This 16 page holiday book is one in a series of six. It keeps the text simple, the images bright and inviting, and turns the pages in to a search and find activity to increase time spent with the material. The information is accurate and basic, there is nothing wrong (phew) with this recent addition to the very crowded nonfiction holiday book field. In fact I appreciate that dates are explained and that the food looks tempting even if non Muslim children aren’t familiar with the dishes. It shows a child in sajood and explains that he is praying. The realistic pictures show smiling faces and Muslim kids will feel represented. Non Muslim readers will become familiar with Ramadan as a time of fasting, the Quran, and prayer.
The pictures to look for are given at the beginning and again at the end with the “answers.” The limited pages have very minimal text. The first one mentions a lantern being hung for Ramadan. It then states that Ramadan is a Muslim holy month where people fast, don’t eat or drink.
It shows a picture of the Quran and says it is used to pray, before showing someone praying on a prayer rug. When the sun has set it is time to eat. Dates are a sweet fruit to snack on after dark. It then shows a child and adult making dua and again reiterates that the holy month is for praying and helping others.
I am confident that every Muslim child has imagined their prayer rug at one time or another to be a flying carpet, so how absolutely heart filling as an adult to find a book that embraces this idea, roots it in Islamic fact and presents it so beautifully for our littlest Muslim believers.
Islamic School Librarian 