I love learning about people’s Ramadan traditions, and am slightly embarrassed to admit that I never knew about this Gulf tradition of Girgian. My kids and I enjoyed reading this book during the middle of Ramadan, when the moon is full and bright, and thus known as the white nights of Ramadan. Written on an AR 3.6 level the story does a good job of blending the concepts of Ramadan, Girgian, Islam in a 32 page fiction story format for Muslim and non-Muslim children alike. There is an Author’s note and Glossary in the back as well.
A young girl, Noor, excitedly waits and prepares for Girgian. She explains the activites to her two younger brothers, Sam and Dan, how they will walk the streets with lanterns (fanouses) and get treats from neighbors for three nights. But before night falls, they first have a lot to do to prepare, and with the help of their parents and grandparents, the children make and wrap the candy, decorate bags to keep the candy in, and get dressed in fancy traditional clothes. In the process the book also explains Ramadan, and shows Noor praying and reading Quran. Arabic and islamic words are tossed in and well explained: iftar, fanous, suhoor, dishdashas, musaher, etc.. Noor in all the excitement shares a tender moment with her grandma where they discuss how fun Ramadan is, but that the “true meaning of Ramadan is spending time with family and sharing with those less fortunate.” A religious scholar may add more to what Ramadan is, but for a children’s book, the message is beautiful and perfect. The story concludes with Noor and her grandfather taking a basket of food to the mosque to give to the poor.
The book has a slow melancholy type feel to it and the pictures definitely help set that tone. They are detailed and well done, but maybe not overly inviting to younger readers.
The book made me want to learn more about the tradition, and talk to people that may have celebrated it to see how it has evolved over time. My kids liked the idea of having a musaher, a drummer walking the streets waking people up for suhoor. As a mom of four, I can see why something fun in the middle of the month, especially when the days are so long, is a great way to re-energize the children about the fun and blessings of Ramadan.
The illustrations are bright and colorful and have a lot going on. The expressions on the character’s faces compliment and complete the text seamlessly to tell a well thought out story. They keep the audience’s attention even after the text is read, with the kids telling me to “wait” so that they could soak it all in before I turned each page. The mom and teacher’s expressions on the last page amused the daycare through Kindergarten students and made them feel like they were in on the silliness.
The real treat of the book however, is how it all comes together: the words, pictures, sentence structure, font, size, and diction all compliment each other on the same level. I read a lot of books aloud as a children’s librarian, and while the rhyming ones are great for the littlest listeners, there is often a void of read-out-loud stories for the kindergarten and first grade levels. And I am talking about all books, not just Islamic ones. Most picture books in my experience are written on a third grade level, with longer blocks of texts, smaller fonts, a wider range of vocabulary and longer sentences. These books are often beautiful and very tempting, however when I read them during story time I end up “summarizing” them, and telling the story rather than reading it. Similarly, early readers often find them frustrating and too difficult to read independently. Bismillah Soup strikes a wonderful balance, mashaAllah.
Islamic School Librarian 