables and kiss away each others onion tears.  The spices make Salma sneeze, but she can’t find the sumac.

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Granny Donya from Iran has the missing spice and reassures Salma that she can do this.  That is until the olive oil bottle slips and falls and shatters.  With no more money and feeling discouraged, it takes Nancy and everyone else to convince Salma not to give up as the dish is made with love and Mama will love it.

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Everything is set up to surprise Mama with the dish, but once mama comes home and the door bell rings, it is Salma who is surprised with all her friends coming over to bring her olive oil.

Mama laughs and tells Salma her smile is home, and Salma dreams of riding her bike around the Vancouver seawall laughing with her friends and Mama.

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I love the sense of community that it takes to make the dish and that she finds love and support from so many.  I also like her determination to make her mother smile along with her willingness to accept help when she needs it.

I’m assuming the family is Muslim, the mom appears to remove a scarf when she returns home, Ayesha and Granny Donya also wear hijab.

 

 

Jun29

Mae Among the Stars by Roda Ahmed illustrated by Stasia Burrington

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Mae Among the Stars by Roda Ahmed illustrated by Stasia Burrington

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Inspired by the early life story of astronaut Mae Jemison this 36 page AR 3.0 children’s picture book is inspiring and encouraging.  It is not a biography of the first African American woman in space for children, infact with the exception of the note at the end, there really are very few specifics about how she went from being discouraged by a teacher to flying in outer space.  That isn’t to say the book isn’t beautiful and impressive, because it is, and it shows how no one should limit your dreams or your success.  The book radiates warmth and determination and for children, preschool to third grade, if desired, offers a way to start a discussion about racism and sexism all while celebrating the amazing accomplishments of Mae Jemison.

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Mae is a dreamer and her homework one day asks her what she wants to be when she grows up, she tells her family she wants to see the Earth from up there, pointing to the sky.  Her mom tells her that she will have to be an astronaut to do that.  Nervous that it might be too lofty of a goal, her family reassures her that if she can dream it and believe it and work hard for it, that anything is possible.

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From then on, Mae reads books about space from the library, plays pretend, and makes herself a space suit from old curtains and a cardboard box.  She dreams about being in space and looking back at Earth, and she tells everyone she can about her dream to be an astronaut.

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At school when the teacher asks what everyone wants to do and be in the future, Mae’s answer gets her laughed at.  Ms. Bell tries to encourage her to be a nurse instead.  Once home, Mae breaks in to tears that her teacher didn’t believe in her.  Mae’s mom tells her that her teacher was wrong and that she hoped Mae didn’t believe her.  She told Mae that no one could stop her from pursuing her dreams.

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With her family’s unwavering support and a lot of hard work, Mae goes to space. The book ends with her keeping her promise of waving to her parents and looking down on Earth.

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The book touches on a lot of powerful issues that I really hope adults will point out and discuss with their children.  Why her teacher didn’t think she could be an astronaut, not as a belittling of the nursing profession, but as a woman of color what would make her teacher think that was her best option.  When and how should we handle when teachers, or people in authority,  do or say something that we disagree with. I also hope that the note at the end that tells more about Dr. Jemison’s accomplishments is poured over again and again and again and appreciated.  Truly she is a hero!

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There is nothing Islamic in the book, I’m assuming the author is Muslim, but honestly I didn’t find anything in my Google searches that would indicate that she is or isn’t.  It is really just my assumption about the name and my wanting to share this inspiring story with beautiful illustrations with the people who frequent my blog.  Enjoy!

Jun15

Khalil and Mr. Hagerty and the Backyard Treasures by Trisha Springstubb illustrated by Elaheh Taherian

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Khalil and Mr. Hagerty and the Backyard Treasures by Trisha Springstubb illustrated by Elaheh Taherian

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This 32 page book for ages 5-8 is a perfectly presented story about inter-generational and intercultural friendships.  Big on sentiment and heart while keeping the text short allows the compassion the two friends have for each other and their actions of showing how they feel toward one another speak volumes.  The illustrations appear to be cut paper and add to the thoughtfulness that the story presents.

Khalil and his family live upstairs and are noisy.  Mr. Hagerty is quiet and lives downstairs.  The two bond over their love of the back yard.  While Mr. Hagerty works in his garden, Khalil hunts for bugs and rocks and treasure.

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When Khalil doesn’t know a word, Mr. Hagerty teaches him.  When Mr. Hagerty can’t remember a word, Khalil helps him.khalid

That summer it is hot, really hot.  The carrots are all shriveled, and Khalil can’t dig the hard earth for treasures either. So the two decide to have “refreshments,” which means chocolate cake and milk.

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That night, the two friends separately plot to cheer the other up.  They put their plan in to action and, no I’m not going to spoil the sweet acts the two do for each other.  But it is clever and sweet and all the things that make a feel good story stick with you and remind you that age and culture and color are nothing when two people open their hearts to learn and grow.

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There is no reason anyone casually reading the book would think that Khalil is a Muslim, and who knows maybe he isn’t, but the name Khalil caught my attention and the author’s dedication is to a Khalil, Muhammad, Fatima, and Adam.  So yes, I totally am claiming it.  Even if it isn’t, the old white man, and the young boy of color bonding is a great message in-and-of itself that we need to see more of in literature and real life.

 

Jun8

Not Quite Snow White by Ashley Franklin illustrated by Ebony Glenn

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Not Quite Snow White by Ashley Franklin illustrated by Ebony Glenn

 

not quite snow whiteThis 32 page picture book meant for preschool to 3rd grade really should be required reading for EVERYONE.  So many lessons, so beautifully conveyed in the simple text and beautiful illustrations that I made each of my kids read or listen to it and then discuss: self confidence, nay sayers, self esteem, race, passion, body image, kindness, and perseverance to name a few. Accelerated Reader Level is 3.2 as older kids will understand a bit more than the younger ones, but I truly believe all will benefit.  Written by a Muslim woman of color, featuring a girl of color and illustrated by a woman of color, this OWN voice book has it all for girls and boys alike.

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Tameika loves to sing and dance and be on stage in front of an audience (stuffed and unstuffed).  She feels like she can be anything she wants and when her school puts on a production of Snow White she can’t wait to audition to be a princess.

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She arrives early the first day of auditions and helps her friends with their lines and nerves.  But then she hears them whispering that she can’t be Snow White.  “She’s too tall, too chubby, too brown.”

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Their words deflate her as she internalizes their thoughts about her.  She doesn’t feel like singing or dancing and she questions her appearance.  Her mom tries to build her back up.  Her father reinforces her qualities, and slowly she starts to think maybe her parents are on to something.

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The next day she has to face her fears and when she steps out on to the audition stage.  She knows what she loves, she knows the joy it brings her and she has to dig deep to push the negative away and shine.

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Yes, I’m going to spoil the ending, she gets the part and she rocks it, ok I’m projecting based on her smile.  But it truly isn’t about getting the part and excelling at it, it is trusting that you are perfect as you are and confidently owning it.

The book is available everywhere, even the library, so please go get it, read it with your kids and get discussing! Fiction is a great start to talk about racism and fat shaming and all the other things that you think are hard, but kids need to hear and see and talk about from a very early age.

 

Jun1

Alya and the Three Cats by Amina Hachimi Alaoui illustrated by Maya Fidawi

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Alya and the Three Cats by Amina Hachimi Alaoui illustrated by Maya Fidawi

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This sweet 32 page book is the purr-fect way to introduce the arrival of a new baby to toddlers and preschoolers.  Instead of siblings preparing for a new arrival, it is three very different cats that need reassurance that there is enough love to go around.

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Minouche, Pasha, and Amir live with their humans Myriam and Sami, and life is good.  Minouche likes to hide, Pasha is regal, and Amir the Siamese is very curious.  One thing they all have in common though, is they like to curl up on Myriam’s belly.3cats1

And her belly is growing! They are finding it harder to fit, and it even moves. Then one day Myriam and Sami leave early in the morning without even saying good-bye.

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Finally she comes home.  She is carrying a basket and disappears in the room without even acknowledging the cats.  The cats sneak in and see a funny little creature that squeaks.

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Grandma steps in to assure the curious little cats that there is enough love for the new baby, Ayla, and them.  Feeling confident, the proud cats take on protecting their little human and the family full of love.

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There isn’t anything Islamic in the book, but it definitely is culturally rich in the names, illustrations and the author is Moroccan.

The sweet book would be a great way to get siblings comfortable with a new one on the way and let them talk about how the cats thought, felt, and handled the change.  Even children not about to have a new addition will find the silliness and sweetness entertaining and enjoyable.  The pictures are gorgeous and fun and the text and presentation perfect for bedtime, story time, and anytime.

 

 

May25

My First Muslim Potty Book by Yousfa Janjua illustrated by Golnar Servatian

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My First Muslim Potty Book by Yousfa Janjua illustrated by Golnar Servatian

07041C66-B149-48A8-9CC7-B2752984EE68I’m not sure why this book is just coming out now and why I never realized how important it is.  It sounds silly, but we as Muslims are very precise about our bathroom habits and cleanliness and the fact that this is the first book to address it for children is actually, kind of surprising.  But Alhumdulillah, you only need one if it is done well, and over 16 pages of cute illustrated rhyme filled pages, istinja is explained and normalized.  The book is a great tool to use, not only, when potty training toddlers, but also for reviewing with your preschooler when they might be leaving home for the first time and/or seeing other people’s bathroom habits.

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The book starts out with a thorough “Note to Parents” explaining istinja, tahara as well as giving parents some tips to handle potty training in general.  The book starts by noting how you started out as a baby and are now growing and part of the growth has you ready for big kid underwear.

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It talks about what it feels like when you need to go, and how when that feeling happens, you need to hurry to the bathroom.  If you hurry and still have an accident, we (the parents) will clean it up and not to worry.

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The book teaches that you enter with your left foot, and ask for help if you need it.  That you sit down to do your business because poop and pee are najis, impure. You then have to do istinja, which is like a germ fighting ninja!

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It teaches the toddler to call for mom or dad to wash them with the lota or bidet or pot using their right hand to pour and their left to wash.  You then use toilet paper to dry.  After you flush, you wash your hands for 20 seconds, leave with your right foot and be done.

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The book then has a glossary, some ayats of Quran and some Hadith as well as Duas relating to the bathroom.  The 8×8 hardback book is done really well and conveys the key points on a kid’s level, which is great.

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I love that the book uses Islamic Arabic words and shows a diverse family being patient and encouraging.  I am fine with the child illustrated as reading a book while on the toilet, but I think some parents might frown on that.  The book is meant for Muslim kids, and does a good job of showing the practicing family in the illustrations and in the text.

Thank you to Crescentmoonstore.com for their great price and service!