Tag Archives: together

Apr23

The Last Resort by Sumayyah Hussein illustrated by Rania Hasan

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The Last Resort by Sumayyah Hussein illustrated by Rania Hasan

Once I got over my disappointment that the no parking sign on the bottom left of the cover was a deer and not a unicorn (clearly it is a deer, no shade to the illustrator), the 149 page early chapter book with illustrations was a decent read.  The messaging about family time was a little didactic, but the twist of having the child want it, opens it up to be both reflective for kids also craving family routine, and those that don’t appreciate what they have.  I do wish that the climax of the “noise” was amplified and built upon to add some urgency and tension. And the resolution a little more explained as I don’t know that most target readers will quite grasp what was going on in the resolution.  I know I would probably complain if it was over explained, but here we are.  The book is not preachy in its portrayal of faith, the family is Muslim and they pray and worship as part of their daily routine. The text and spacing, along with the full page black and white illustrations that present once nearly every chapter, make the book accessible and inviting for 2nd and 3rd graders.  I know I sound like a broken record, but the book really just needed a bit more polishing to truly shine, it isn’t a bad read, but based on my own kids interaction with the book, once they put it down, they forgot about it, and just weren’t motivated to pick it back up.

SYNOPSIS:

Mahmoud’s family has recently moved to Edmonton, and everyone is busy.  It is summer vacation and he is already bored. When he finds out his one friend is going away all summer, he devises a plan to force his family to come together. He finds a hotel near Banff, marks the calendar, and hopes for the best.  The family comes together, but the hotel has broken beds, toilets that don’t flush, roaches in the kitchen, and an elevator that they are told is out of order, but is still in use.  The family starts to turn on Mahmoud, but when he explains how everyone is too busy to spend together, they decide to make the best of the situation.  Weird noises and details that don’t add up, send Mahmoud exploring and ultimately make it a vacation to remember.

WHY I LIKE IT:

The story is sweet, and I am always a sucker for kids that solve problems. I hope that one day, self sufficiency in fictional characters will rub off on readers, but alas it hasn’t happened to mine yet.  The book is fine, the pieces are there, the writing is decent, it just needs a bolt of energy to make this a book that kids really would gravitate to and read over and over again.

FLAGS:

None: maybe a little anxiety and gross factors, and a kid books a hotel without permission.

TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:

The book should be on shelves in libraries (I wish Ruqaya’s Bookshelf Books were in public libraries), but definitely in school libraries, classrooms, and homes. I don’t think it has enough to discuss in a book club setting as it is a simple linear story with only one plot line. SPOILER kids may need a bit of help understanding what a front is and what was being done with the animals, and why a hotel in Canada outside of a National Park all came together to make it an ideal criminal headquarters for such activities.

Oct13

The Boldest White: A Story of Hijab and Community by Ibtikhaj Muhammad and S.K. Ali illustrated by Hatem Aly

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The Boldest White: A Story of Hijab and Community by Ibtikhaj Muhammad and S.K. Ali illustrated by Hatem Aly

The third and final book in the standalone series is finally out and I absolutely love that Islam, salat, and the masjid are front and center. Faizah is once again brought to life through the incredible illustrations that provide all the emotional beats and make the book memorable.  The story though is only just ok, to be honest, it is clunky and disjointed.  I have read the book a half a dozen times to myself and twice aloud and I do not understand the Eid story line.  I doesn’t fit the themes of fitting in, being a leader, being bold, it just seemed to be there to motivate a white hijab being purchased, and it was very distracting to the cadence and continuity of the story. Every time Faizah is self reflecting on her fear, suddenly a conversation about Eid with a friend named Sophie disrupts the story. Even the refrain that “Bravery grows in your mind.  But its roots are in your heart,” sounds lovely, but is never explained or developed, so what are you to water it with? What are the right reasons?  I’m sure most will be fine with the concepts and presentation and not be bothered, but this book is an auto buy for Muslims and non Muslims alike, and while I appreciate the packaging, I wish the story itself was more, well “Bold.”

The book starts with Faizah going to Jummah with her mom and sister, and loving being part of the crowd, she then goes to fencing and loves being part of the crowd, “it feels right.  I feel right,” she says.  But then the coach calls her name and she starts to worry.  She doesn’t like when people stare at her, she worries she did something wrong. The coach has already reminded her to “saber first, then move forward,” so I’m not sure why she worries after if she did something wrong, it is a class, reminders and corrections are what happen in a class.

Then on Sunday, the trio is back at the masjid for salat before Asiya’s fencing lesson.  The coach asks Faizah if she wants to come in for extra practice before the tournament.  Faizah isn’t planning on participating in the tournament though and would rather think about Eid.  Thinking about getting together in the future with Sophie to pick out Eid clothes, is more fun than fencing.  The reader doesn’t know when Eid is, or why Faizah seemed to break into a day dream when asked about fencing.  Furthermore the reader doesn’t feel the worry of being in a competition because Faizah is not shown to be worried.

Later that night Asiya teaches Faizah the moves she learned and Faizah practices alone.  There is then a two page spread that I do not understand, on one page she is saying, “When no one is watching, I ‘m the best fencer in the world,” three lines later it says Even when others are watching, I can do it.  I can be the best.”  What happened in between? I get the following line, “but it’s hard to be my best when I have to stand out to do it,” but the the line in the middle makes no sense.  What is the point of the book if she can do it and knows it at the mid point?  And no, I’m not reading an arc, I checked out this copy from the library.

The family is back at the masjid on Friday and reassuring Faizah as they head to fencing, that she can do it even when people are watching, that bravery will come.  She hasn’t been nervous at class before, and hasn’t signed up for the tournament, so why is she suddenly uncomfortable, when at the start she loved fencing class as she felt she fit in.

Then it is Saturday, and Sophie finally comes, but not to prepare for Eid, just to discuss, how they will prepare for Eid.  At least now we know it will be next week. The next Friday, I know I feel like a calendar should have been included, it is fencing class again and Faizah is called up to demonstrate.  She finds her strength and she is shy, but realizes they are not just looking at her, but looking at what she can do.  She is leading, she is helping, she is being brave.

Finally it is Sunday, and Sophie and Faizah are at the hijab shop, and Faizah picks a white hijab because it matches the fencing clothes, and she is going to the tournament.

Yeah, sorry I spoiled it, I just really am sad that the book wasn’t as great as it could have been.  It connected the dots eventually, but not in a memorable way, and for the team responsible for this book, it really could and should have been amazing.

Aug22

Hilwa’s Gift by Safa Suleiman illustrated by Anait Semirdzhyan

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Hilwa’s Gift by Safa Suleiman illustrated by Anait Semirdzhyan

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I’ve read a few children’s picture books about harvesting olives, and even some about Palestine’s olives, but this one really stands out because it is just so very joyful.  There is information about picking the fruit, processing, and making soap and oil with olives, but the book’s take away is just sore cheeks from smiling, and a full heart from feeling the importance, love, and tradition of olives, family, and being together.  The text and illustrations combine beautifully allowing the story of Hilwa, the olive tree, Ali and his Seedo to say a lot without having to spell it all out. And that it is traditionally published at such a critical time, is truly a gift.  There is nothing religious in the text, there are a few #Muslimsintheillustrations, and the author is Muslim. Additionally there is nothing about the current situation, the politics, the upheaval, or the occupation. The book follows Ali as he arrives after a long journey to his Grandparent’s home, it is harvesting season and  he is about to see all of the gifts that come from olives with the guidance of his grandfather, the cheering of his cousins, and the offerings of his beloved Hilwa.

The book starts with Ali and his parents arriving exhausted after their long flight to Palestine.  Greeted by Seedo, when Ali sees Hilwa, the olive tree his grandfather planted with his grandfather, the tiredness disappears.  When he hears Sitty whacking the trees and his cousins singing, “Zaytoon, ya zaytoon.”  He is ready to help harvest.  But, he doesn’t want to hurt Hilwa and decides to pick the olives one by one.  After his arms are tired and the basket is empty, he gently tries the traditional method and makes the zaytoon rain down with his grandparents and cousins cheering him on.

Hilwa has many gifts, and the next day they load up the olives to be taken to the press, they then prepare and enjoy the olives being pressed in to oil.  They bring the oil home to cook with, eat, turn in to soap, and the pulp is used to build the fire.  The best gift of all however, is the family, friends, and neighbors gathering to share and be together.

I read an early copy, and hope that the beginning will be smoothed out a bit.  It actually read as if a page was missing.  If the family had just arrived from overseas, and the grandfather was so excited, why wouldn’t the grandmother and cousins also leave what they are doing to great the just arrived family? It seemed a bit off, but once the story recovered, the text and story flowed without incident, so perhaps the disjointedness has been resolved.

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It is so important to show the richness of cultures to those that might be unaware, for a culture that is relentlessly villainized, even more so.  This 40 page picture book is great for ages 3 and up, and while it doesn’t detail Palestinian culture, it highlights a central component and shows the vibrancy and warmth of a people and their relationship to the land and the importance of olives and olive trees.  There is a glossary at the end with words in English and written in Arabic scripts as well as an Author’s Note.