A nonfiction picture book for teens that features amazing women from ancient times to the present day. Many of the women featured are Muslim and each entry receives a teasing summation page with a full page portrait from one of five international artists before a two page, more in-depth biography is presented. The 112 pages feature an introduction, and a map to start the book off, and acknowledgements and a glossary at the end. There are large time gaps that I wish would have been commented on, the geographical pool includes India which surprised me, and in one of the entries the way hijab is discussed seemed judgmental to me, but other than that the stories are absolutely remarkable. There are amazing women in every culture and throughout all time periods, but to see one that highlights a region that is stereotypically oppressive to women is a sight for sore eyes. I learned so much and marveled at the intellect, bravery and determination shown from being rulers of empires to intellectuals to scientists and artists everything in between.
The book starts with Nefertiti born in 1370 BCE and concludes with Zahra Lari, a hijab wearing ice skater from the United Arab Emirates born in 1995. There are “celebrities” such as Amal Clooney, Fairuz, Cleopatra, Sheherazade and many that might not be as well known.
I particularly enjoyed learning about Zenobia the 3rd century warrior queen who conquered a third of the Roman empire in just five years. Sufi mystic and poet Rabi’a al Adawiyya and her devotion to Allah swt. Eqyptian Shajarat al-Durr who was nicknamed Queen of the Muslims in the 13th century. And Hurrem Sultan from the Ottoman Empire.
Not every one featured was a ruler or married to one, and not are so far in the past, which in many ways gives the collection it’s charm. Somayya Jabarti was the first female editor-in-chief in Saudi Arabia in 2014 and Maha al Balushi is the first Omani woman to fly professionally for her country’s airline in 2010, examples of two women presented that cracked the glass ceiling by following their own dreams.
It is great to learn about the strength of the women from the past and see how to add to the legacy. The book is a great reference, as well as a source of inspiration for people of all backgrounds to enjoy and appreciate. I found the book at my local public library in the YA/Teen nonfiction women section.
This 165 page AR 3.9 book about the 42 days in 1991 that Iraq was at war with the United States is told from an 11 year old half Kurdish Christian boy’s perspective, but he mentions that he has friends that are Muslim and culturally and historically the book is relevant, important, and engaging as well. I had my 9, 11, and 13 year old read it to gain perspective of the Gulf War, the difference between politics and people, and to see diverse religions co-existing despite stereotypes, especially in the middle east.
SYNOPSIS:
Ali gets the highest score on his Atari console the day that the bombs start falling. Ali and his brothers Shirzad and Ahmed, and sister Shireen along with their parents retreat to the safest room in the upper middle class home to hopefully stay safe. With experience of surviving the Iran-Iraq war which ended just three years earlier, the kids camp out at night in the room farthest from the nearby school and spend their days playing soccer in the abandoned streets. The safe room was determined by knowing that Saddam uses his own people as human shields and places military installments in public service locations so that he can use propaganda to try and convince people that the enemy is bombing schools and hospitals intentionally to harm the innocent.
When the electricity goes out and the water cuts off, the family is forced to accept government rations. Their dad is a dentist, but as he is essentially property of the state, he is forced to work as a medic and is often absent from home. The family lives in Basra, which is in southern Iraq and near to the invaded Kuwait, thus all the troops pass through the city and the children spend their days keeping up their house, playing soccer with their friend Mustafa and trying to avoid the bullies Omar and Umar who’s father is in Saddam’s Ba’ath Party.
Ali speaks English because of his love of American TV and feels that if he can meet some US soldiers he will convince them that he should be in America not in Saddam’s Iraq. He loves Superman, video games, soccer, his family, and his country, but the people, not the leader, he loathes Saddam, even though he knows he can’t ever speak ill of him.
A trip to get rations results in Ali seeing public executions and a colleague of his math professor mother’s getting hauled away. A visit from their cousin gives them news that their father is missing. Life is not easy for the family, and yet they know they have it better than a lot of other people. After the war, once again the family will have to put back together their lives and carry on.
The book concludes with a 14 year jump and Ali translating at the trial of Saddam Hussein where the leader who has been hiding is found guilty and sentenced to be killed by hanging.
WHY I LIKE IT:
I love that Ali is so relatable, he could really be a kid anywhere which makes what he sees and hears and experiences all the more intense. The way that the book shows how the soldiers are forced to be soldiers, the citizenry at the mercy of the government, and the inability to speak freely so very real and frightening, is strong, but not traumatizing to the reading audience. Even Ali being forced to observe the killing of people in the street is handled with the target audience in mind. They are Kurdish and had to deal with that within Iraqi society, which is a nice added layer to understanding that Iraqis are not a single monolith. I love how the family had to go to the governor’s house and how nice his son was, even though, they are all Ba’ath Party members and part of the larger oppressive system. It shows that things aren’t always black and white, and to convey all this to eight and nine year olds so clearly is quite remarkable.
I also like that the book holds up over time. My kids had no idea what Atari is or was, but they could understand that it is a video game, and that it was an escape during the night for Ali to imagine he was playing a game trying to catch the falling bombs as a way to be brave and endure.
FLAGS:
Execution, death.
TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:
I would consider this for a middle school book club, it is a bit short and definitely more middle grades, but it would allow kids to identify and imagine and discuss war through the fictional characters and voice their understandings of an authoritarian government structure, which would be interesting.
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.
I really should give up reading Samira Ahmed books. This is the third one I’ve read, and while she is definitely getting better, I still don’t know why her editors don’t fix her flat notes. Like in Internment, the premise in this book is amazing, but other parts are just cringe-y and painful and really, really unnecessary. My guess is, she would identify herself as a romance YA author, and yet consistently in her works, that is the most lacking part: the character building and forced romances. The art history mystery, the inspiration and “real” life of the characters from the past, the setting of Paris in the summer, the fight for woman to be heard are all so well done and compelling and interesting that this romp that blurs fact and fiction might deserve a read, but you have to overlook the forced love triangle, excessive kissing, be willing to suspend reality regarding Alexandre Dumas, Eugène Delacroix, and Lord Byron, artifacts and sleuthing, but if you can do all that, this 337 page book for 9th grade and up, is definitely fun and hard to put down.
SYNOPSIS:
The protagonist is 17-year-old French-Indian-Muslim-American Khayyam, who is spending her summer in Paris with her professor parents like they do every year. But this year is different as she is being ghosted by her boyfriend Zaid back in Chicago and has just been humiliated by her poor research attempts to link a missing painting from artist Delacroix to author Dumas in an entrance essay competition to her dream school. Khayyam’s story is really just beginning though as she steps in dog crap and bumps into a descendent of Alexandre Dumas as she wipes it off. A cute descendant, who shares the name with his distant grandfather, and viola’ the two of them are off on a whirlwind adventure of clues and attraction and mystery solving.
Khayyam’s story is interwoven and told between small glimpses of Leila’s story. Leila is a Haseki, a chosen concubine of the Pasha in Ottoman Turkey, but the lover of Giaour and friend of the jin. As we learn her story from 200 years earlier and her struggle to break free of her gilded cage in the harem, only to be defined by the artist and poets and author men around her, her story and Khayyams collide.
WHY I LIKE IT:
I know precious little of art history, I can name drop a few artists and paintings, but that is being generous, so the fact that I have no clue what is real and what is fake and what is possible, made this story all the more fun and engaging. Yes, I researched, aka Googled, stuff as I read and am perfectly content to accept the fictional what ifs that the book offers. I love how the art world and literary world are one in the book and that they inspired each other. The way the sleuthing, the finding of artifacts, and unraveling of it all is presented is indeed a romp. Realistic? Not a chance, but fun. I also love how both Khayyam and Leila had to define themselves and ultimately not do it in the reflection of a male.
The rest of the book, is a bit of a stretch. Leila’s story naturally has holes in it as it is told in broken pieces, but Khayyam’s story does too. I just didn’t care about her past boyfriend/ex-boyfriend/friend, whatever Zaid is or was, and clearly after moping about him for 300 pages and then not even giving him a proper goodbye, means that the author and character didn’t really care either, which made the already forced, cringe-y annoyingness all the more grating. As for the relationship, the other piece in the triangle, with Alexandre, was fine in that there was angst, but they put it aside to solve the mystery, so it didn’t bother me too much. Of course the fact that Khayyam is a practicing Muslim who seems to have no problems with boyfriends, and making out and that her parents don’t mind either, makes the faith aspect all the more befuddling. I guess practicing might be a stretch, her mom and her go to Jummah prayer on Friday, thats about the extent, and she mentions she doesn’t drink. Zaid, sets up a tutoring program at the masjid, but his instagram has him hanging all over girls too, so not sure why the characters are even Muslim. I suppose it is good to have that diverse representation, but it doesn’t seem to make much necessary sense to the overall story.
FLAGS:
Implied concubine activities, with the Pasha and the lover. Lots and lots and lots of kissing, nothing graphic, but annoying amounts of it being mentioned.
TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:
I want someone to discuss it with me and point out where the facts end and the speculation starts and when the full on fiction takes over. I don’t think I could use this book as a book club book because of the center stage of the haram romances in both Khayyam’s time and Leila’s. But if you have read it, talk to me about it, I’m curious!
I debated posting about this book for so long that Ramadan is more than half over. But as a reference for years to come, I thought I should go ahead and throw my late support toward this Ramadan tradition and a book deserving of space on your shelf for children 4th grade and up. I’ve seen people praising it for a few years, and finally I ordered it this year, however, I wanted to not only read it, but also test it out first: reading a story a day, discussing and asking the correlating questions with my own children, before reporting back. I cannot and thus won’t comment on the accuracy of authenticity of the book, nothing stood out as erroneous to me and there is a bibliography at the back, but there is a reason I try and steer clear of non fiction, I’m just not qualified to comment.
SYNOPSIS:
The book starts with the birth of Prophet Muhammad (saw) and ends with the selection of Abu Bakr (ra) as the first Khalifah. Each chapter is between one-and-a-half to two-and-a-half pages and the 30 chapters plus one Eid day chapter (so a total of 31), covers 103 pages in all. There are a few pictures of where the Battle of Badr took place, the Cave of Hira, not many. There are three questions at the back of the book for each of the chapters, but no answers. The book is pretty linear, just the second chapter bounces back to Prophet Abraham (as) and Hagar and the story of Zamzam and then the rebuilding of the Ka’bah. It is a glorified timeline, which in this case is a good thing. It doesn’t go off on tangents or provide a ton of outside references, it is concise and general, but hits the key parts: marriage to Khadijah, first revelation, migration to Abyssinia, Taif, Hijrah, treatment of slaves, year of sorrow, Battle of Badr, Battle of Uhud, Treaty of Hudaibiyah, it talks of tensions with various tribes, coming to an agreement about the Khalifah, and more.
I think younger children might possibly be able to have the short chapters read to them and then explained, but really, it would be a lot to process. The words are simplified and the gist of situations are conveyed, but topics aren’t necessarily shied away from. It discusses that Prophet Muhammad (saw) had more than one wife, and that there were slaves, and there were tensions with the Jews, and Bilal was tortured, all things that picture books might skip over.
WHY I LIKE IT:
I like that even my young teen could read and involve herself without feeling like the exercise was childish. Many of the answers are open ended in nature and require more than just a one word answer. It allows for children to add other facts that they know about RasulAllah to the dialogue and make connections to our history with our current life very easily. Even children that know the story of Prophet Muhammad (saw) will find the book engaging and smooth enough to read through again (and hopefully again each Ramadan) and learn new tidbits, understand concepts more clearly and be reminded about the beauty of our Prophet.
FLAGS:
Nothing
TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:
If I was a teacher, I would definitely start each morning reading a chapter and doing the Q and A, whether it was Ramadan or not. I think we need to be more connected to our Prophet and grow our love and appreciation for him, so books like this are such a great tool in accomplishing that goal.
The soft illustrations on 32 pages, surrounded by ample, large, well -paced text for second graders and up give life to a sweet story about a young boy, his grandfather, and the passing on of a Ramadan heirloom. While not a chapter book, and a little too long for little ones to enjoy as a simple picture book, the book may not beg children to pick it up and read it, but if they do, they will enjoy a sweet story that parents won’t mind reading more than once.
Synopsis:
Yusuf’s grandparents have just returned from their trip to Egypt and Yusuf is excited to see them, and receive the electronic fanooz he asked them to bring back. But when Grandpa takes Yusuf outside to give him the gift, it isn’t the modern light up lantern he asked for, it is an old rusty, cracked metal fanooz. Grandpa explains that the old fanooz used to be his when he was a young boy and begins his story of himself going out with his father to wake their neighbors for suhoor in Ramadan. The subtle details of how he would be woken up, how his dad would beat the drum and the song they would sing as they would walk around, keeps the story slow and engulfing. He then tells about returning and eating dates soaked in milk, and bread and fava beans before the white thread of light appeared.
Slowly the little boy, seeing how happy his grandfather is in his reminiscing, realizes that the fanooz he has been entrusted with is far better than the electronic one he asked for. As he walks his grandfather out the door, he is surprised with the gift he originally wanted, the fancy new fanooz. Not excited, his grandfather asks Yusuf what is wrong, and Yusuf, realizes that he likes the history filled one better.
The old fanooz finds a permanent place in Yusuf’s room, and he and his father fix the broken glass and polish up the metal to be regularly lit on Ramadan mornings and remind them all of grandfather as a little boy walking and waking people up before dawn.
WHY I LIKE IT:
I love the subtlety and detail. There are now so many books about the tradition of waking the neighbors up for suhoor, but this one focuses on the bonding of the grandfather and his father as well as the bond between the grandfather and Yusuf. The story speaks of the tradition with the drum, yet somehow it is the lantern that ties it all together.
There is sufficient referencing about Ramadan and fasting to appeal to Muslim kids and inform non Muslims a bit. The book is not preachy, it is cultural and religious in a narrative story sort of way.
My only main complaint is that I don’t know who the target audience is with the long pages of text, and full page pictures. It is a hard book to place. The illustrations are sweet and compliment the story, but in the pictures, Yusuf just seems too young. His ability to appreciate his grandfather’s old lantern verses the electronic fanooz he asked for implies a bit older child. In the pictures he looks like he is three or four years old, a disconnect that often distracted me from the story. I also wish they would have used an Arabic word or title for the grandfather.
FLAGS:
clean
TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:
It is obviously too short and not the correct format for a book club, but I am hoping to share it at story time. It will be a bit of a challenge for little children to sit through, but I’m thinking it is worth the effort, inshaAllah, bismillah…
This book is part of a new Muslim Scientist Series featuring 24 glossy colorful 8×8 pages highlighting a great Muslim from the Golden Age of Islam. Meant for Muslim children ages 4-7, the book sets out to teach and inspire little Muslims, and does a pretty decent job of presenting it in a memorable easy to understand way. Adults might have to explain and help out a bit, but the book accounts for that too.
The book starts off with some “Notes to Parents and Teachers” about supplemental activities and conversation starters to make the book relevant, and show how beneficial their contributions to science were and still are today.
The book is a simplified biography of Ibn Yunus, and I would imagine the other books: Ibn Majid, Ibn Battuta, Ibn Al-Batar, follow the same pattern. It tells about where he was born and when, and what he is famous for, before telling a bit about his family, an ayat from the Quran that inspired him is then given in English and Arabic and translated, before it shows how he worked toward his goal, and the accomplishments he made in his lifetime that still are used today.
The fun illustrations make Ibn Yunus’s field of study easier to understand and will keep the littler listeners interested. Adults will hopefully also learn something in the reading, and feel the same pride and inspiration of Muslim’s contributions to science.
It is critical to teach our children about the accomplishments and discoveries of Muslims, and this non fiction series is a great introduction to Muslim scientists, scholars, and adventurers, that they might not otherwise learn about.
At 134 pages the fictionalized retelling of Prophet Sulaiman’s (AS) kingdom and interaction with Queen Bilqis comes to life from the point of view of a Hoopoe bird. The book is marketed as a “Quranic fantasy adventure,” which I found a bit misleading. The book is rooted in Quran and Hadith facts according to the author, and colored in to try and tie a story together, but even for 3rd and 4th graders I don’t know that there is much adventure or suspense. As a prophet story it is pretty solid, but as an adventure book it seemed a bit scattered in its attempts to give history, draw in unrelated anecdotes and make it seem intense, when the dialogue suggested otherwise.
SYNOPSIS:
The book starts with the narrator setting the stage to tell his story of being in Prophet Sulaiman’s army nearly 3,000 years ago in the land of Sham. Told in first person and limited to what he saw, the Hoopoe bird (Hud-hud) addresses the reader and begins his tale. He first gives some information about Hoopoe birds and Prophet Dawud (Prophet Sulaiman’s father), before lovingly describing Jerusalem and how the Bani Israil came to the land of Sham.
The first real glimpse of what kind of ruler Prophet Sulaiman is, is given with the detail allotted to how he repaired Masjid Al-Aqsa. The bird then tells of Prophet Sulaiman’s many powers and gifts from Allah (swt), the ability to control the wind, control liquid metal, speak with animals, and of course the Jinn. Slowly, the reader begins to understand how impressive Prophet Sulaiman’s kingdom is, not just by being told, but being shown, so to speak, and reminded pointedly by the Hoopoe that despite so much power how humble towards Allah swt, Prophet Sulaiman remained.
There is a tangent about his love of horses, before the Hud-hud takes center stage again as a spy in the powerful army of men, jinn, and animals. The story of the ants is shared and about half way through the book it is on one of the bird’s scouting missions that he sees a Queen and her people worshipping the sun.
The back and forth between Prophet Sulaiman and Queen Bilqis as Prophet Sulaiman urges the Queen to allow her people to worship Allah or risk invasion is a familiar tale and one the author asserts he tried to use only Islamic sources to include.
The book ends after the Queen has visited, embraced Islam, more anecdotes about Prophet Sulaiman’s wisdom are shared and how even in his death he attempted to show the doubting people the power and oneness of Allah swt. The revelation of the termite breaking his walking stick and the retirement of the bird who had lived a most wondrous life, conclude the story before an Author’s Note at the end of the book.
WHY I LIKE IT:
I love Prophet stories and especially ones that are easy to read, memorable, and factual. I think the book does a decent job in a fictionalized retelling of getting a lot of the important information in, albeit sometimes a bit forced, but keeping it on level for upper elementary and being clear and concise. I didn’t stumble on grammatical mistakes or find parts confusing, it was well told and presented. More than once in the book, I felt like it would have made a better oral story than written one. The bird had to articulate how he knew stuff if he wasn’t there, and he kept asking the reader questions or telling them to pay attention.
The book is meant for Muslim kids and I wish there would have been footnotes or sources.
The illustrations were nice, they are full color but I am admittedly bias as I grew up writing letters to the illustrator who was my penpal for a few years.
FLAGS:
None
TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:
Doesn’t fit my book club criteria, but definitely think kids would benefit from reading the story and discussing how the author shared the information, what they think the Hud-hud’s life was like and then maybe trying to retell a story of their own from a different perspective.
When I first started teaching I wasn’t a big fan of graphic novels, slowly I saw their benefit for struggling readers, and eventually I came to appreciate them as an enhanced tweak in story telling for everyone. This book however takes the concept to the next level, for me anyway. As the inside flap claims, it is a book “that brings anthropological research to life in comic form, combining scholarly insights and accessible, visually-rich storytelling to foster greater understanding of global politics, inequalities, and solidarity.” As a coming of age story of two friends at its core, yet taking on breast cancer, kidney failure, parental loss, different cultures, different religions and with a back drop of the Egyptian revolution, I’d say the book is meant for high school and up. Not so much for content as for understanding and appreciation of all that went it to creating this ethnographic book.
SYNOPSIS:
Unlikely friends Anna and Layla cross economic, religious, and cultural differences to build a life long friendship. The book is divided into three parts: Cairo, Five Years Later, and Revolution. In the first part we see Layla’s family serving as the caretakers of a building and the two young girls bonding over pranks, arrogant tenants, and just being silly. Anna’s family is American and the father works for the oil companies, thus they are financially very well off, however, the father is rather distant and the mother is dying of cancer. The section concludes with the passing of Anna’s mom and the family going to Boston for the funeral.
Five years later finds the girls in college. Layla in medical school and Anna at a university in Boston. Layla’s father is suffering from renal failure and is unwilling to consider a transplant. While Anna is trying to see if she carries the same genes as her mother and if insurance will cover it. She also has to decide if she would want to have a complete double mastectomy, if she would want her breasts reconstructed, if she should do it now or later. She gets a lot of opinions, but ultimately decides to find a way to pay for it and have it done. Her father doesn’t understand, and Layla dismisses it forcing Anna to have to handle it alone. But when news come that Layla’s father isn’t going to make it, she rushes back to Egypt to offer her support.
In the final section, the revolution has spread and Dr. Layla is helping those injured in Tahrir Square during the protests, and Anna is helping to identify bodies despite being attacked for being a foreigner and part of the problem. Anna has kept the secret of her mastectomy from Layla and Layla assumes she has cancer. At odds with their roles in the revolution, and with keeping secrets from each other and their differences in financial opportunities coming to a head, Anna returns to Boston. When Layla’s brother is shot and loses an eye, however, Anna returns to Egypt and the two friends work to keep their relationship.
WHY I LIKE IT:
The book is grounded in so much conflict and turmoil, but fights hard to keep a character based narrative. With two illustrators and two authors trying to convey medical approaches, two cultures, two religion, two friends, and a revolution, the last 70 pages of the 302 page book are details about how the book came about, interviews with the various contributors, a timeline of the revolution, discussion questions, key references and a teaching guide. The book at times was confusing to me, and I’m not sure why, it quickly resolved itself or a flip back a few pages would clarify it, but I think some of the illustrations were just off enough that it complicated things. Anna by and large is depicted oddly on a few pages along with her family as well.
Layla’s family is definitely religious and at times has to challenge their thoughts to understand Anna and their own circumstances too. I think it is handled really well and allows the reader to consider things without answers being clear cut, is it Allah’s will to not have a transplant and accept death as being written for you or to have the transplant and ask Allah to make it successful? By and large the book poses questions through the juxtaposition of the two characters and the experiences they endure, and while it shows the choices they made, it draws the reader in to wonder what they would do in their shoes without judgement. The book provides a lot of facts and leaves them there making it more thought provoking than a simple story.
The characters are often composites of real characters the academic author’s learned about, yet some are directly based on activists and leaders of the revolution. The graffiti artwork is attributed and powerful. There is a lot of information in the notes after the comics end.
FLAGS:
There is death and revolution, Layla’s brother is taking Tramadol, and their are sketches of breasts as Anna learns about her disease and prognosis.
TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:
I wouldn’t do this as a book club as I don’t know how much middle schoolers would get out of it and the book is pretty pricey. I would recommend people read it though as it gives a different perspective on numerous things many of us take for granted.
This fictional story of a non-fiction-historical event over 37 large, 12×12, pages really brings the battle of Badr to life for readers ages seven and up. The book is engaging and keeps chidden focused, excited, and clear as to what is unfolding, why the battle was important for Muslims, and why it still has lessons today. Unfortunately, there are no source notes, bibliography, or references in the book, so I’m not sure how accurate the details are, and I haven’t yet had a chance to have someone more knowledgeable than I check it for accuracy. The ayats from the Quran quoted are identified in text and yes, I understand it isn’t a reference book, but even having some imam or scholar give their approval would reassure people considering purchasing the book. Additionally, fairly prominently there is a disclaimer at the beginning of the book that says, “The characters in this book are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is entirely coincidental,” which is a common disclaimer, but in a book of this nature, it did strike me as odd. So, you may want to read it first yourself before presenting it to your child as fact.
There is also a typo that my children discovered rather quickly and pointed out to me, I was a little disheartened when I asked about it, to discover the author knew about it before mailing it out, but for some reason didn’t find it necessary to put a note or let the customer be aware of it. I put a post-it note in mine to show all of you, and will be taking a black marker to it shortly. Mistakes and typos happen, but I felt that they should have let the consumer know, once they knew that it was there, for accuracy sake.
The book starts off with a brother and sister fighting, Zain and Zahrah. When the father goes to stop them, Zain tells him that Prophet Muhammad (SAW) used to fight, and the father concedes the point, but points out it was not something he wanted to do. He tells them that for the first 13 years he didn’t fight back even when the Quraysh made fun of him.
The kids ask who the Quraysh are and why they didn’t believe the Prophet, to which the father lovingly answers their questions before telling him about the verses revealed allowing them to fight from Surah Al-Baqarah.
They learn about Abu Sufyan returning from Syria with a large caravan and how the Prophet wanted to surprise them. Only to learn that Abu Sufyan had arranged a much larger army from Mecca to come and attack the Prophet and his Companions.
There are details about how they determined the size of the army based on how many camels were being eaten, and how the Muslims camped near the wells to control the water. The story reads smoothly and pulls out when the children have questions seamlessly.
As the battle is set 1000 soldiers against 313 Muslims, the book explains how the battle starts with three duels and explains how Utbah, Shaiba and Walid battle Hamza (RA), Ali (RA), and Ubaydah (RA). The Ansar win all three battles and the Quraysh charge.
Prophet Muhammad (SAW) makes duas, and Allah (SWT) answers sending a thousand angels following one after another to help.
When the dust settles the Muslims are victorious and the order is given for the prisoners to be treated kindly. They are given food, rides, and the opportunity to pay a ransom for their freedom or they could teach 10 Muslims to read and write in exchange for their release.
With the story concluded the father then makes sure the children understand some of the many lessons from the battle. Including having Allah on your side, trusting Allah, putting in your best effort, and being kind and generous even to those against you.
There is no illustrator listed, but the pictures are done really well showing modern relatable, squabbling kids getting drawn in to a historical story by their father. The emotion on the characters faces adds depth to the story and engages the readers in seeing and understanding a desert battle so long ago.
The text on some pages varies quite noticeably, with some pages barely having a line to spare and some only being a line or two long. It does slightly affect the rhythm (and aesthetic) of the book, but it is manageable as long as you remember to give the kids enough time to see the picture on the short pages, as the overall size makes the book perfect for story time to large and small groups. The book stays on level, which is nice, and there is a glossary of abbreviated terms (AS, RA, SAW, SWT) at the end.
The company: Ghazi Production is planning Uhud to be the next book, and informed me a bibliography will be included in that one. InshaAllah!
A nonfiction picture book for teens that features amazing women from ancient times to the present day. Many of the women featured are Muslim and each entry receives a teasing summation page with a full page portrait from one of five international artists before a two page, more in-depth biography is presented. The 112 pages feature an introduction, and a map to start the book off, and acknowledgements and a glossary at the end. There are large time gaps that I wish would have been commented on, the geographical pool includes India which surprised me, and in one of the entries the way hijab is discussed seemed judgmental to me, but other than that the stories are absolutely remarkable. There are amazing women in every culture and throughout all time periods, but to see one that highlights a region that is stereotypically oppressive to women is a sight for sore eyes. I learned so much and marveled at the intellect, bravery and determination shown from being rulers of empires to intellectuals to scientists and artists everything in between.
Islamic School Librarian 