Tag Archives: culture

Mar23

My Great-Grandmother’s Gourd by Cristina Kessler illustrated by Walter Lyon Krudop

Posted on March 23, 2020 by islamicschoollibrarian

A beautiful story based on a true event in Sudan, this 32 page AR 4.2 book contains lessons about tradition, new technology, village life, culture, family, love, and community. Unfortunately it is one of those books that I doubt any child would pick up and want to read. Meant for fourth graders, there is a lot of text on each page, and the story is not quick and light, it is thoughtful and memorable. The book is a powerful one in opening one’s eyes to a different culture, environmental challenges, and innovations making it an important one for parents and teachers to share with younger children and encourage older ones to spend some time with.

Fatima’s Sudanese village has just installed a new pump, and to show how easy it is to use, Fatima is chosen to try it out first. With all the excitement over new technology, life for the village is about to get easier. No more hauling the water with camels and filling the baobab trees to store the water in for the dry season.

Easier for everyone except Fatima’s grandmother. She refuses to abandon the methods of the past so easily, and independently begins to prepare her tree, her great-grandmother’s gourd. Fatima tries to talk her out of it, and the other villagers mock her refusal to accept technology.

When Fatima hears the neighbor louder than the call to prayer calling her grandmother a fool and laughing at her, Fatima boldly and defiantly joins her grandmother in preparing the tree for when the rains come.

The two dig a circle, a necklace, around the old tree to catch the water in the hard red clay, when the rains come, it catches the water, and when it stops, the two move the water to the inside of the tree with buckets. All the while, the villagers shake their heads at the two hard at work.

When, in the middle of the dry season, the pump breaks and it will be days before it can be repaired, the chief, Ibrahim, declares they must resort back to the old ways and Fatima and her grandma offer to share their water to hold everyone over. “Maybe it’s wise to mix old with the new,” Grandma poignantly notes. The following year the village works together to prepare the trees, just in case the pump breaks.

There is a glossary of Arabic Words at the beginning of the book and an Author’s note about the “Thirst Triangle” and the use of the baobabs or tabaldi trees used to store water.

There is nothing overtly religious in this culturally rich story. The women cover their head, they say “inshaAllah,” the call to prayer is mentioned and they have Islamic names: Fatima, Ibrahim, Musa, Ahmed, Ali, Osman etc..

Feb28

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

Posted on February 28, 2020 by islamicschoollibrarian

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Feb10

Muslim Girls Rise: Inspirational Champions of Our Time by Saira Mir illustrated by Aaliya Jaleel

Posted on February 10, 2020 by islamicschoollibrarian

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Muslim Girls Rise: Inspirational Champions of Our Time by Saira Mir illustrated by Aaliya Jaleel

Women you have heard of, some you are meeting for the first time. Some you like, some you disagree with, women that cover, women that don’t, some young, others older, some athletic, some academic, some a little bit of both. One fictional, a few political, but in the end, all strong women of today, all Muslim, all unique, from all over the world, all known for paving the way for others to follow.

In 42 pages, 19 females are highlighted and illustrated to inspire Muslim and non Muslim boys and girls alike, but really Muslim girls will get the most out of it. Sure a female gets mentioned here or there in other compilations of influential people of our time, but this one, well, this one seems mostly for us.

There are famous females in science, activism, fashion, film, sport, education, media influencers, make-up artists, you name it, and Muslim’s participate, so finally a book shining a light on the best of the best. With each person getting a full two page spread, a few tidbits about who they are and what they are “famous” for are detailed in easy to read sentences that inspire, and if you haven’t heard of them before, enough general knowledge to get acquainted. A few felt a little generic, but once you have a name, Googling them or researching them, is obviously, not difficult.

I wish there was a bit more information detailing who was chosen and why. At first I thought it was US or “western” movers and shakers, but then you have Maria Toorpakai Wazir, the tennis player in Pakistan, and Shirin Ebadi from Iran. So then I thought ok, they are all contemporary, but Maryam Mirzakhani passed away in 2017. Needless to say, one could argue that the list is arbitrary, and I think I would agree.

One could also argue, that these women may make history for notable things, but that they might say or do things that you might take issue with, and again, I agree. They are people, they are fallible, and diverse, and have different perspectives and life experiences, but that’s ok, infact I think that might even be the point. We all have different passions, and paths, and views and yet at the end of the day we should be able to lift each other up and inspire. I think every person who reads this book will find someone that sounds or feels or looks like them, and that is a good thing, no, a great thing!

My favorite was the Kamala Khan entry, because I didn’t realize the G. Willow Wilson was Muslim. I erroneously assumed the other co-creator, Sana Amanat gave Kamala’s back story and home life its sense of OWN Voice, and I love that I learned I was wrong from a book.

The illustrations are right on and do an amazing job of conveying the character and the inspiration of the collection. The book is much needed and I hope they do a similar style book for Muslim women in other time periods.

Special gratitude and appreciation to Gayartri Sethi (IG @desibookaunty) for gifting me this book for no other reason than to share the power and strength of women, and being a leader in that, by sending me a beautiful book. May I learn from your generosity and pay it forward! Thank you.

Jan27

Teach Us Your Name by Huda Essa illustrated by Diana Cojocaru

Posted on January 27, 2020 by islamicschoollibrarian

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Teach Us Your Name by Huda Essa illustrated by Diana Cojocaru

This book will resonate and empower anyone who has a “different” name, and hopefully provide insight and awareness for us all. This 32 page picture book for grades 1st and up has a self empowering message, a confidence building approach, and problem solving tips to achieve a desired goal in a respectful way. Written by a Muslim author, the book’s text is well done, unfortunately the pictures are inconsistent to me, some are beautiful and detailed, others seem rushed and unfinished.

There are 20 letters in Kareemalayaseenadeen’s name, and the first day of school is such a stress for her. She fears the teacher stumbling over her name, the other children laughing, and her unable to tell them how to pronounce her name correctly. Her mom tries to explain that for some people the kids at school have hard names, and that for some people her name is easy.

She reflects that in fact no one has ever made fun of her for her name, but that in history class she never sees her name, or on TV or in movies or on key chains. She can hardly fit her name on her worksheets, and fitting it on banners is impossible too. Eventually the kids kust call her Karma-Deen and even though she dislikes it, she is too shy to speak up.

Over the summer, Kareemalayaseenadeen goes on vacation to visit family. She doesn’t even think much about her name where everyone can pronounce it and say it with ease. Her Sittee though, has heard about her anxiety and sits with her to help her work through it.

Sittee asks Kareemalayaseenadeen if she knows that her name means “excellent guidance” and that her name is a big part of her. If she doesn’t like her name she isn’t liking an important part of herself. She then urges her grandaughter to guide others on the proper way to pronounce her name.

On the flight home, she ponders her grandma’s words and how to guide others to proper pronouncation, without being rude or settling on them shortening her name. When she gets home she puts her plan in to action. And it works!

When Kareemalayaseenadeen grows up, she becomes a teacher and each year she reads this book she has written (the one I’m reviewing) and asks her students to teach her how to say their names.

The importance of how valuing someones name values the person and their family and culture is really one that as a society we have to keep working on. We can say names from Lord of the Rings, and Star Wars and Game of Thrones with no problem, so why can’t we try and pronounce someone’s name who is real and next to us and important to us? We have become lazy, and we need to do better, this book is sweet and kind and should really be read regularly as a reminder to us all, that names are beautiful.

There is nothing religious about the book or even culture specific. There is a hijabi in the illustration of the market place in the unspecified “overseas country” and the name Kareemalayaseenadeen has Arabic bits, but a lot of names do as well, grandma is refereed to as Sitti, but isn’t defined, so the book is definitely meant for eveyone, especially those who will never find their name on a mug at a gift shop!

Dec30

Saffron Ice Cream by Rashin Kheiriyeh

Posted on December 30, 2019 by islamicschoollibrarian

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The book may seem to be a lighthearted diverse read about a little girl comparing a beach in America to those of Iran, BUT there is also some pretty charged portrayals about gender divided beaches, religious police, and hijab. I’m not saying this own voice book is exaggerating or saying anything that isn’t true, but it is an oddly belittling perspective to slip into a brightly illustrated children’s book with the words “ice cream” in the title. The 40 page book for ages 4-8 is not one I would recommend for its negative undertones and dismissal of understanding another culture.

Rashin’s first trip to a beach in America has her and her family getting ready to go to Coney Island. She remembers past trips to the Caspian Sea in Iran. Trips where they would wake up early, her mom would prepare halim and they would drive through the countryside stopping for a picnic lunch. Often her best friend Azadeh would come along and they would listen to Persian music and share kebabs. On this trip they are going on the subway and there is diversity and music and excitement too.

The next few pages detail and depict the curtain that would divide the women’s side of the beach from the men’s. While the words say how fun the women’s side is and that even the ice cream vendor is a woman and the beach goers can remove their covers and get a tan, the inclusion of the Islamic guards with their aggressive faces and full black abayas and hijabs, is a stark contrast to the happy faces throughout the other pages.

Rashin then recalls one trip where little boys poked holes on the men’s side to look at the female’s side. While it might be taken as silly to children, there is a lot to unpack with such “peeping,” the concept of respect and of covering. It then seems to make the whole situation seem ridiculous by having the women covering themselves with umbrellas, newspapers and whatever they can find.

When Rashin finally gets to Coney Island, the ice cream stall doesn’t have saffron ice cream and another little girl suggests she try chocolate crunch, she concedes and discovers it is pretty good, and the beginning of a new friendship is implied. She then asks the girl about the rules of the beach and the accompanying illustration has the Islamic police seeming to try and stop the fun.

It is natural to compare new things to those that we know, but this book has a very strong negative, judgmental tone to what could have simply been presented as different without the criticism. The author is the illustrator as well, so there wasn’t a divide in continuity. I appreciate that there is a visibly Muslim family at Coney Island, but it seems too little, in a book very aggressively passing opinion on a religion and how it is “enforced.”

I find it rather disappointing that Scholastic chose to publish such an angry book masked in smiling characters and a trip to the beach. It may be how life is in Iran, but I don’t know that a children’s book is the platform to air grievances without explanation. This book does nothing to open dialogue and acceptance, it definitely would cause more harm than good.

Nov18

Bibi’s Blessing by Lela Usama Goldsmith illustrated by Samantha Morazzani

Posted on November 18, 2019 by islamicschoollibrarian

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Bibi’s Blessing by Lela Usama Goldsmith illustrated by Samantha Morazzani

A wonderful lesson packaged in a sweet story about a girl learning to thank God for blessings, especially ones that don’t seem like blessings at all. The 36 page book is meant for children age 4 and up and with its large 8.5 x 11 glossy full color pages it works well at bedtime and in small groups at story time.

On the island of Lamu, Mwana lives with Bibi, her grandma who’s livelihood depends on making Mofa bread every day. It is Mwana’s job to sell the sorghum ground bread in the streets for people to enjoy at tea time.

One morning a braying donkey frightens Mwana and she trips, spilling all the mofas on the ground. When she tells her grandma what happened and how they have not made any money for the day, her grandma responds, “Thank God for this blessing.”

Not believing Bibi, but being too excited to visit a friend, she doesn’t argue. But then the power goes out and she can’t visit her friend and she gets grumpy. Grandma tells her to “Thank God for this blessing” and explains that sometimes not getting what you want is also a blessing.

With nothing else to do, Mwana goes off to soak the rice pot, but instead accidently soaks the dusty mofas, to which her grandma again says it is a blessing. She starts to feel she can do nothing right, and can’t believe there is any blessings in a pot of mushy mufas.

But, with the power out many shops close and the owner of the donkeys has nothing to feed his animals. He knocks on his neighbors door and Bibi and Mwana have just the thing. He pays them for the food and alhumdulillah all is well, so many blessings from God.

I love that the setting is a place many of us have never heard of and that there is information about Lamu at the end of the book along with a glossary. The author is Muslim, the characters dress Islamically in the illustrations, and have Muslim names, but there is nothing Islamic specific in the text.

Some of the sentences are worded awkwardly, for example, “We live in a small island by the Indian Ocean called Lamu.” You typically say you live “on” an island not “in” it, and islands are in the ocean, not by them. And some sentences read almost as run ons because of multiple conjunctions and their lack of punctuation. I don’t love the illustrations. The faces on many of the pages are really distracting and inconsistent, but the overall story is well done that I’m willing to over look my own critical opinions, and encourage y’all to give the book a try.

Nov15

Satoko and Nada 1 by Yupechika

Posted on November 15, 2019 by islamicschoollibrarian

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A manga series about two college roommates who have come to America to study, Nada from Saudi Arabia and Satoko from Japan. Written by a Japanese author and translated into English, there is a lot about Muslims, particularly Muslims from Saudi, as the two characters get to know each other and become friends. Their interactions work to dispel a lot of stereotypes and promote how rewarding getting to know people different from your self can be. Volume one (there are three) is 127 pages, read right to left in four panel pages, and is fairly clean for all ages (they do buy underwear and bras at one point), but would most likely appeal to female readers in 4th or 5th grade and up.

SYNOPSIS:

The book is about two girls getting to know each other, learning about each other’s culture, and navigating life in America. There isn’t really a plot or a story line outside of this basic framework, and with a heading every page or two it reads like a quick scene about the topic expressed in the heading. So, for example there are headings of Veils, Ramadan, Birthday, MashAllah Choice, etc, and then a few panels showing the girls having an interaction about it, resulting in understanding, humor, or a lesson.

In a bit of a stereotype twist, Nada is more street savvy then Satoko when approached by a stranger for a ride, and thus Nada hasto educate her a bit. The book brings in a Christian American character and a third generation Japanese character learning Japanese, to further show how assumptions plague as all and how simple conversation and an open mind, can lead to some amazing friendships.

WHY I LIKE IT:

The book is really choppy, but you get used to it and soon you forget that it isn’t a typical story. I admittedly haven’t read a lot of manga so, I have no idea if this is the norm, or something unique. I love that its upfront about stereotypes, if it was an American writing it, or a even a Muslim it would probably come across as preachy or arrogant, but somehow it doesn’t seem like the two characters have much baggage, nor feel a need to defend their culture by putting another’s down. They deal with issues such as women driving in Saudi, differences between hijab, burka, abaya, niqab, being around alcohol, the joy of a fatwa allowing soy sauce and its alcohol content to be permissible, etc. Some things are cited for clarity and something are very Saudi, but it really contains a lot of information, about Islam that I am pretty impressed by. There isn’t a ton about Japanese culture since I would assume it was written for Japanese readers, so it would be redundant, but I did learn, according to Satoko, how religion is viewed by Japanese, how putting age and gender and race on forms seems incredibly personal, and some information about food.

FLAGS:

There is a possible failed abduction, not sure what the guys intention was, but the girls treated it as such. The girls do go buy undergarments, so they are visually depicted. There is mention of alcohol.

TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:

I wouldn’t do this as a traditional book club, but I think I am going to get a copy of the series to pass around my daughters middle school group of friends, to

one- give them a taste of manga

two- see what they think of the Islamic rep from a Japanese paradigm and

three- give us all something to chat about

The book is fun, I got it at the public library and think it might open up a new book type for kids to try and a new point of view for many of us to consider.

Nov11

My Grandma and Me by Mina Javaherbin illustrated by Lindsey Yankey

Posted on November 11, 2019 by islamicschoollibrarian

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My Grandma and Me by Mina Javaherbin illustrated by Lindsey Yankey

I absolutely love that this 32 page picture book for children five and up breaks so many stereotypes and highlights so many commonalities between all people, everywhere. I strongly believe that books like this, can change people’s perspective, and as a children’s books can prevent negative biases from forming in the first place.

Set in Iran, a little girl absolutely loves and adores her grandma. They pray together, they buy bread together and they share that bread with their best friends, their Christian neighbors next door. While the little girl and her friend Annette play, the two grandmas chat, drink coffee and knit blankets to donate to the mosque and Annette’s Grandma’s church.

Grandma sews chadors to wear, and Mina helps. But, mostly she uses the scarves to make rocket ship forts, and capes to fly to outer space in. When she returns to base camp grandma has cookies for her and wants to hear about her adventures.

In Ramadan, the little girl wakes up early to eat with grandma even though she is too young too fast. When she gets older, they go to the mosque together at night too, after they have broken their fast.

One time she hears her grandma praying for Annette’s grandma to go to heaven. The next day Annette tells Mina she heard her grandma praying at church for her grandma to go to heaven. The little girl imagines the two grandmas knitting and laughing together in heaven, on Mars, on Earth, anywhere.

The book ends with the little girl stating past tense how wonderful her grandma was and that she still wants to be like her.

The book touches on family, interfaith, love, helping others, faith, religion, friendship, culture, and is just really really sweet. I wish I loved the pictures, as much as I love the story, but I don’t. I think I like most of them with their texture and details, unfortunately the faces in some just seem a little off to me.

I absolutely love that there is no over explaining, and no glossary, the author seamlessly brings words like namaz, and Ramadan and chador in to the story, normalizing them as the pretend play, and familial bonds are so universal.

Oct25

Little Badman and the Invasion of the Killer Aunties by Humza Arshad & Henry White illustrated by Aleksei Bitskoff

Posted on October 25, 2019 by islamicschoollibrarian

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Little Badman and the Invasion of the Killer Aunties by Humza Arshad & Henry White illustrated by Aleksei Bitskoff

It’s been a while since I’ve read such an over the top silly book that has a lot of heart. It is 352 pages that remind me of the the My Teacher is an Alien book series of my youth smashed up with the Weirder School/Diary of a Wimpy Kid series of today. Meant for upper elementary with some bad words (hell and damn), the story is Pakistani-British representation with many Muslim named characters, a Muslim author, and a shout out to a KFC in another town that is halal. Don’t read it if if you want to learn anything, but definitely pick it up if you want to roll your eyes, giggle, and ponder a world where Desi aunties are the perfect disguise for force feeding an entire community delicious food as part of their evil plan to take over the world.

SYNOPSIS:

Humza Mohammed Khan is an 11 year old Pakistani kid in Britain who thinks of himself as the next big rapper, Little Badman. He dreams big and talks even bigger as he struts around primary school getting in trouble and trying to film his music video on his friend Umer’s extremely old Nokia flip phone. With a normal enough mom, a hyper exaggerating father, and a handful of their friends known as Aunties and Uncles, Humza gets in trouble regularly enough, but overall seems to have a good heart.

Things at school slowly start to change after their teacher gets stung by a bee named Mustafa, that Umer brought to school to be his pet. Weird as that might be, it is even more odd, when their teacher is replaced by a volunteer auntie. Every day it seems like a teacher goes missing, and is replaced by some asian kids’ aunt. When the supper ladies are replaced and the food improves, no one is complaining. When every volunteer starts bringing snacks to school, no problem. Who doesn’t love gulab jams, and samosas, and butter chicken all day long every day? Well, as the school puts on the pounds and all the teachers and staff are officially missing, Humza, Umer and their former nemesis Wendy, start to get worried. Humza’s Uncle who he calls Grandpa, claims his wife Auntie Uzma is not really his wife, and helps Humza investigate.

Secret meetings in supermarkets, teachers and grandpa vanishing, and Humza seeing a giant slug coming out of the substitute librarian, means that Little Badman is going to have to run away from cricket practice, not get sent in a crate to Pakistan, face his stage fright, and save the day from the aliens taking over the aunties.

WHY I LIKE IT:

I like that it is cultural rep and own voice in its telling. Humza is Pakistani and his cultural baggage is hilarious and part of him, and no explanations are needed. In his world people are from lots of places and they all live and play and learn together and they eat caramel apples and toffee and jilabies. The diversity is great and not articulated, it just is what it is, and they all have to work together to save the day. I think my favorite character is Grandpa, who Humza has to learn to appreciate and not just see as an old almost dead guy and Humza’s dad who exaggerates everything and takes his cricket very seriously. At the end Humza has to have a heart to heart with his dad and his uncle, Grandpa and it makes this over the top nutty story really kind of sweet too.

There is no “Islam” in it aside from Muslim names and mention in a rap of a halal KFC. I kind of like that they are Muslim kids and it appeals to a larger audience, sure something praying or something at some point might have been nice, but it isn’t a book that you’d be expecting spiritual nuggets from, so it is ok.

FLAGS:

The words damn and hell are used. There is disrespect of authority, parents, and teachers as well as lying.

TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:

I had my ten year old read it and he thought it was ok, but was uncomfortable with the language, which I was glad, but I told him I thought he could handle it, and know what is appropriate to use. That being said, school libraries should have the book, maybe not classroom libraries though, and I probably wouldn’t do it as a book club. I will have my other kids read it though, cause like I said, it is silly and fun.

Interview with comedian author Humza Arshad: https://www.booktrust.org.uk/news-and-features/features/2019/march/meet-little-badman/

Oct11

Sadiq and the Fun Run by Siman Nuurali illustrated by Anjan Sarkar

Posted on October 11, 2019 by islamicschoollibrarian

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Sadiq and the Fun Run by Siman Nuurali illustrated by Anjan Sarkar

This new series featuring Sadiq, a Somali American living in Minnesota, is great for early chapter book readers looking for representation and diversity. There are four books about Sadiq, his family, and his friends and classmates in third grade, and all are either an AR 3.6 or AR 3.5. At 57 pages long, divided into five chapters and filled with bright and colorful illustrations students in grades 1st through fourth, depending on reading level and interest, will enjoy these simple plotted, yet relatable stories.

SYNOPSIS:

Sadiq’s friends are all getting ready to try out for football, but his parent’s say that he is too young for such a rough sport and has to wait until he is 12 like his older brother, Nuurali, did. Sadiq’s parents and family encourage him to try another sport, and with a new running club starting in a few days coached by a member of the national team, that’s what he opts to do. Begrudgingly he joins the team, but is hurt when his friends talk about how much fun football is and how much more tough and difficult it is compared to running. While this is going on, he is getting support from his brother to keep running, and from his teammates, but it is hard and he doesn’t enjoy it. Slowly, he starts to improve, however, and with the Fun Run the climax of the book he sails across the finish line in first place when he sees his friends have come to cheer him on!

WHY I LIKE IT:

I love that the book/series proudly features a Somali-American-Muslim family. There is information about Somali at the beginning as well as some Somali terms and a portrait with names for the members of Sadiq’s family. The mom and older sister wear hijab, “Salaam” is one of the defined words and the characters use it when they meet. I also love the diversity of skin tones in the illustrations and one of the girls on the track team wears a scarf as well. There are Muslim named kids and non Muslim named kids in the story, and while Islam isn’t mentioned outright, it is definitely represented through the characters words, names, and appearances.

The story is straightforward and perfect for the age group, the books in the series do not need to be read in any order, and you will get to see the different supporting casts featured more prominently in different books, thus getting to know Sadiq and his world. I like that he doesn’t get his way, and doesn’t get to do what all his friends are doing, but he makes it work. He is grumpy and upset, but he doesn’t get obnoxious or overly whiney. I think this subtly gives readers some tools and insights to model in their own disappointments. I also like that while he has to put in the work and fix his attitude, he doesn’t have to do it all alone. His family and coach are supportive, and eventually his friends apologize and support him too. For the simplicity of the book, you actually do get invested in his little trial and want to see the outcome.

FLAGS:

None, it is clean.

TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:

This book is like a boy protagonist version of the Meet Yasmin books, they show a kid of culture in everyday experiences. The target audience wouldn’t make it work for a school wide book club, but I think early elementary teachers would benefit from having the series in their classrooms and letting kids in small groups discuss if they want. These books would be great for first graders that are way above reading level and parents are struggling to find appropriate books.

The end of the book has some resources as well: a glossary, discussion questions to talk about and some to write down, as well as a home workout guide and information about the author and illustrator.

Islamic School Librarian

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

Tag Archives: culture

My Great-Grandmother’s Gourd by Cristina Kessler illustrated by Walter Lyon Krudop

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

Muslim Girls Rise: Inspirational Champions of Our Time by Saira Mir illustrated by Aaliya Jaleel

Teach Us Your Name by Huda Essa illustrated by Diana Cojocaru

Saffron Ice Cream by Rashin Kheiriyeh

Bibi’s Blessing by Lela Usama Goldsmith illustrated by Samantha Morazzani

Satoko and Nada 1 by Yupechika

My Grandma and Me by Mina Javaherbin illustrated by Lindsey Yankey

Little Badman and the Invasion of the Killer Aunties by Humza Arshad & Henry White illustrated by Aleksei Bitskoff

Sadiq and the Fun Run by Siman Nuurali illustrated by Anjan Sarkar