Tag Archives: goals

Jun29

Mae Among the Stars by Roda Ahmed illustrated by Stasia Burrington

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Mae Among the Stars by Roda Ahmed illustrated by Stasia Burrington

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Inspired by the early life story of astronaut Mae Jemison this 36 page AR 3.0 children’s picture book is inspiring and encouraging.  It is not a biography of the first African American woman in space for children, infact with the exception of the note at the end, there really are very few specifics about how she went from being discouraged by a teacher to flying in outer space.  That isn’t to say the book isn’t beautiful and impressive, because it is, and it shows how no one should limit your dreams or your success.  The book radiates warmth and determination and for children, preschool to third grade, if desired, offers a way to start a discussion about racism and sexism all while celebrating the amazing accomplishments of Mae Jemison.

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Mae is a dreamer and her homework one day asks her what she wants to be when she grows up, she tells her family she wants to see the Earth from up there, pointing to the sky.  Her mom tells her that she will have to be an astronaut to do that.  Nervous that it might be too lofty of a goal, her family reassures her that if she can dream it and believe it and work hard for it, that anything is possible.

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From then on, Mae reads books about space from the library, plays pretend, and makes herself a space suit from old curtains and a cardboard box.  She dreams about being in space and looking back at Earth, and she tells everyone she can about her dream to be an astronaut.

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At school when the teacher asks what everyone wants to do and be in the future, Mae’s answer gets her laughed at.  Ms. Bell tries to encourage her to be a nurse instead.  Once home, Mae breaks in to tears that her teacher didn’t believe in her.  Mae’s mom tells her that her teacher was wrong and that she hoped Mae didn’t believe her.  She told Mae that no one could stop her from pursuing her dreams.

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With her family’s unwavering support and a lot of hard work, Mae goes to space. The book ends with her keeping her promise of waving to her parents and looking down on Earth.

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The book touches on a lot of powerful issues that I really hope adults will point out and discuss with their children.  Why her teacher didn’t think she could be an astronaut, not as a belittling of the nursing profession, but as a woman of color what would make her teacher think that was her best option.  When and how should we handle when teachers, or people in authority,  do or say something that we disagree with. I also hope that the note at the end that tells more about Dr. Jemison’s accomplishments is poured over again and again and again and appreciated.  Truly she is a hero!

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There is nothing Islamic in the book, I’m assuming the author is Muslim, but honestly I didn’t find anything in my Google searches that would indicate that she is or isn’t.  It is really just my assumption about the name and my wanting to share this inspiring story with beautiful illustrations with the people who frequent my blog.  Enjoy!

May20

Paradise is Oh So Nice (Islamic Edition) by Halimah Bashir illustrated by Laila Ramadhani Ritonga

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Paradise is Oh So Nice (Islamic Edition) by Halimah Bashir illustrated by Laila Ramadhani Ritonga

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This adorably illustrated 40 page rhyming book about jannah explores just how generous and amazing the ultimate goal of obtaining paradise can be, as seen from a child’s perspective.  Preschool and up will enjoy the illustrations and cadence the book tries to adhere to, as well as the silly manifestations of everything and anything the characters in the book can imagine.

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According to the publisher, Prolance, there are two versions of the book: “In the Islamic edition, we’ve included verbiage that relates to the Muslim audiences, added a fun Quran search activity & a song!”  Additionally, the word Allah is written in Arabic and there is an ayat from the Quran at the beginning of the book.

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There isn’t really a story it is more a glorified list of all the things you could have (inshaAllah) in paradise.   The set-up is a mom discussing it with her two small children at bedtime. The book doesn’t give too much information about what you have to do to get to heaven aside from mentioning being patient and being believers.

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The book surprisingly does a pretty good job of not getting too silly or carried away with it self.  It manages to include that there will be rivers made of milk and honey, that there are levels of jannah, that there will be castles and we will know which is ours, and that the greatest gift will be to see Allah swt.

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Naturally, it seems with every kids book about heaven, the majority anyway, focus a ton on food, this one does branch out a bit from the dreams of ice cream mountains  and curly fries for hair, to flowers growing shoes and dinosaurs for pets, but not a whole lot.

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The book is fun, but with most Prolance books it seems, the price is a bit steep.  The book is hardback, the inside pages are not glossy, but have a decent weight and feel to them.  The 8.5 x 8.5 pages make it work better for bedtime than a large group as the illustrations are the best part of the book and they are pretty detailed and small in places.

Apr18

Yaseen’s Big Dream by Umm Juwariyah illustrated by Azra Momin

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Yaseen’s Big Dream by Umm Juwariyah illustrated by Azra Momin

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Kids love to stretch their imagination and do the impossible, but for Yaseen Muhammad, his dreams at night are his favorite activity to see just how far his abilities can go.  In this 21 page paperback 8.5 x 8.5 square book, Yaseen Muhammad will imagine his best day ever as the President of the United States and share with kids 1st through 3rd grade exactly what he will make happen, inshaAllah, when he wakes up.

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In a very busy day as the first kid president, Yaseen Muhammad dreams of starting the day leading morning prayer in the Oval Office, and then getting his family to help him prepare a special lunch for everyone in every state.  He’ll visit schools all over America and play celebrity basketball with his cousin and vice President Jameelah. He’s Jedda will teach people to start their own gardens, and he’ll give a speech on TV, after all why not, “Nothing is Impossible.”

The pictures are lively and descriptive that the reader and listeners will enjoy looking at them.  The characters are visibly Muslim as the women wear hijab, and in the text it mentions the characters praying, and Yaseen Muhammad dreaming he is the imam.  There is a lot of text on the pages, but the story flows and the information serves a purpose in establishing who Yaseen Muhammad is and connecting him and his dream to the readers.  The text is uniformly on the right with the pictures on the left making the book very convenient if sharing during story time and you are like me and hold the book in your left hand when reading to a group.

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The only thing that struck me as off, was in the illustration of Jameelah and Yaseen playing basketball. Yaseen’s t-shirt has a Y on it and Jameelas an F. Not a J for Jameelah or a Y signaling they are on the same team.  It is minor, but all my kids noticed it too and wondered why.  

A couple of places I stumbled over some of the grammar and wording, but after reading it aloud a hundred times (exaggeration, slightly) to figure out why, I don’t think anything is wrong, it is just a bit awkward, but it is probably me.  For example when Yaseen is speaking to the whole world on TV he says “Every kid can make a difference in your community, in your state, in your country, and even in the world. Dream Big.”  Seems like it should be, Every kid can make a difference in “their” community, in “their” state, no?

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Overall, a good empowering story for all children and one that highlights African American Muslims in text and illustrations.  A great book to have in rotation to encourage kids to dream, make the world better, and believe in themselves.  Alhumdulillah.