Tag Archives: classmates

Feb9

Tagging Freedom by Rhonda Roumani

Posted on by
Standard
Tagging Freedom by Rhonda Roumani

20801TaggingFreedom

This 282 page OWN voice middle grade book weaves together two points of view that shed light on the recent events in Syria and life as a Syrian American without self-othering or over-explaining.  The characters are Muslim and while yes, I wish there was more Islam woven in,  when it did present itself in more than just a passing “inshaAllah” or “ya rab” it was heartfelt and sincere.  The book has a few plot holes, a plethora of underdeveloped characters, and the religion and cultural components take a backseat to the tropey MG themes of finding your voice, friendships, crushes, fitting in, and having hope. Despite my critiques though, I still found the book focused around graffiti and spirit squad, engaging and hard to put down.  The pacing makes for an easy read, and while the adult reviewer in me wishes there was more depth, insight, consequences, and Islamic references, I definitely appreciated the emotion and framing of this story.  The book does contain a lot of lying, crushes, sneaking out, “vandalism,” breaking laws, and mentions bombings, disappearing, and fear.  The connection though of what has been left behind and experienced in Syria is moving, and I’m glad that a book so relatable to western kids is widely available to be shared with them.

SYNOPSIS:

The chapters alternate between Kareem and his cousin Samira, aka Sam. At the beginning of the book Kareem is in Syria, spending time with his friends graffitiing in protest of Bashar al-Assad and in support of the boys from Dara’a.  They are covering their tracks, sneaking out to join rallies and finding their strength in their art, common goals, and the change that is taking over the country.  Unfortunately, his parents don’t see it that way and decide he needs to be sent to live with his uncle’s family in Massachusetts for his own safety.

Sam is Kareem’s cousin, she is great at reciting Quran, she has a best friend Eleanor who lives across the street, and is an amazing artist.  She sees people as fonts, and dreams of being a part of the school spirit squad.  Her only real problem is Cat, a girl that has bullied her for years and spread rumors about her in the past.  It is never quite articulated what was done and how bad it was, but the fact that Cat is the head of spirit squad, the daughter of influential parents, and the twin sister of Sam’s crush Dylan, has Sam trying desperately to fit in.

When Kareem arrives, he is not happy to be in America.  He calls Sam out for her inability to speak up and with Sam and her bff Ellie on the outs, Sam heads off to her new friends that have allowed her into spirit squad, and Kareem and Ellie start sharing their art around town.

Kareem’s character arc is more subtle, but Sam/Samira, finds herself with the help of her cousin as she channels the yearning of Syrians to set her free in America.

WHY I LIKE IT:
I love that it is Syrian American OWN voice MG, the news cycle has moved on, but stories are so critical to reminding the privileged outsiders what has occurred and continues to endure, so just that this book exists, is a positive for me.  I like that the code switching of being Samira and speaking Arabic at home is so clearly contrasted with Sam at school.  I struggle with the idea of dating not being a religious, but rather a cultural no-no, and her being so obsessed in the beginning with Dylan and then Amari is a bit of flag. By the end they feel like friends, but it is definitely a big part of the first half of the book that could have used some context, same with when she goes out in a tank top.  I wish there was a Muslim conscience that enters the story, to see Sam grappling with who she is from a faith perspective would have been nice.

I love that Kareem comes to America and starts school, it doesn’t have him being meek, or struggling to transition, it really is empowering that he breaks that stereotype just by allowing him to be seen from the very first day as strong and fully fleshed out.  Yes, in real life and in some books the adjustment is a plot point, but in this book it is not, and the author seems to not indulge in it deliberately.

I struggled with a few plot holes. I get that Kareem was frustrated and wanted to educate and be heard, and when Sam can’t stick up for herself and he calls her out, they are both annoyed, but to go from that to graffitiing is a big step.  A few instances of maybe trying to talk about Syria being shut down by teachers, or friends, would have made it a more logical leap.  I worry a little that there wasn’t enough hand holding regarding graffiti as a whole seeing as it is an MG book.  I understand it is expression and art, but there is some element of vandalism to it as well, and because it didn’t connect the dots that street art was the only way to be heard, I bring it up for awareness.

I needed closure on Cat, I didn’t like that we didn’t know more specifics about her torment or her thoughts at the end.  I know the story is not about her, but she was important for much of the story and to have her fade seemed a little short sighted.  I liked Ellie, but her wanting to sticker everything seemed in contradiction to her environmental activism.  Sam’s parents are barely a blip on the radar, and even some details about the supporting cast, really would have made the story that much better.

FLAGS:

Crushes, immodest clothing, lying, sneaking out, boy/girl friendships, boy/girl hugging, vandalism, breaking the law. Hearing about bombings, being taken away by the police, death.

TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:

I don’t think I would use this for book club, but I would have it on the library and classroom shelf.

Jul7

The Unlovable Alina Butt by Ambreen Butt-Hussain

Posted on by
Standard
The Unlovable Alina Butt by Ambreen Butt-Hussain

img_9079

This middle grade book in many ways reads like a memoir, it isn’t, it is OWN voice fiction, but the chapters often come across like short stories with their own climax or punchline.  The lacking continuity of smaller threads being resolved means if you put the book down, you aren’t necessarily itching to pick it back up to see what happens next.  There isn’t a larger pressing conflict driving much of the book, yes the girl is bullied, but by one kid, and she has a great group of friends and a supportive family, so the intensity is just not present.  I do like the growth of the character toward self-acceptance, but I don’t know that the target audience will get the 90s references of Spice Girls,  CDs, lava lamps, and gel pens.  The book hits most of the stereotypical immigrant tropes of feeling othered by one’s name, clothes, food, and while she works through them to deal with the bully and find her own confidence, she unfortunately never deals with her internalized Islamophobia, which is disappointing.  She puts Islam on her parents as something they practice, and only begrudgingly seems to acknowledge she too is Muslim when she doesn’t eat pizza with non halal meat.  She is embarrassed when her friends see Islamic calligraphy at her house, hear the athan, she doesn’t reply to her parents salaams, she calls her mother “the most devout in our family” as the reason she has to wear tights under her skirt: she only seems to ok with being Muslim when outsiders give their approval.  The book for me is mediocre, nothing to rush out and buy, nor anything to pull from shelves.  I’ll send my copy to the Islamic school library shelves as the book is fairly clean: a few giggles about naked statues at the museum and very lightly hinted at boy/girl crushes. The older sister deals with a boy who wants to date her and harasses her to the point of affecting her personality, but I think if a 10 or 11 year old picked up the book and read it, they would be ok to see the characters finding their voice, good friends, and sibling support.

SYNOPSIS:

Eleven year old Alina Butt is in her fourth school in three years since arriving in England from Pakistan.  She never fits in, and never has friends, but she is determined that if she can keep her last name a secret, she might have a chance.  One the third day of 6th grade though, her last name becomes known and Adam Atkins has his eyes set on giving her a hard time.  With encouragement from her older sister and love from her baby brother, Alina puts herself out there to make friends and when the teacher assigns her a new group, she finds herself among three girls happy to welcome her in.  The new group also puts her sitting across from Adam, but at least now she doesn’t have to face him alone.

At home, she navigates life as an immigrant trying to blend her worlds.  Her loving family lives above the grocery store they own and face Islamophobia and settling in together as they each have to find their strength and voice and resilience to drive, stand up to harassment, and for Alina, to love herself.  Alina gets the courage to try out for the school play, but when she lands the part of Gus in Cinderella, she has to dig deep to be happy for her friend, forgive a bully, and step in to the spotlight.

WHY I LIKE IT:

Alina is likeable enough, and I love that she grows to love herself too, I’m not sure she was ever unlovable though as the title suggests.  I don’t like that potentially really big plot points are mentioned and then abandoned.  She cuts her bangs way too short, her mom says something and no one else ever mentions it, and she never brings it up again.  Her dad is so sick he leaves the truck on the side of the road and sleeps and the mom takes care of everything, and what was wrong with the dad is never revisited.  These are just two examples of rising action that present that they are going to be important that are seemingly undermined by the lack of follow through.

I love that she finds a way to stand up to the bully and she even helps her sister deal with the boy antagonizing her.  It is strong and resonates with the reader, but it should also be noted that as soon as she has friends, they are gossiping and being rude to Adam too.  I’m not saying it isn’t warranted, and he definitely is worse, but if she is modeling behavior she should perhaps at least feel bad teasing him even before she knows that he has a bit of a rocky home life.  Plus he is one kid with two stereotypical sidekicks, yeah he is annoying and mean, but she has friends and family and teachers that are completely on her side too.  And Adam bullies her about her name, but no one else even acknowledges it or asks her about it.

I didn’t quite get the schooling, but it is probably because I am American.  She is in middle school, but she has one teacher all day and they play on the soccer fields at break and her kg aged brother does field day with her?   The 90s references were fine for me, but I don’t know that the target audience will get some of them, and it might be a little annoying to get through for younger readers.

Ultimately, the way Islam was presented was really disappointing.  It feels like we should be past the internalized othering of our faith.  The culture was worked through and appreciated internally for Alina, but for some reason, religion was only ok when the outside influences deemed it acceptable, and I’m not sure that in 2023 this angle of narrative is doing anyone any favors.  She loves her mom, and part of the character arc is seeing and appreciating her mother’s strength, but very early on mom is labeled as “devout” even though they are all Muslim.  And this self othering to be the reason her mom is keeping her from dressing like everyone else left a bitter taste in my mouth.  Never once does it feel that Alina has a connection to Allah swt, no matter what she is going through there is no bismillah, or prayer, or dua to ask for help, and strength, or show appreciation.  I absolutely get that not every story will have that, but the way Islam is presented as something foreign and never circled back on or portrayed as something that she embodies, makes all the mentions of faith seem deliberately othering, and as a Muslim book reviewer, I feel it is an important point to mention about this book. I wonder if it was intentional or an oversight sensitivity reading would have helped resolve.

FLAGS:

Birthdays, music, bullying, harassment, teasing, othering, mention of naked statues, some sneaking and dishonesty.

TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:

I wouldn’t use this as a book club selection, and as stated above I wouldn’t rush out to buy the book to shelve at home, in a class or school library, but if it found its way to the shelves I would not remove it.  The book has heart, I just feel like along the way the messaging of finding your voice and putting yourself out there to make friends, the book also hints that the Quran on your walls, modesty, the athaan, eating halal, are all things that are weird, unless your friends think it is cool, then it is ok- and that is not messaging I would really want to spread.

Jun5

The Great Banned-Books Bake Sale by Aya Khalil illustrated by Anait Semirdzhyan

Posted on by
Standard
The Great Banned-Books Bake Sale by Aya Khalil illustrated by Anait Semirdzhyan

banned

This follow-up picture book to The Arabic Quilt, takes readers back to Kanzi’s school, but also works as a standalone for ages 7-10.  Addressing the hot topic of book banning, the fictional story brings the discussion down to an elementary level and shows kids speaking up and pushing back against something they don’t agree with.  The main character finds a connecting thread to events in Egypt, and with her class and family behind her, she finds her voice and takes the lead.  The story bounces around a bit and feels a little rough and underdeveloped at times, but the subject matter is important and can be used to help guide discussions, encourage peaceful protesting, and taking action.  There is nothing Islamic specific in the text, the main character’s mom and teita wear hijab and are in the illustrations (#muslimsintheillustrations), in a memory of Egypt there is a man holding a cross.  The author is Muslim and mentions it in the Author’s Note at the end.

banned1

The book starts with Kanzi leading the class to the library, she passes the Arabic quilt she helped bring to life and walks a little taller.  She has promised her Teita she will bring home a book with Arabic words from the library, but when she walks in to the library, the “bookcase where the new diverse books were displayed has been emptied.”  The librarian explains that the books have been banned.  That the school district, like many others around the country, have decided certain books are not allowed. Kanzi is upset, but her classmates “gather near (her) in solidarity. They want her to know that they care, too.”

banned 2

Back in class the teacher opens up the discussion, and Kanzi can’t find her words.  Kareem says it is unfair and when the teacher explains that people are responding by protesting, writing letters, and buying more copies of banned books.  Kanzi finds her voice and suggests a bake sale.  Kareem suggests they raise money to buy books that are banned and call it “The Great Banned-Books Bake Sale and Protest.” Molly adds that they can put the books in Little Free Libraries. The class agrees that Friday will be the day, that baked foods inspired by books that are banned will be sold to raise funds to buy more banned books, and the local news station will be invited to broadcast the protest.

banned 3

Kanzi helps Teita make baklawa from a book they once read, while her grandma tells her stories of protesting in Tahrir Square.  Teita held a banner and demanded rights for the people of Egypt. Friday comes, and the kids are determined to be heard, as the crowd grows, Kanzi’s nerves also grow, but her strength comes from those that support her and who have also spoken up to be heard.

I enjoyed the illustrations and the backmatter.  The inclusion of a baklawa recipe and insight to how this story came about with the banning of The Arabic Quilt, definitely adds to the book’s appeal.  I felt a little disconnect though from the emotions of the book, and oddly enough, little connection to the characters.

I wish it would have shown her joy when she first saw the diverse book display.  How it made her feel seen and valued and included to see books that reflected her and her classmates.  Then we, the readers,  would feel the pain too, now that they are gone.

I also was a little unsure of the scene when all the kids gather around Kanzi in solidarity, why is she the only one upset? Is it that they care about her or that they care that the books are no longer available? Sure it can be both, but again, as it is written, it isn’t particularly strong.

img_8594

I’m not sure why the three characters named in the book Kanzi, Kareem, and Molly, do not have their names shown on the Arabic quilt pictured in the illustrations, and I also don’t know why it bothered me that the book banned that had baklawa/baklava was not named.  I don’t care that it isn’t a real book, but I wanted a title to make the case of how ridiculous this ban is more articulate.  Additionally, I love Little Free Libraries, but it seemed tossed in without much fleshing out. The book doesn’t explain what Little Free Libraries are, so I’m not sure that kids will even understand the plan.

The book is a decent read, I don’t know that the climax or characters will be memorable on their own, which is unfortunate because connection with the success or failure of this fictionalized book ban really could have radiated out of the book and deeply inspired kids.  The reversal of the boards decision doesn’t directly link to the kids’ actions.  I had to provide that link to my own kid when I read the book to him (he is almost 8).  It is implied, but a line or two about how the kids protest encouraged other people to also speak up, or write letters, or that the school board attended the bake sale, would have shown that when voices amplify it is hard to ignore them.

The book has value on the shelf and can be preordered here https://amzn.to/3C5Baaj

Jan2

The Great Labne Trade by Eman Saleh illustrated by Eilnaz Barmayeh

Posted on by
Standard
The Great Labne Trade by Eman Saleh illustrated by Eilnaz Barmayeh

labne

My friend Noura, owner of Crescent Moon Store, said this book was good, so when I saw the amazing illustrations on the cover, I didn’t even look into what the book was about, I bought it and waited impatiently for it to arrive.  When it came I started reading it and thought ok, ok another book about lunch food that is perceived as “other” and the bullying that ensues with having a “smelly” lunch.  But the bullying never really came, and the book was suddenly not about being different, it was about entrepreneurship, and a mother’s love and support, and appreciating good food, and sharing culture, and raging against an oppressive system. Ok, so there was no raging, the book ended with determination and a following of the “rules,” in a very kid appropriate manner, but it was fun and a nice change from the typical storyline in rhyming children’s books.  There is no “Islam” aside from a boy named Ahmed and his sweet hijab wearing mother, but this book will result in smiles for kids preschool to early elementary and encourage business creativity and thinking outside the box.

img_5127

Ahmed is not thrilled to be taking a labne sandwich to school and would rather have a pb&j like everyone else. His mom encourages him to “be proud of who you are, appreciate how special you are, stand tall, don’t let other’s make you feel small,” and sends him out the door.  At lunch when the kids start to turn up their noses, Ahmed gets them to try the sandwich, and they love it.

img_5128

Ahmed gets an idea, maybe he can sell labne sandwiches to his classmates. Mama stays up late making them and Ahmed sets up shop in the cafeteria. He sets his price, and they sell out, so he increases the charge, and they are still selling. He also is open to trades for those that can’t pay.  Before you know it he is adding dishes to the menu.  Things are going well for entrepreneur Ahmed, until the lunch ladies have had enough and take matters to the principal.

img_5130

The 58 page book is not text heavy and the rhyme is fairly good, it is hit and miss at times, but the story is not hindered by it. I did feel like the book took a few pages to set the stage and get into the story. The initial timeline and the “smelly” lunch could be cleaned up a little, but once the business storyline presents it is smooth and enjoyable. And the illustrations, they are perfect for the story and for keeping Ahmed and his dream in your heart.

The book is available here at Crescent Moon or on Amazon.

img_5129

Feb5

Counting Down with You by Tashie Bhuiyan

Posted on by
Standard
Counting Down with You by Tashie Bhuiyan

img_7940

I have to be honest that this book really held my attention and was hard to put down for about two-thirds of the 416 pages.  I was genuinely invested in the characters and wanted to see how it all resolved.  Sadly, by the end, I was disappointed with the conclusion, the predictability, the stereotypes, and the cliche’ of it all.  The author mentions in the forward that she is representing her story, not a representation of all Bangladeshi- Muslim American girls, but for an OWN voice book with such a clever premise, I really wanted to be shown more than I was told, I wanted to feel the protagonists strength, and cheer her on as she found her happiness on her terms.  But alas I felt that she let other’s fight her battles and she really only threw her religion and culture around as weighted plot oppressors, not as strands of her life that she had to decide to embrace or understand in the process of growing into herself.  There was a lot of potential to discuss mental health and family expectation, but the end unraveled all that the book could have been.  Undoubtedly the author is a good writer, and brown Muslims are not a monolith, but I feel like sometimes we need to square away who we are before we just clamor for what we want.  This book has relationships, it is a romance novel afterall, but whether the characters are straight or LGBTQ+, there isn’t more than kissing and hand holding and would probably be fine for 9th grade and up if you are ok with a Muslim lead lying to her parents and having a boyfriend.

SYNOPSIS:

Karina Ahmed is 16 and expected to be a doctor when she grows up.  Her conservative Muslim parents are immigrants from Bangladesh and very over protective of their oldest child.  Samir her younger brother, a freshman, is a robotics nerd and the pride of their family.  Karina loves English and wants nothing more to major in English in college, but her parents are insistent and despite her struggles with math and science she is determined she has no choice in the matter and must make them proud by being a doctor.  This inability to be what her parents want has caused tremendous anxiety within Karina and when her parents leave for a vacation to Bangladesh for a month, she is hoping to be able to relax and enjoy life for 28 days with her Dadu, paternal grandma, and her friends, Cora and Nandini.

The only extracurricular activities Karina is allowed are Pre-Med Society and tutoring, where she helps others with English.  Her teacher asks her to tutor a classmate one on one to prepare for the end of the year exams, and reluctantly she agrees.  Very reluctantly.  The classmate is brooding resident bad boy Ace Clyde, a beautiful slacker that seems to not care about much.  In Karina’s efforts to get Ace to study and taking advantage of limited parental supervision, Karina goes with Ace to a sweetshop and even ends up at his house where she meets his family.  Ace is not ready to admit to his incredibly wealthy family that he is seeking help from a tutor and instead introduces Karina as his girlfriend.  Ace’s older brother Xander, the Student Body Class President, isn’t buying it, so Ace announces it on social media and shows up the next day with coffee for Karina as he walks her to class determined to convince everyone that they are indeed a couple. Karina is not ok with this, but he does promise her a dozen books a week and he is aware that the “relationship” can only last 28 days, so she is in.   Karina’s friends predict that they will fall hopelessly in love and they are pretty correct.  Over the course of the next three and half weeks the two grow closer, he even comes over and spends time with Dadu and Samir.  She encourages him to fix his relationship with his family, and he encourages her to fix hers.  And somewhere in the midst of pretending they decide to make it real and then Karina’s parents return.  She at this point has been cheered on to stand her ground on confronting them about not wanting to be a doctor by Ace, Cora, Nandini, Dadu and Samir.  The conversation does not go well and Karina goes into a two week slump pushing everyone out before she *spoiler alert* resolves to date Ace in secret as long as he respects her lines, and Dadu stands up to her parents for her.  The story concludes with her going to Jr. Prom and her resolved to just stay strong for a little while longer until she is “free.”

WHY I LIKE IT:

I like that I really didn’t know if the book would turn cliche until it ultimately did.  I really liked the realness and rawness of Karina coping with her anxiety and her friends supporting her in Googling coping mechanisms and helping her test them out.  I feel like it was a missed opportunity for Karina’s parents to not reach out to her, or for Karina to even mention that they were missing it.  I think readers that see themselves in Karina would have hoped to see that story thread play out and give them hope of getting help and support or at least getting it out in the open to normalize it.  I love the growth of Samir once Karina make him aware of the double standard, but I feel like he doesn’t read with a consistent persona.  He has a job, he has friends, he likes a girl, but he reads like he is clueless and maybe 10 years old at best, not in high school.  A bit off for me.  And of course you have to love Dadu, a wise old woman who supports her grandchildren and sticks up for them.  I wish Karina would have taken her cues from her beloved grandmother and stood up to her parents with Dadu in the room rather than let Dadu fight the fight and just stand there.  I thought the big climax would be Karina standing up to her parents, so I felt let down when she let someone else fight her fight.  Yes Karina tried and failed, but I think her grandmother should have backed her up in round two, not taken over.

Karina throughout says she is Bangladeshi-Muslim and uses it as a reason to fear her parents and feel obligated to not date or study English.  She does say she isn’t against religion, and actually likes being a Muslim and praying and knows Allah loves her, but that it is the tradition that blindly is followed that gives her trouble.  Her maternal grandfather is an Imam and her mom is much stricter than her father, but he follows her lead in raising the kids.  My critique isn’t so much to argue with the author’s perspective about religious standards, but more a literary one, when the character says she is Muslim and uses that to reason why she has lines, but yet is never seen praying or wresting with what she wants and what she believes.  Never asking Allah for help with her anxiety or confronting her parents or anything for that matter.  As soon as her parents leave she is in a crop top, so where is the religious line and where is the cultural one?  Where is her understanding of her culture and where it fits in her life and where she wants it to fit in her future? Is she Muslim because her parents are or because she believes it? She won’t eat ham, and eats halal, but later eats meat at Ace’s house? Everyone, even fictional characters, get agency, but in a book where the premise is a fake relationship turned real turned rebellious because of religion and culture, a little introspection seems warranted.

The conclusion after hundreds of pages of being called lionhearted and brave and strong seemed diminished when going to prom and lying to parents and having grandma fight your battle is the happy ending.

FLAGS:

Relationships: The main couple hold hands and kiss. There is a supporting character that is bisexual as is a cousin, one is gay, they hold hands and kiss as well. Nothing more than that or detailed. There is lying and deception.

TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:

I don’t think I would do this as an Islamic School book club selection because it would imply agreement with lying and going behind your parents backs.  Granted her parents are difficult and her grandma is aware and ok with the situation, but I still think it would send the wrong message to endorse such behavior from a religious school perspective.

Feb28

The Arabic Quilt: An Immigrant Story by Aya Khalil illustrated by Anait Semirdzhyan

Posted on by
Standard
The Arabic Quilt: An Immigrant Story by Aya Khalil illustrated by Anait Semirdzhyan

 

arabic quilt

This 36 page picture book tells a beautifully presented story that incorporates events from the author’s real life that convey a story of loving your culture, finding similarities and giving people a second chance.  Ideal for students between 2nd and 4th grade, younger children will enjoy having the story read to them, and older kids will benefit from the message as well.

7C03525B-A26D-427F-A7EA-591BB3095F10

Kanzi is about to start her first day of 3rd grade in a new school.  It doesn’t specify if she has just come from Egypt, but being she seems to speak English well, knows that she’d rather have peanut butter and jelly instead of a kofta sandwich and mentions that she got a quilt when she visited her grandmother, in Egypt, she possibly is just starting a new school, not her first in America, but it is considered an immigrant story, so I’m not certain. E403D261-438B-4263-A2FB-C3F8693C9D3E

When she arrives in class and introduces herself she bravely says that she is Egyptian-American, but on the way to school she turns down the Arabic music in the car, so the reader sees that she is a little nervous about being seen as “different.”  When her hijab wearing mom brings her forgotten kofta sandwich and calls Kanzi ‘Habibti,’ classmate Molly teases her that she is being called a hobbit.

A crying Kanzi tells her teacher and Mrs. Haugen reassures her that “being bilingual is beautiful.”  That night Kanzi asks her mom to send her a turkey sandwich for lunch the next day, and before beds she writes a poem as she snuggles in her beloved quilt.

76FCD440-0D81-4893-80F3-1CC6033E8461

At school Molly apologizes to her and says that it just sounded funny.  Kanzi tells Molly it is because she doesn’t speak Arabic and that her mom says that “learning different languages makes a person smarter and kinder.”  Molly dismisses the comment and smugly walks off.

Mrs. Haugen sees Kanzi’s poem about her quilt from her grandma in Egypt and asks her to bring her quilt to school. The kids love it, and Friday Kanzi’s mom shows up to help with a special project: an Arabic quilt with the kids names.

98E875AE-0FD1-4827-BF39-1CA7B1172843

Molly is not enthusiastic and Mrs. Haugen writes English words that come from Arabic on the board: coffee, lemon, sugar, algebra.  Telling the kids that “we can speak non-English languages and still be American.”

Kanzi and her mom write the kids names down and the children copy them.  The teacher cuts them out and makes a quilt to hang in the hall.  On Monday when everyone sees the quilt, they love the beautiful letters and colors.  Even Molly sincerely apologizes and asks Kanzi to write her mom’s name in Arabic as a gift.  The two hug and seemingly will become friends.

832244F2-1F7E-4C4A-9778-40E0EEC6BE82

Across the hall another quilt is hung with names in Japanese, as another student and teacher were inspired by Kanzi and her quilt.  The last page of the story is a letter Kanzi has written to her parents telling them how grateful she is that she has two languages and that she will speak them without guilt.

BB6797A4-05C9-4CDC-AC70-88273ED3997B

The story is beautifully told and exquisitely illustrated on well-sized 9.5 x 10.5 pages in a hardback binding.  The mom wears hijab and it mentions it, but there is nothing religious about the text.  It is a universal story of coming to be proud of your roots and inviting those around you to learn and grow.  There is a Glossary of Arabic Words at the end and a bit about the author and illustrator.

9AF3D465-F5DA-4F25-8FC1-5BEE16FD9B21

My kids favorite page by far was reading the names written in Arabic and they all enjoyed the story (ages 13, 10, 9, 4).  I actually had an issue when Molly apologized the first time, feeling that Kanzi’s response was a bit pretentious to what seemed like an 8 year old being told to go say she was sorry, but my older three unanimously and fervently disagreed with me, saying that she was obviously insincere and Kanzi knew it.  I’d love to hear from other readers if they felt like Molly was sufficient in saying sorry and admitting that it sounded funny and that Kanzi was arrogant in saying that people that know two languages are smarter and kinder, or if Molly was being rude and racist and Kanzi was sticking up for herself.

CF16ACA2-8EC4-443B-AA8B-2B9EA3D05D6D

Irregardless, the book is well done, enjoyable, and will get repeated reads by a large range of readers.  My children keep pulling it off the book shelf, and for that I need to thank Gayatri Sethi (@desibookaunty) who generously sent me the book the same day I checked it out from the public library.  Her generosity once again is a gift that I hope to pay forward in the future.  This book also highlights how amazing teachers can be and often are in facilitating inclusion, understanding, and respect.

ED8D19BC-96FE-4B8F-8B35-87A1AA885B7F