With a universal message of love and community, this book offers a beautiful representation of a too-often-overlooked...
From a debut author-and-illustrator team comes a glimpse into a young American Muslim girl’s family and community as she walks around in “Mommy’s khimar,” or headscarf.
The star of this sunny picture book is a young girl who finds joy in wearing her mother’s khimar, imagining it transforms her into a queen, a star, a mama bird, a superhero. At the core of the story is the love between the girl and her mother. The family appears to be African-American, with brown skin and textured hair. The girl’s braids and twists “form a bumpy crown” under the khimar, which smells of coconut oil and cocoa butter. Adults in her life delight in her appearance in the bright yellow khimar, including her Arabic teacher at the mosque, who calls it a “hijab,” and her grandmother, who visits after Sunday service and calls out “Sweet Jesus!” as she scoops her granddaughter into her arms. Her grandmother is, apparently, a Christian, but “We are a family and we love each other just the same.” The illustrations feature soft pastel colors with dynamic lines and gently patterned backgrounds that complement the story’s joyful tone. The words are often lyrical, and the story artfully includes many cultural details that will delight readers who share the cheerful protagonist’s culture and enlighten readers who don’t.
With a universal message of love and community, this book offers a beautiful representation of a too-often-overlooked cultural group . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: April 3, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5344-0059-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Salaam Reads/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2018
Religious-themed affirmation to help steel little ones fretting about school.
Collier, founder of the international women’s ministry Broken Crayons Still Color, and co-author Bak help kids tackle first-day-of-school jitters.
There’s nothing like a new box of crayons, especially when the first day of school is right around the corner. Avery tries to enjoy coloring, but she feels “flippy, fizzy, and fluttery inside.” When Avery doesn’t want to eat dinner, her father realizes she’s nervous and encourages her to pray. Avery replies that she’s too scared; her father tells her, “You can do hard things.” Later, Avery draws with her crayons, but her depictions of her first day reflect her anxieties—attempting to draw the school playground, she scrawls an image of her being hit by a ball while another child laughs. Suddenly, Avery’s crayons break. Realizing she’s made a mess, she begins to sob: “I’m a mess, just like these crayons.” But one of the crayons Avery broke begins talking to her, telling her not to put herself down. The very polite crayons reassure Avery, telling her it’s OK to feel bad, offering her strategies for calming herself, and telling her that “no mess is ever too big for God.” Vasilica’s sprightly illustration are charming and inviting, while the message is a soothing one—though one more likely to appeal to religious, especially Christian, readers. Avery and her family present Black. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Religious-themed affirmation to help steel little ones fretting about school. (feelings color wheel) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Aug. 29, 2023
ISBN: 9781400242900
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Tommy Nelson
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023
Both a celebration of and an introduction to the mosque.
Children welcome readers into different mosques to learn about varying activities and services that take place in them.
Though many different mosques and children are depicted, the voices call readers’ attention to the similarities among Muslim communities around the world. Yuksel highlights the community eating together; women, men, and children sharing the space and praying together; grandfathers thumbing their tasbihs; grandmothers reading the Quran; aunties giving hugs; children playing. The effect is to demonstrate that a mosque is more than just a building but rather a space where children and adults come together to pray, give, learn, and play. Joyful characters describe what happens in simple, poetic language: “In my mosque, the muezzin’s call to prayer echoes in the air. I stand shoulder to shoulder with my friends, linked like one long chain.” Aly’s bright illustrations pair well with Yuksel’s words, ending with a beautiful spread of children staring at readers, waving and extending their hands: “You are welcome in my mosque.” The variety of mosques included suggests that each has its own unique architecture, but repeating geometric patterns and shapes underscore that there are similarities too. The author’s note guides readers to her website for more information on the mosques depicted; they are not labeled, which is frustrating since the backmatter also includes a tantalizing list of famous mosques on every continent except Antarctica.
Both a celebration of and an introduction to the mosque. (glossary, sources) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: March 23, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-297870-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
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