Tag Archives: Fun

May10

Ramadan by Hannah Eliot illustrated by Rashin

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Ramadan by Hannah Eliot illustrated by Rashin

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A beautifully illustrated board book about Ramadan came out in April just in time for Ramadan.  The 24 pages tell basic facts about Ramadan, introduce readers to Arabic vocabulary of suhoor, iftar and Eid al Fitr, and conveys concepts about fasting.  It explains that Ramadan is praying, and family, and helping others.  It never strays from appealing to toddlers and preschoolers, which makes the book a great choice for little ones.

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I wish that it included something about Allah, or the Quran, but it doesn’t and as its a Simon and Schuster published book it is probably intentional as to keep it open to both Muslim and non Muslim children.  The month is referred to as a special month, but doesn’t tell why it is special other than it being a time to fast.  It says we fast to know how the poor feel and to appreciate what we have.  There is nothing about religion mentioned out right, the words Islam and M  cccuslims don’t even appear in the book.

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I love that it mentions that while we are fasting we still go to work and school.  And I love that it mentions Eid as a time of gifts and sweets and praying.  The main take-a-ways of the book are that Ramadan is a special time of year of praying, loving our family, and giving back to others, while it explains going without food and drink, it doesn’t overly dwell on it.

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The pictures are busy and colorful and detailed and wonderful.  They show diversity of color, age, ethnicity, body shape and are full of smiling warm faces.  There are animals in nearly every picture and they really are whimsical yet bold enough, to hold readers’ attention over and over and over again.

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May3

Mr. Ramadhan Moon by S.R.M. illustrated by Haleema Tahir Gul

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Mr. Ramadhan Moon by S.R.M. illustrated by Haleema Tahir Gul

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This little 26 page paperback book is not a lot to look at, and it really isn’t substantial in your hands either….but it comes with this little guy, who is Awesome!
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And once Mr. Ramadhan Moon smiling at you, and you open the book, the only real complaint you’ll have is how can we support this book so that the book can become hardback, the pages bigger, and the font spaced out more.  Yeah, it is fun, really fun.

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Told from Mr. Moon’s perspective the story covers the basics about Ramadan, fasting, charity, praying, and Eid, but also incorporates the searching of the moon in both the Ramadan month sense, and in the hiding of the toy and finding it around your house activity gimmick. Much like the Christmas game of “Elf on the Shelf,” Mr. Ramadhan Moon wants to be found each day of Ramadan, and can also be found on each page of the book.

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The book is written in rhyme, which often is forced, but its ambition is appreciated as a lot of information is conveyed.  There is even a glossary of terms in the back.

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The book is ordered through Etsy and I think will be a blast for kids toddler to 3rd grade.  I’m planning to hide him daily this Ramadan and I’ve already read the book to my children who can’t wait to start a new Ramadan tradition.

Feb1

The Muslims by Zanib Mian

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The Muslims by Zanib Mian

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After reading this book, I really, really want to meet (and be friends with) the author, she writes from the point of view of Omar, a nine year old boy, and his perspective and voice are so authentic and relevant that while the book targets 3rd through 5th grade, I am certain kids and adults, Muslims and non-muslims, boys and girls, and everyone else, will all thoroughly enjoy this laugh-out-loud 164 page book.  

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SYNOPSIS:

Omar is starting at a new school, we don’t know why, and while he is nervous, he has a good attitude about it.  His parents are supportive scientists and he has an older sister, Maryam who can be a bit mean in a big sister way, and a little brother Esa, who he secretly loves.  All are practicing muslims who remind me a lot of the people I know.  We say our duaas, we pray, we laugh at the funny stereotypes and just try and be good neighbors and people.  Omar’s neighbor is hilarious, Mrs. Rogers, doesn’t like Omar’s family, or “the Muslims” as she calls them, but they just keep being themselves and when she falls and gets hurt, she starts to realize they are good people who care about her.  She even starts showing up for iftar every night in Ramadan and counts down like a space ship launch until it is time to eat. 

Using his Islamic upbringing, and seeing how is family handles problems, gives Omar a lot of tools for starting at a new school.  But Omar is the protagonist, the hero, so he also has a super imagination that involves H2O, his dragon, that shows up to help him out when things get rough.  And unfortunately, a bully by the name of Daniel makes things rough for Omar.  He tells Omar that all Muslims and all Asians are going to be kicked out of the country, and this really sticks with Omar.  He verifies it with a cousin, and learns it could be a possibility.  So, the underlying anxiety is there, but most of the book that focuses on the bullying aspects involve the day-to-day comments, physical pushing, and efforts of Omar to avoid Daniel.  When they do meet up, however, the result is often comical, as Omar and H20 confidently navigate the situation at hand.  Between visiting a different mosque in London each week, learning to read the Quran, celebrating Ramadan, and just being a kid with new friends and a fun family, Omar eventually does win Daniel over after the two of them get lost in the London Underground.  And all of us that came along for the ride are better for it, alhumdulillah.

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WHY I LIKE IT:

There is so much to love about this book.  Seriously.  The accuracy of family life depicted is spot on and the Islamic elements are so interwoven that non Muslims would truly learn about Islam through learning about Omar, but not in a preachy way, and Muslims will see themselves on every. single. page.  I love that Omar doesn’t ever seem embarrassed to be who he is.  He is a cool kid for his confidence alone, and being able to laugh at a bully and not have it shake your core belief and self image is so powerful.  The characters are well developed, from little Esa to Omar’s teacher, by viewing them through his eyes, you see enough of their personality to remember them, and appreciate them.  The only exception to this was Maryam, I really didn’t feel like I got much on her, but I have a feeling there will be more books, and she will develop too.  The book reads like a diary, until a tinge of foreshadowing of the changing relationship between Omar and Daniel pops up to setup the climax.  The chapters are short, the fonts and doodles endearing and engaging, and the size of the book, really makes it fun for elementary aged children.  The only possible gripe for American children, is that it is a British book, and you might have to google or ask what a few things are, yeah we are selfish like that, but its good for us to learn what pains au chocolate are, or crumpets, or nappies.  

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FLAGS:

The book is clean. 

TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:

Oh this should be required reading for every kid.  I know I will be trying to implement this every where I go.  This would be awesome for a elementary book club, and especially great in Islamic schools for struggling readers.  In much the same way that teachers use humor to engage students, this book has heart and humor and a surprising amount of information, that I can see it being connected to a lot character building supplements in various curriculums, at least I hope it is, we need voices like this, both within our community and to serve as a representative of us to the larger society.

Book Trailer:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIKtoxt3InM

Author’s website: http://www.muslimchildrensbooks.co.uk/

 

Dec18

The Man with Bad Manners by Idries Shah illustrated by Rose Mary Santiago

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The Man with Bad Manners by Idries Shah illustrated by Rose Mary Santiago

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This story has a good moral, but the path there is a little twisted.  A village is annoyed by a man with awful manners and when he leaves for vacation, a clever boy convinces everyone to teach him a lesson and get him to change his ways when he returns.  They replant his field, paint his house, and rearrange his furniture to convince him upon his return that this is not his village or home or fields.  

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When he does come back, he is confused and sad that he doesn’t know where he comes from, at which time the village tells him what they did, and agree to put everything back if he promises to change.  

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The 32 page brightly illustrated book tells an Afghani tale in a western setting.  The chunky cartoonish illustrations show great imagination and encourage the reader to look at the effects of bad manners in a different way.  The clever boy, also goes about things in an extreme manner, which hopefully gets the reader to question if it was successful and perhaps how they would have handled the situation.  Another book that urges, thinking outside the box, with some discussion and reflection.  There is some lying, breaking and entering and other questionable actions, but I think most kids will realize it to be a silly story to teach a lesson, and all is forgiven because in the end they did live happily ever after.

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The book is not AR but easily works for Kindergarten to 3rd grade.  There is nothing in the text or illustrations that suggests the book has any religious or cultural ties.

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Nov28

The Silly Chicken by Idries Shah illustrated by Jeff Jackson

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This story reads wonderfully aloud as it is silly, repetitive, and the message is more clear than in some of Idries Shah’s other Sufi inspired teaching books.  Written on an AR 4.0 level with 32 pages.  Some pages are heavily text laden while others just sprinkle a few words across a beautifully illustrated page.  Like his other books, the illustrations are truly spot on.  The lively faces on the characters, and colorful scenes bring the story to life and keep the audience engaged and giggling.

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A man decides to learn how to speak “chicken,” when that doesn’t work, he teaches the chicken to speak our kind of language.  Fluent and conversational, the chicken then tells the villagers that, “The earth is going to swallow us up!”.  Everyone runs in all directions, up the mountain, down the mountain, across the meadow, around the world, but they can never get away from the earth.  When they return, they are upset with the chicken and ask how he knows that the earth is going to swallow them up, to which he replies that he doesn’t.  After they recap all the trouble he has put them through he poignantly laughs at them and asks, ” You think a chicken knows something just because he can talk?” Realizing how foolish they have been the chicken begins telling more outlandish things, just to make the people laugh, and isn’t taken seriously again.

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The message is clear, the characters funny, and the illustrations engaging. I finally found an Idries Shah book that I like! Yay, I guess for me they are hit or miss, and this one was definitely a hit!

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Sep5

The Farmer’s Wife by Idries Shah illustrated by Rose Mary Santiago

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The Farmer’s Wife by Idries Shah illustrated by Rose Mary Santiago

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The book reads very much like the western children’s story/song, “I know an old lady who swallowed a fly,” but in this Sufi inspired repetitive story, An old Farmer’s wife can’t get an apple out of a hole.  

The silliness starts right away when she wants to get a bird to fly down the hole to get it for her.  When the bird says, “tweet,” which means no, she deems him naughty and then moves on to asking a cat to jump on the bird, to get the bird to get the apple.  The funny thing is the chain of events is funny and illogical at points. She wants water in a puddle, to put out a fire to burn a rope, the rope to tie up a bee keeper, and so on.  Luckily the wind finally blows the apple out of the hole and they all live happily ever after.

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The book supposedly is to teach patience, I am hoping to use it when I do a lesson on thinking outside the box and how sometimes that is great, but the trick is knowing when it might also be easier to reach down and pick up the apple.  

The book is AR 3.4 and 32 pages.  Many versions are dual languages.  The pictures are great with the abiya wearing woman and the chunky cartoonish side characters making the silly story fun to read a loud.  There is nothing “islamic” other than the illustrations showing the woman in hijab, and the author being a well known sufi writer who uses lessons from the Sufi tradition to teach lessons to children.

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Aug31

A Little Tree Goes for Hajj by Eman Salem

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A Little Tree Goes for Hajj by Eman Salem

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A friend loaned me this book with a bit of hesitation as to its quality, and although I needed one more Hajj book for an upcoming story time, it seemed that it was yet another book about the steps for Hajj, so I wasn’t stressing about acquiring it. Luckily we were both wrong, at least from my perspective.  The book is so sweet, and not so much about the steps and details of Hajj, but more about the longing to go.  To seal the sweetness deal, it is about the friendship between a man, and a tree, and perfect for 3 year olds and up.

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The little tree dreams of traveling, but more than anything he dreams of going to see the Ka’aba.  Noting the logistical struggles of travel with roots, his mother encourages him to make duaa for his heart’s desires.  After a lot of patience and a lot of duaas, (alhumdulillah, it shows duaas take time and are not a magical instant granting of a wish) a young man walks by on his way to the coast to catch a boat for Mecca.  Startled by a talking tree, the clever boy just happens to have a basket and he uproots the tree and they head out together.

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The book shows the two doing all the steps in a large two page illustration, keeping the text to a minimum.   On the next page though, it highlight the two praying and trimming their hair and leaves. When the tree is returned to his mother, she is watered with Zam Zam water and “they agree it is the sweetest water ever tasted.”

The friendship continues, as they journey on countless adventures, and in the end, when the man is old and the tree is too big, the old man returns to rest on the tree’s roots and tell stories to the nearby saplings.

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Written in both English and Arabic, the story is a fast read that holds even the little one’s attention as they look at the expressive illustrations.  There is additional information on the Hajj rituals page, but it can be used according to need, like the glossary in the back.  The story is for Muslim children and families as it does not explain the requirements of Hajj, importance of the Ka’aba, or history of the rituals.

 

Aug29

Hamza Learns About Eid-ul-Adha by Asna Chaudhry

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Hamza Learns About Eid-ul-Adha by Asna Chaudhry

 

FullSizeRender (20)Hamza returns in this book to learn about Eid-ul-Adha, and the story is hilarious, and on point for ages three and up.  The sentences and paragraphs are short, the pictures are bright and colorful like always, and the basics of Eid are conveyed.  The age of the reader or listener will greatly depend on what they get out of the story, as some may need help understanding concepts like sacrifice, slaughter, sacred, commemorate, counting sheep to sleep, and why the book is silly.

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Hamza sees his older sister Aisha decorating the house for Eid-ul-Adha and wants to learn more about the holiday.  He goes to find his mom who starts to explain that it is a day of feasting “to commemorate when Prophet Ibrahim (pbuh) was going to sacrifice his son according to Allah’s command.”  Unfortunately for Hamza, mom then gets a phone call and Hamza runs for his life thinking that he too will be sacrificed.  When Hamza’s brother Ali finds him hiding under the bed, Ali explains that only animals are sacrificed, and tells him about how Allah swt commanded Prophet Ibrahim to sacrifice his son Ismail.  

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Hamza then worries about the animals that are sacrificed and Ali explains that when done in an Islamic manner, they feel little pain and that the meat is to be shared.  With his heart at ease, Hamza is ready to enjoy Eid-ul-Adha.

Aug24

Hamza Learns About Hajj by Ameena Chaudhry

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Hamza Learns About Hajj by Ameena Chaudhry

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This isn’t my favorite Hamza book, which is unfortunate, because it presents some really good information in a way different than all the other children’s Hajj books I’ve read. Hamza want’s to know if there is a swimming pool at Hajj or if big machines were used to build the Kabaa.  All pretty accurate questions for how a 4 year old processes what is going on, but it takes Hamza and the reader forever to get any information.  He hears about Hajj from his parents, then goes to ask his sister Aisha who tells him its one of the pillars, then goes to ask grandpa, then is glad he has learned so much about hajj, then eager to learn more…it seems like all the book does up until this point is have Hamza asking to learn, wanting to learn, and glad he has learned, but nothing he is learning is being shared with the reader!

Eventually we do learn that the Kabba is a house of worship built thousands of years ago, that it is the direction that we pray, and that Prophet Ibrahim (pbuh) and his son built it.  About Hajj we learn that you have to wear white two-piece outfits, that millions of people go, and that you can only go during a special time of year.  Not a lot of information, but at the same time, for little ones, that can be a good thing.  Sometimes learning  all the names of places and rituals is cumbersome and off-putting. 

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The amount of text on the pages is minimal, and the pictures, as always, are endearing, Hamza even imagines himself bald!  I do question when the book claims, that going to Medina to visit Masjid al Nabawi is part of Hajj.

Hamza gets excited for Hajj and I think that is conveyed to the readers.  Little kids will giggle and remember that the Kabba was built by people’s hands, and that it is far away. Not bad for 3 and 4 year olds, but not enough to engage older kids, or those with some understanding of Hajj.

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Aug6

Nightly News with Safa by Helal Musleh illustrated by Hatem Aly

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Nightly News with Safa by Helal Musleh illustrated by Hatem Aly

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Having Really liked Zaid and the Gigantic Cloud, I convinced myself to spend $15 on a 20 page book by the same author.  I knew it was paperback and 8×8, but I loved the message in Zaid, and the summaries of Nightly News with Safa online all talked about how a little girl creates her own newscast with a positive spin to tell her mom about her day. A lot of positives for me: a creative girl, problem solving, imagination, and journalism.   So I ordered it, and when it came, I thumbed through it, and counted only 10 pages of story, yes that is right, 10 pages.  The rest of the pages tell about the author, the illustrator or are colorful, but blank, before and after the story.

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Price and length aside, the book is really cute and clever.  The target audience is probably first grade to third grade, and the pictures are colorful, detailed and very well done. A girl, Safa, doesn’t like when her mom watches the news as it is sad, serious, and angry, so she builds a tv, puts herself inside and tells her mom about the happy highlights of her day at school in a news format.  Very creative, but that is it, there isn’t a message or really a point, or any story about Safa and her mom.

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With guidance and oversight, however, the book is a great starting point for how kids can be problem solvers, and is a great springboard for encouraging creativity and thinking outside the box to get your way.  The publishing company even has a free “Book Study Package” on their website http://www.myeverydayclassroom.com/2016/02/book-study-freebie-nightly-news-safa/  The package is 13 pages, it is longer than the book.  Which is funny to me, but not surprising, as there is a lot to discuss after reading the book.  My 10 year old enjoyed it and tried to convince my 6 year old who didn’t get any of it, all the lessons it alludes to.  It would work great in a classroom setting where you read the book, divide the class up and have them make their own newscast to talk about their day, or as a social studies or literature activity.

There is no mention of Islam in the book, the characters are not visibly muslim, there are no Islamic words, or references.  The character’s name is Safa, which may or may not signify faith.