Tag Archives: Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow

Oct17

Hold Them Close: A Love Letter to Black Children by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow illustrated by Patrick Dougher with photography by Jamel Shabazz

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Hold Them Close: A Love Letter to Black Children by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow illustrated by Patrick Dougher with photography by Jamel Shabazz

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The power, the lyricism, the images, the layers- this book is not just for children, it is for everyone.  I have spent time with this book and it cannot be rushed, it needs to be felt and explored and reflected upon to feel the emotion that seeps from each and every page.  The book is remarkable in the amount of hope and warmth combined with history and social activism present.  It weaves together the personal with the community with the struggle past and present so flawlessly, but for me it is the pictures that complement the text so well that make this book spectacular on so many levels.  It is not a book for me to review, it is a book for me to support and elevate in any way I can.  The author is Muslim, there is nothing Islam specific in the text, aside from mentioning Malcolm X, and it should be required reading and sharing for everyone.  May Allah swt make us better to one another and actively work against oppression, ameen.

The book is framed as a letter, encouraging happy things to be held close.  For the young and old with stars in their eyes to be be held and elevated.  For stories of greatness to be passed down.  Stories of Kings, of Sojourners and Malcolms.  

The book encourages pushing away the disappointments, but to let the tears come. To not forget the lynchings, slavery, police brutality, oppression.  To stand and make it heard that you matter.

The illustrations are a mix of photographs and collage style layers.  The joy in a child that is very real, carrying those that came before.  Images of the past pulled to be seen in the present, very much a part of today.  The colors, the expressions, the hope, it radiates off the page with the coaxing of the text and becomes a feeling of both being held, and feeling support to take the next step.  Absolutely beautiful from beginning to end.

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The backmatter contains an Author’s Note, Illustrator’s Note, Background information, and Selected Sources.

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Available in libraries and book sellers, including here.

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Apr4

Abdul’s Story by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow illustrated by Tiffany Rose

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Abdul’s Story by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow illustrated by Tiffany Rose

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I really don’t know what more you could want from a 40 page brightly illustrated picture book for ages 5 and up.  I felt seen, I got a little emotional, I was inspired, I smiled, I felt compassion and empathy, hope and nervousness.  I was reminded of the power of role models, of getting down on a child’s level, literally.  I was reassured that we all make mistakes, learn differently, and can still thrive. Suffice it to say the book is moving.  The OWN voice lyricism will resonate with children of all colors, but that the messaging is from a Black Muslim boy and is so unapologetic and proud and beautiful, makes the emotions Abdul feels palpable.  Every classroom bookshelf needs this book, every child needs to hear it, read it, and explore the layers contained within.  Alhumdulillah.

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The book starts out with absolute joy.  Abdul loves to tell stories.  Writing stories, however, is something else.  The letters are tricky, they get turned around, they aren’t straight and crisp like the one’s the barber cuts.   His pages don’t look like the neat lines of his classmates.

He decides that maybe his stories aren’t for books.  It isn’t like he even sees stories like his in books:  stories about the people and places that he knows.

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Then one day a visitor comes to class, Mr. Muhammad, and he is a writer.  He encourages the children to, “write new stories with new superheroes.”  Abdul tries, but he keeps making mistakes, and then he has to erase, and before long his paper is covered in smudges and holes.

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Mr. Muhammad encourages Abdul to keep trying and fix the messes later, Abdul has an idea, and with a “bismillah,” he gives it another go.  There is no perfection, there is just determination.  The struggles, success, and support of his peers and Mr. Muhammad, just might change Abdul’s mind about his stories.

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I love that the book is Black centered and Muslim centered.  There is praying salat, mention of bean pies, a classmate in hijab, and saying of Bismillah.  I’ve read the book seven or so times and it has yet to get old.  The characters burst with personality, even the side ones, that I’m positive it will be a favorite at story time and bedtime alike.

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Can be purchased at Crescent Moon Store or Amazon

Aug31

Your Name is a Song by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow illustrated by Luisa Uribe

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Your Name is a Song by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow illustrated by Luisa Uribe

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An amazingly empowering simple story that breathes pride and beauty in to names and our identities.  The 40 pages are a celebration of the rhythm of our names and the dreams and hopes that they contain for us.  Perfect for kindergarten to second graders, readers of all ages will find something valuable in this book.  Those with “common” names might reevaluate what their names mean or why they were so named, children with “unique” names will find the music and confidence to ask others to learn their name correctly, older kids might reconsider shortened nick names, and we all inshaAllah will make more of an effort to get people’s names pronounced right.

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A little girl has had an awful first day of school.  As she stomps toward her mom at dismissal.  No one could say her name.  Not even the teacher, it got stuck in her throat.  Her mom gently reminds her stomping is only for dancing, and tells her that her name is a song.

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The little girl is skeptical, but as they say people’s names on their way home, and find the magic and rhythm and beat in each one, they address the horrible things that have happened to the girl that day regarding her name.  At lunch girls pretended to choke on her name, and later one boy said her name was scary, some even tell her, her name sounds made up.

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Her mother explains that some names come from deep in the heart, not the throat and cannot be choked on, that names are fire and strong, and that names are made from the sky when our real names were stolen and so new ones have to be dreamed.

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All the way home they go through names, diverse names, beautiful names.  The next day she doesn’t want to go to school, but she has a song to teach.  When her teacher starts calling  out names, the little girl starts tapping the rhythm, when Ms. Anderson starts to struggle on the little girl’s name, she starts to sing it.  She explains that her name is a song, and that she will teach it to them.  The other children then ask her to sing their names. And with a smile on her face, it is music to Kora-Jalimuso’s ears.

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I love that there are three pages of the names mentioned in the story and their origins and meanings listed.  I also like that the little girl’s name is not revealed until the end.  The pronunciation of the names is in the text, all of them, even Bob.   And when I read the name Trayvon, I felt an added weight of saying people’s names, breathing them into our lives and not forgetting them.

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The family could be Muslim based on the mom’s head wrap.  The author is Muslim and there are Arabic and Islamic names included in the story.

Mar28

Mommy’s Khimar by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow illustrated by Ebony Glenn

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Mommy’s Khimar by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow illustrated by Ebony Glenn

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Children playing dress-up with their mother’s clothes is a universal activity, that most can relate to.  Playing dress-up in your mother’s khimar is what makes this book both familiar and stereotype breaking in a way that is actually pretty powerful.

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In this 40 page hardback book targeting 4-8 year olds, Salaam Reads, once again brings Muslim characters to the masses, without alienating or talking down to either Muslim or non Muslims readers.

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The story starts off with a little girl explaining that “A khimar is a flowing scarf that my mommy wears.  Before she walks out the door each day, she wraps one around her head.”  She then marvels at the variety of scarves her mother has, commenting on the colors, and prints, and designs, that by the time she is ready to use them as her favorite make-believe accessory, readers will be wishing they too could have such an assortment.

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From using a khimar to be a queen with a golden train, to being a shooting star, the reader also along the way learns that she loves the connection the khimars offer her of her mother, when she isn’t near.  The ladies at the masjid are also part of that connection so that when she dreams of all the fantastical pretend things she can be, she also knows they too are with her.  Even her grandma, Mom-Mom, who exclaims “Sweet Jesus” when she sees her in her yellow khimar, and loves her although she doesn’t go to the mosque like the little girl does, is a part of the love and support the little girl feels by those around her when she is wrapped up in her mother’s khimar.  download (1)I love that it stresses even though her grandma is not Muslim they love each other because they are family.  Muslims and Islam are never mentioned outright, just the mosque and the ladies saying Assalamu alaikum, hint at the khimar being worn for religious reasons.

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Perhaps the best part is the pictures.  The illustrations with their yellowish hues radiate warmth and the faces and smiles are good for the soul.  You can feel the love the little girl both receives and gives to those around her through the pictures that perfectly compliment the simple text.

The diversity of the book in the main character being a girl, a child of color, and a Muslim, is such a beautiful thing to see.  Stories like this are powerful tools when children see themselves in books with positive messages, and remind us all how much more diversity it needed in literature to both highlight our differences, and celebrate our similarities.