Tag Archives: boat

My Baba is the Best by Bachar Houli illustrated by Debby Rahmalia

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My Baba is the Best by Bachar Houli illustrated by Debby Rahmalia

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This 32 page horizontal picture book by an Australian footballer starts out much like a list detailing why a little girl loves her Baba, after a few pages though of more superficial delights, the book gets deeper.  It shows the family making duas at bedtime, going to the masjid on Fridays, it even gives a little insight into Eid and fasting before it then takes readers on a camping trip.  There isn’t really a story or plot, but the bouncing around fits the narrator’s point of view and will appeal to the intended target audience.  The book is mainstream published by Penguin in Australia, so I absolutely love the inclusion of Islam, the mom in hijab, the dad’s beard and the love shown between the little girl and her Baba.  Sometimes celebrity books feel a little forced, but having never heard of this athlete, I still found the book incredibly sweet and joyful, and the illustrations by a Muslim illustrator a great amplification of the simple heartfelt text.

The book starts with a little girl rushing to give her Baba a hug on the field as fans cheer in the background.  After all her Baba gives the best hugs, it then mentions that he is always doing something and shows him washing his boat and jumping on a trampoline with the little girl and her younger sister.  The trio garden, exercise, ride bikes, train and go fishing. They also watch movies at the theater or at home with the whole family. At night Baba reads special prayers to protect them while they sleep.

On Fridays, the family goes to the mosque for prayers, and the most special time is when they all go for Eid in their best clothes.  They listen to the imam and give donations to those in need. They open presents and after fasting they eat Lebanese pizza before going to visit teta and jeddo.

The best time is when they go camping.  They all set up the tent, and get sticks to roast marshmallows.  They even see kangaroos eating dinner before heading back to eat theirs.  On many of the pages it is just the girl and her Baba, but even when the whole family is present, the focus is on the strong relationship between the two.

The book is very endearing and as a daddy’s girl myself, I love seeing the relationship unfold on the pages with big things, and little things, fun things, and reflective things, and from the little girl’s point of view.  The book is not readily available in the United States, I purchased mine from Book Depository, where they offer free shipping.

Zenobia by Morten Durr illustrated by Lars Horneman

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Zenobia by Morten Durr illustrated by Lars Horneman

img_8794There is a reason that this 93 page graphic novel is labeled as “Teens.”  There may only be 300 or so words in the entire book, and the pictures at times are very basic, but oh subhanAllah is it devastating. Real, unfortunately, but I was not expecting my heart to be shredded and for me to be haunted by the framing and perspective of the story.  I read a fair amount of books both fiction and nonfiction regarding Syrian refugees and I try not to ever become numb to the plight of so many, but this book was such a reminder that things don’t always turn out well, that sometimes no matter how inspired your life is to follow in the footsteps of a warrior queen, there isn’t always hope.  That no matter how brave you are, horrible things will still happen, and that sometimes there is no one to hear your cries and pleas, and for so many in this cruel world, there is only silence.

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SYNOPSIS:

The book starts with Amina on a crowded makeshift book in the ocean, the boat capsizes and we are thrust back in to her memories of playing hide-and-seek with her mother.  The juxtaposition of her little body playing a game hoping not to be found with her limp body in the ocean begging to be found is stark.  The memories then take us back to her mom preparing dolmas with only rice and salt, since that is all that is left.  Her father jokes that they are too salty.  The ocean is salty as well, and the memories continue to flow.  Her parents go to the market and she is not able to go with them.  It doesn’t tell why, but her mother reminds her to be strong and brave like Zenobia. Her mother often reminds her of the Syrian warrior queen who was the most beautiful woman in the whole world, who ruled, fought, and rode like a man.

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Her parents don’t return.  She waits and waits.  There are attacks, an uncle comes to take her away.  They pass destruction and rubble and sleep in the road.  Her body starts to sink in the water.  Her uncle finds some fisherman, he gives them all his money, but it is only enough for one to go on the boat.  He sends her. A kind lady on the boat shares a bit of food, before the boat flips over.  Her body is lost in the ocean, hoping to be found, voiced only as a whisper inside her head.

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WHY I LIKE IT:

I really don’t like it.  That isn’t to say it isn’t well done and powerful.  It is hard to finish though.  You really hope she will be plucked out of the water even though a part of you know she won’t.  I made me kids read it.  It rocked them.  In a good way I think, I hope.  We can never forget how privileged we are, although we do all the time.  Books like this remind us how quickly it can all change and how we at the bare minimum need to be acutely aware of what others go through.  If it is hard to read, imagine living it.

The book is Danish, I don’t know if it is translated or originally in English.  It says that it won the Danish National Illustration Award in 2017, so I’m not sure how much to critique phrasing, but I wasn’t a huge fan of how Zenobia was presented as riding, leading, and ruling like a man.  I’m pretty sure she did those things better than MOST men.  Having her stature be glorified as being that equal to a man weakened her and her accomplishments.  Yes, doing what she did at a time when many women were not allowed to do it is impressive, but she was great in her own right, not just in comparison to the male gender.

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FLAGS:

For teens nothing. For younger kids, under 10, it is subtle, but too devastating in my opinion.  Tweens should read it with some discussion, they should know it isn’t always happy and hopeful, but use your discretion if they can handle a drowning, loss of parents, and destruction.

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TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:

This book is too short for a book club, but I think families should consider it and talk about it.  Syria and many other nations may not be headline news at the moment in America, but that doesn’t mean wars and their far reaching implications have stopped.  It just means we have grown weary and changed the channel.

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