Tag Archives: Debby Rahmalia

Ali the Great and the Market Mishap by Saadia Faruqi illustrated by Debby Rahmalia

Standard
Ali the Great and the Market Mishap by Saadia Faruqi illustrated by Debby Rahmalia

Akin to her beloved Yasmin series, author Saadia Faruqi offers up a new set of books similarly rich with culture, family mishaps, problem solving, and fun for early readers.  This is the first book in the series, with three more announced that follow the Pakistani American family, and seem to perhaps even connect to Yasmin (based on the cover pictures).  The books are not religious, Ali’s mom wears hijab, and there is an Eid title in the series, but having only seen this particular book I’m not sure if it is faith detailed or not.  Over three chapters and 32 brightly illustrated pages, second grader Ali Tahir, along with his little brother and Dada head to the South Asian store to find some snacks and ends up having to find little Fateh.  With a family portrait and Urdu words defined at the start, the story concludes with some jokes, some details about traditional desi snacks, questions to consider and info about the Muslim author and Muslim illustrator.

It has finally stopped raining and Dada needs snacks, so he puts Fateh in the stroller and the three of them head off to the market.  Dada is from Pakistan and he and Dadi live with Ali’s family.  Once they make their way to the store, they take in the sights and start looking for Dada’s favorite chips.   Ali has to let go of Fateh’s hand to catch a spicy chips display from falling over, and that quickly Fateh disappears.?

I love that the Yasmin series is such a staple and so widely beloved that a similar series with a boy protagonist is now going to grace our classroom, school and public libraries.  This particular book might only have a #Muslimintheillustrations, but it normalizes religious garb, cultural traditions, and larger themes that unite us all in a fun, age appropriate book that will get early readers smiling and brown Muslim kids glad that yet another mirror exists for them and a window for those around them.

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

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

img_7434

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.