What an absolute joy to learn about something real for the first time in a children’s picture book meant for ages 3-5. I am baffled that this story wasn’t celebrated and shared by not just Muslim’s everywhere, but Canadians as well. It is a sweet instance of real life being harder to believe than fiction. It warms your heart and reminds you that there are so many good people doing selfless things for the benefit of others, every single day, subhanAllah. As for the 32 page book itself, story inspiration aside- I kind of wish it had more details of the real story in it. The factual blurb on the back cover was a bit more awe inspiring than the totality of the book. I think it is because it is meant for such little ones, but I don’t know for sure. I hope that there will be more books for various ages, about this mosque’s incredible 2010 journey.
There is a small community in Inuvik, in Northern Canada. The growing Muslim community has outgrown their one room space and it is more expensive to build a masjid there, than to deliver a pre built masjid from Winnipeg.
With the help of some non profit and local groups, a masjid is built and sent north, hopefully able to reach its final destination before the river freezes. The journey is fraught with obstacles: roads are too narrow, bridges not ready, low utility wires. weather concerns, construction, the masjid tipping over, but alas it arrives, alhumdulillah.
The entire community welcomes the new masjid, and the Muslim’s have a new space to pray and gather.
I like that there are maps and indicators of the distance. And while I like the interfaith aspect in Inuvik being presented, it seems incredibly specific in a very vague book for small children. Why is the imam identified separately, the whole paragraph is just awkward. Additionally, there is no explanation for why a minaret was needed or if it is critical to a mosque. Some information other than the children wanted one, would help avoid confusion seeing as this mainstream published book is not targeting only Muslims who would know the function of a minaret, and that they aren’t required structures.
Some links about the event that inspired the story:
This 36 page book for kindergarten and up shows the role perseverance, confidence, and believing in yourself can play in conquering bullies, carving out a space for yourself and finding success. While the book is a little predictable on the surface, older kids will understand that by winning the spelling bee, Samar didn’t just benefit by standing up to the bully, but in proving to herself what she is capable of and ultimately being more confident of her place in a new country. The book is presented on large 8.5 by 11 full color glossy pages and features discussion questions at the end.
Samar is in 3rd grade after recently moving to America from Syria, where she was the best student in her class. ESL wasn’t difficult, but mainstream class is proving to be a challenge, mostly because of Jenna, the class bully.
Jenna, snickers when it is Samar’s turn to spell words in front of the class, she teased her about her jump rope songs not being in English, and she makes fun of her for her accent. With the help of a kind friend, Angela, the two girls decide the school spelling bee will be the best chance to prove how smart Samar is, by winning.
The first step Samar must do is convince her teacher, Ms. Bryan to help her study. To show her commitment she offers to give up her recess to study. The teacher agrees, but on the way home Jenna teases her saying she’ll never win when she can’t even speak English properly. Deflated, when Samar gets home, she doesn’t study the flashcards and opts to watch cartoons instead.
When later in the week her teacher quizzes her, Samar admits she didn’t study. Ms. Bryan encourages her by sharing her own story of coming to America and having to learn English. When Samar gets home she sees her mother, a former dentist in Syria, studying for the exams to be a dentist in America. This is the spark she needs and she studies hard, everywhere, and with anyone who will help.
On the day of the bee, Samar spells word after words correctly and after saying bismillah before spelling the final word, wins the competition and beats Jenna. The audience cheers and the next day Samar and Angela are jumping rope and Samar is singing in Arabic.
I love that Samar and her mom wear hijab while out, but not at home, that they speaks Arabic, and Samar says bismillah. Samar’s mom is clearly highly educated and determined and mom and dad are supportive. I love that Samar’s drive, however, comes from her own determination, no one forces her or guilts her, it is her leading the way and understanding what her mother is going through and her teacher has gone through, and using that as inspiration. I love that at the end she doesn’t rub it in Jenna’s face that she won, and the symbolism of Jenna just disappearing from the story makes this clear as Samar steps in to her own. I truly love that for every Jenna in the wold there is also an Angela. Be kind, be supportive, be a good friend!
This 32 page biography told in sparse rhyme about Yusra Mardini is powerful in its minimal text and realistic illustrations. Children as young as six could easily read it, but I think older kids will be more moved by the story of a 17 year old girls Olympic swimming dreams being derailed by war, and the difficult journey her and her sister took to escape. With no more than 10 words on each two page spread, the vocabulary is more suited to perhaps third grade and up.
Yusra lives in Syria and dreams of the Olympics. She trains even as conflict grows in the country. When it gets bad, she has to flee, her father can only afford to send her and her sister. Smugglers are paid and they leave. They take on the open sea, and her and her sister steer the boat through the water when the engines stall. Once they reach land, and pray, they are stared at. A kind stranger offers her shoes. They continue on land by foot, bus and train. They finally reach Berlin.
Once settled, she resumes her training, and a fact page at the end shares how the International Olympic Committee invited her in 2016 to join the Refugee Olympic Team and compete in Rio de Janeiro. And thus she achieved her dream and was able to swim in the Olympics.
There is nothing religious in the book, except when she is leaving and is hugging a woman in hijab. Presumably it is her mother, and thus I’m assuming that she too is Muslim. When you google it some articles say she grew up in a muslim family while others say she is Christian, so I really have no idea.
Based on the true story of Alia Muhammed Baker, the Basra librarian who saved 30,000 books in 2003 from the destruction during the Iraq War, this 32 page graphic novel, is an AR 3.9 and while it isn’t a chapter book and isn’t just a picture book, it works well for 2nd through 4th grade readers that will enjoy a bit of history, a lot of excitement, and detailed panels that make the story come to life. The story, as it is based on fact, is very similar to The Librarian of Basra, but with it’s different presentation style, might appeal to a larger audience to appreciate and celebrate what she did to save such precious books, naturally, I’m a huge fan!
SYNOPSIS:
Alia is the Chief Librarian of Basra Central Library and has always loved books and learning. As war draws closer, she tells her husband she is worried that the library could be bombed or set ablaze. She goes to the government to voice her concerns and ask that the books are relocated, but her request is denied. So she takes matters in to her own hands, and starts smuggling books under her shawl and in to her car, and stacks them in her home. Every day she does this for a week, soon closets are over flowing and she starts stacking the books in her guest room. Worried that she isn’t making fast enough progress, she gets the restaurant owner next door to help her when looters start taking the pencil sharpeners and furniture from the library. She has a plan to have everyone possible come together to move the books, and many people come to help.
Eventually the library is set on fire, the news gives Alia a stroke. When she recovers she learns she saved 30,000 books, and up next for this real life super hero? Building a new library, inshaAllah.
WHY I LIKE IT:
I love that it shows the value of libraries and books, the determination of one person, and the support of a community. People are awful during a war, yet, sometimes they are pretty amazing too. The illustrations are detailed and varied, with inviting text and clear concise language. It really is well done.
FLAGS:
Destruction of property, sneaking, looting.
TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:
I think it would be great to have kids read this story and the librarian of Basra and discuss
This children’s biography of Maria Toorpakai Wazir, Pakistan’s world famous squash player, is simplified and suitable for children 2nd grade and up. At 42 pages with bright illustrations older kids will understand a little bit more about the cultural norms that were being oppressive and the strength and risks Maria took to play a sport she loved and defy the Taliban while disguising herself as a boy. Younger children will probably only get her determination and perseverance, which is impressive in its own right.
In 1990, Maria was born in the mountains of the Tribal Areas in Pakistan. Conservative society and strict gender roles amplified by the control of the Taliban in 2001. Maria’s parents supported rights for their sons and daughters, and allowed Maria to cut her hair, dress like a boy, and play sports.
Her father called her Ghenghis Khan after the great warrior and when the family moved to the city of Peshawar he even introduced her as his son to people. As Ghenghis, Maria was always picking fights and encouraged instead to play sports to channel her wildness.
She fell in love with the game of squash, and when she went to join the Squash Club she had to submit her birth certificate which revealed that she was a girl. The director let her join the club, as the only girl among 400 boys. But now her secret was out.
She was bullied and her family ridiculed, but she kept playing and kept winning. The President of Pakistan awarded her honors for her outstanding achievements, but that infuriated the Taliban and they threatened her family.
As a result Maria had to hide, and would practice at night, in secret, and for 3 years she played against the wall in her bedroom. Appealing to squash clubs around the world for help, she finally heard from Jonathon Power in Canada, willing to help her get away from the Taliban and be able to play.
She left behind everything she knew at 20 years old to train in Toronto. She still represented Pakistan in tournaments. She studied, she prayed, she succeeded. She now is back in Pakistan establishing health clinics, sports clubs, and schools for girls and boys.
The story is inspirational, and well told, it shows how culture limited her, not religion, and that in a larger city, culture was a little less conservative. Muslim and non Muslim children will be inspired by her efforts, her willingness to look like a boy and her determination to excel. Muslim kids will enjoy that it shows her praying, but might be surprised to see her in shorts and tank tops. The book would be a great conversation starter about women’s rights and how it isn’t just in Pakistan that women struggle to have equal opportunity and respect. It also might many children’s first exposure to the sport of squash.
There is an afterward at the end with more information. A list of additional reading about other inspirational women, a selected bibliography and a highlight timeline of female firsts in sports.
I was not expecting to be so absorbed by this 362 page AR 5.4 book. I knew it was about a Syrian refugee in Brussels and his friendship with an American kid living in Europe for a year, so I knew that Islamaphobia and immigration would all be factors. I also knew that as a middle grade book it would be optimistic, and a bit of a stretch at times, but when I had to pause in the first chapter to wipe the tears off my cheek, I knew that while it could be billed as, another refugee story, it really was going to be a poignant story about humanity and friendship and family and making a difference, so I settled in and was swept off to Belgium and the adventure of two determined kids.
SYNOPSIS:
The book opens with 14-year-old Ahmed on a boat with his father hoping to reach Greece from Turkey, when the boat stalls, his father and two other men, the only other people on the dinghy that know how to swim, jump into the sea to drag the boat. When a storm swell hits them, his father is lost and Ahmed, who left Syria when an explosion killed his mom and sisters, is all alone.
Max is 13 and his parents and sister have just arrived in Belgium for a year. Not a great student, Max learns that he will be going to a local school where French is spoken, and will be repeating 6th grade. Less than thrilled with the news, he is additionally hurt that his parents didn’t tell him first.
The two stories start off separate with Max trying to find his footing in school and scouts where he understands very little, and has no desire to learn, and is also getting picked on by a kid named Oscar. He learns about the history of his street and house during World War II from his after school tutor and a police officer that used to live in the house they are renting and makes regular checks on how it is being maintained.
Ahmed has been staying with Ibrahim and his family, another man that tried to drag the boat in the sea, but with news that they are probably going to be forced to return to Iraq, suggests that Ahmed register in as an unaccompanied minor so that he could find a place to stay. Ahmed knows that if he registers in Beligium he will never make it to England, he hires a smuggler for 300 Euros to get him there. When the smuggler steals his money and his phone, Ahmed worries his organs could be next, and jumps out of the moving car,
Ahmed runs through a neighborhood looking for shelter and safety and some warmth from the frigid air. Ahmed finds the basement of a house unlocked, he then finds a wine cellar room that is empty and decides to stay for the night as he figures out his next step. One day turns in to two and before he knows it, he has a routine of finding food upstairs during the night, which he records so that he can repay the family one day, caring for the family’s discarded orchids, and working on his English. Then one day Max goes downstairs and discovers Ahmed living there.
Deciding he isn’t a terrorist, Max decides not to turn Ahmed in nor tell his parents, and the two become friends. The two enlist Farah, a nice Muslim girl at school to help, and they get Oscar too, to forge papers to get Ahmed in to school. While the biggest problem should be keeping a kid hidden in the basement, and keeping him fed and entertained, the situation is compounded as terrorist attacks by Muslim extremist plague the city and Europe, making everyone on high alert. The police keep checking in and anti immigrant sentiment rises. When Ahmed gets accused of being a bomb maker his secret is out, but can his knowledge of how a jewish boy was hidden in the neighborhood during the war keep him free? Nope, I’m not going to spoil it, you have to read it, trust me, you’ll thank me for it!
WHY I LIKE IT:
I love, love, love, the history parallel, and the truth in the story of Albert Jonnart and Ralph Mayer that is woven into this modern fictional story. I love that Max so plainly says that the stories are the same and that laws that aren’t right shouldn’t be followed, yes! The book reads a lot like Refugee by Alan Gratz crossed with The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q. Rauf with the kids being so heroic and determined and awesome, throw in a dash of The Diary of Anne Frank, switching out a boy for a girl, a Muslim for a Jew, the basement for the attic, and a diary for a fictional story, and you have this book.
I love that the adventure and excitement shows how resourceful kids can be even when they don’t share common language. Max speaks English and is learning French, he is helping Ahmed learn better English and some French, when they talk to Farah who speaks Moroccan Arabic /Berber, they often have to go through Oscar who speaks French and English. Yay, for American television and kids who’s hearts are bigger than the obstacles they are taking on. Additionally, when the kids hit a dead end, they reach out to Jews in America for help, knowing that the two religions have more in common than politicians and the media would like to think. Seriously, kids should rule the world.
Ahmed is a religious boy that prays, refuses meat even when hungry to ensure it is halal, and makes sure that Max knows in Islam kindness and charity are the norm and commands, not the violence that people are doing in the name of his religion. A lot of the moms of the kids at school where hijab, and the author gets the Islam right and believable. It doesn’t get preachy, but a fair amount of information about Islam is shared.
FLAGS:
A lot of lying. Some violence, death, hate speech. There is mention of smoking and the adults I think drink wine at one point.
TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:
I’m hoping to do this as a middle school book club selection, because it really is so good.
In 337 pages I fell in love with the Johnson family and all their drama and hardships, while marveling at their resiliency, love of family, and determination to own their mistakes, right them, and move forward. I don’t know that this Urban Islamic Fiction book is classified as YA (the author didn’t respond when I reached out), but I think high school juniors and up will appreciate either/both seeing themselves in it or/and reading an engaging story about indigenous American Muslims.
SYNOPSIS:
A naïve teen, Iman Johnson, ran away from home and her Islamic life to be with a boy offering her the world. After twelve years of being away from home, she sees a window to escape the oppression and abuse of her husband and return to her family who she has had no contact with in Pittsburg, PA. The story is linear as it follows Iman as she deals with the stresses she currently faces while dealing with the consequences of her actions and mistakes of her past. She must reconcile her family, deal with the passing of her father, the failing health of her mother, the tumultuous relationship her younger sister is in, the incarceration of her older brother, and the impending arrival of her little brother’s first child. Ultimately she must also face her husband to get a divorce, keep safe from his mafia like family of drugs and violence and control, find a job, get her alcohol addiction in check, and forge ahead. She also must reconnect with Allah swt, her community and find herself.
WHY I LIKE IT:
It has been over a week since I finished the book, and I can’t decide if the author failed to be consistent with a certain character, or if she made him fallible intentionally to show that there are no saviors and we all have our own weaknesses and humanity, or if I’m just really irate with a fictional character and his poor choices, ahem Jibril. That being said the characters really stay with you, and I feel like I could chat about them as if they are real and I am ready to go start a gofund me campaign to help them out.
The characters at every single step are Muslim and the book feels like a labor of love from the author. I don’t think this is a book that could be researched or written from outside, I’m guessing the author has loved this community and been loved by them in return. For all the Islam in it, I think a non Muslim could read it and enjoy the story, but if you are Muslim you are in for a treat. From the Eid morning bathroom schedule, to the annoyance of having a brother in law staying over and thus forcing you to cover when you run to the kitchen for a snack. Yes, at times, there might be too much information, like how many times does it say she relieved her self and made wudu, but the consistency makes it all so worth it.
I’m being vague about some of the details and not telling too much about the characters, because you really have to immerse yourself in it, and thankfully the author does a great job in keeping it clear who all the characters are, how they are related and what life experiences they bring to the table. Every single character has issues, no one is perfect, yet somehow the story is never sad or hopeless. No one is looking to be saved or playing the victim card, they are all fighting the fight, and taking it one day at a time. It is really impressive.
Sure, most of it is predictable and I wanted more of a showdown between Iman and her ex, Mateo, but yet somehow I was sad when the book ended and I had to leave the characters and their world. I absolutely love how the brothers take turns guarding Iman as if they do this all the time for their sisters. Sure it may not be realistic that they can find someone free at all times, and whatnot, but I really want this to be true. That people still look out for one another, and not perfect people who don’t have their own issues, but real people, family, just people who have made it a priority to care.
FLAGS:
There is lying, deceipt, affairs, drugs, drinking, violence, abuse, smoking. But, nothing is glorified or detailed, it is mentioned to make a point and then the story moves on. The book is about succeeding despite all the negative and finding your way to hold on to your deen, no matter what.
TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:
I think this would be a great book club for like young college girls. There is a tint of romance, a whole lot of pulling yourself up and moving forward, and conversation about what tempts us, and how to persevere. I hope if you read it you’ll shoot me a message, I’d love to hear how much of it rings true for you, and what characters you cheer on and are most annoyed with as well.
Islamic School Librarian 