This 145 page full colored nonfiction book, uses a fictionalized story to cover some important concepts and topics to consider, work through, and be inspired by in a child’s hifdh journey. A mix of story, information, comic style panels, pull out boxes and every font in the system, gives this 8 inch by 5.5 inch book a lot of visual appeal to readers and fulfills an important gap in our literary options. I’m not entirely sure how best to utilize the book aimed at 8 year olds and up, I don’t know if handing it to any child to read from start to finish will overwhelm them, or if it should be read and shared with an adult for those seeking to inspire their child to consider memorizing the whole Qur’an, or should be used for those who have already made the commitment and are seeking to see themselves reflected and motivated to not give up. I think the creators, there is no single author listed, want it to be for all of the above, and as a result the book often feels very repetitive. And yes I get the themes and benefits of memorizing the Qur’an do need to be repeated in various ways, but the phrase “the Qur’an your best friend” is in the book a lot. Like it isn’t uncommon to see it three times on a page. Additionally a concept or benefit of the Qur’an is mentioned more than once in multiple ways and then repeated again later, not in a circling back way, or even in a let me further emphasize this way, or even a lets go deeper in understanding this important matter, it reads as if the chapters were written and edited in isolation and then just put together, and thus the continuity from the start to end doesn’t feel smooth, hence I don’t know the best way to utilize the book. All that being said, the book covers some desperately needed topics such as: am I failure if I can’t memorize, is hifdh only for boys, what if my teacher is strict, etc.. Unfortunately, I feel like some of these important topics get lost in a lot of repetitive fluff that distracts from the clarity of what the book sets out to do.
The book has some Zanib Mian vibes with the characters being introduced at the start and the fictionalized story carrying the non fiction lessons and information with fun fonts and illustrations throughout. I like that it is a “how to” in many ways for those wondering what to consider before making a commitment, and how to get started. And I love that it tries to connect through characters past and present, real and fictional, and all ages. The references to Gaza and Bosnia are nice, but not woven in particularly well, again I could go both ways, I appreciate that too much information is not given that would distract from the theme of the book, but if kids aren’t knowledgeable about the situation, I don’t know that they will fully gleam the intent of their inclusion. I appreciate the references in the backmatter, thank you. I would love to hear how parents have used the book and what kid’s think. I read the book as an adult, who struggles with memorization from cover to cover, my children have memorized portions of the Quran and work at it daily, but not at the level of become a hafidh, so admittedly I may not fully grasp the potential this book offers and the full utility of it. I’ve included inside pages to help parents make an informed decision for their children and decide how best the book can be used.
