I picked this book up on a whim to go with my “being healthy” or “community helpers” story time themes. I had never heard about it and the pictures, while colorful, aren’t very detailed or engaging. I was hoping the rhyming couplets and familiar concept of going to the doctor would at least review some key concepts in an Islamic manner. Alhumdulillah, the book not only met my expectations, but exceeded them.
The first fabulous surprise is that the Doctor is female, not that it should be an issue, but it is nice to find books that definitely don’t assume a familiar stereotype. The second surprise is that at 28 pages, the rhymes never seem forced or awkward, it flows very nicely, mashaAllah. I read the book to 3,4, and 5 year old students and it managed to keep everyone’s attention. The students got concerned when Sajaad worried if he would have a shot, they tried to remember the name for “stethoscope,” they enjoyed learning the dua for being sick and the dua to make for those that are sick, and they even liked that they often also get lollipops when they leave the doctor’s office.
Overall the book was a good review of what happens at the doctors office in an Islamic tone. It would work well to reassure children that might be nervous about what they might experience. It was interesting to watch the kids “read” the book after story time to each other imitating a teacher. For most students it is a topic that they feel mastery over and you could see their confidence when they retold the story.
I’ll be keeping my eye out for other books in the Mini Mu’min Du’a Series to see if they are of similar quality and can serve in a similar capacity in the library.
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 