The narratives are bland, the figures and locales in the art generic—but Muslim and non-Muslim children alike may find the...
In three teaching tales originally written in Turkish, a golden bird affords each of a trio of modern Muslim children dream glimpses of a different “Prophet.”
Answering young Shakir’s prayer to see Muhammad, the bird carries him to the radiant house of Muhammad’s birth, to the hills where “Halima suckled and cared for him,” over the Ka’ba and on to Medina. There, the Prophet, his face “bright like the moon” (but not directly seen in the naïve-style cartoon illustration), is “helping his friends build Al-Masjid an-Nabawi, the Prophet’s Mosque.” The dream ends atop the “Mountain of Light,” where the Qur’an was revealed. Subsequently, Marwa is vouchsafed views of Isa (the baby Jesus), who proclaims, “Without a doubt, I am a servant of Allah. Allah gave me a book and made me a Prophet. He ordered me to be kind to my mother.” Marwa and readers then see him grow up to feed the hungry (with loaves and what looks like squab rather than fishes) and heal a blind man. In the final story, Umar sees Musa (Moses) abandoned on the Nile, rescued, “chosen as a Prophet,” given the “Holy Book Tawrat (Torah)” atop an unnamed mountain and parting the sea, “by the permission of Allah.”
The narratives are bland, the figures and locales in the art generic—but Muslim and non-Muslim children alike may find the perspective illuminating. (Picture book/religion. 5-8)Pub Date: April 15, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-59784-282-2
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Tughra Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 27, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2013
An empowering and important tale of bravery.
A Black Muslim boy must summon the courage to ask for a place at school to pray.
It’s Muhammad’s seventh birthday, and Daddy has a special gift for him: a prayer rug that’s royal blue with gold stitching and that smells of incense. Muhammad is now old enough to independently offer the five Muslim daily prayers, or salat. He packs the rug before school the next day and plans to find a private place for salat. But asking his teacher for help feels harder than anticipated—especially after seeing mean passersby jeer at his father, who prays in the open while working as an ice cream truck driver. To claim a space, Muhammad will need to be brave, just like his joyful, hardworking Daddy. Once again, Thompkins-Bigelow (Mommy’s Khimar, 2018) has written a beautiful, positive, and welcome portrayal of Black Muslim families. Her melodic writing captures Muhammad’s feelings as he works to find his voice and advocate for his needs. Aly’s playful, energetic illustrations offer a nod to Islamic art traditions and work in tandem with the text to give readers a glimpse into Muhammad’s hopes, fears, and growth. An author’s note explains what salat is, the times and names of the prayers, how it is performed, and other relevant terms used within the text. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An empowering and important tale of bravery. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 6, 2023
ISBN: 9781984848093
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House Studio
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2023
A beautifully written page-turner about belonging.
Badir, a newly arrived Tunisian immigrant to Canada, rallies along with his classmates to save a beaver’s natural habitat from destruction by local residents annoyed by the animal’s constant damage to surrounding trees.
Badir is captivated by what he initially thinks is a huge, swimming rat, an animal he briefly spotted in a pond on his way back from school. With the help of the internet, his teacher, classmates, and also forthcoming strangers eager to share what they know, Badir soon learns that the little creature he spied in darkness is in fact a beaver, Canada’s national symbol. He also finds out that local residents, worried by how the beaver might harm the trees around its habitat, are starting a petition to have what they regard as a pest removed from the park. Unfazed by the task ahead, Badir, along with his classmates, organizes a countercampaign—brainstorming sessions, banners, and all. Who will ultimately get the upper hand? Will the beaver saga have a happy ending? With her gentle tale, Stewart does an excellent job at promoting cultural understanding, not only by foregrounding a young Muslim character and his family, but also by setting the story during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, introducing the reader to many of its facets and doing so with effortless grace. Gendron’s black-and-white illustrations depict a multiracial urban setting.
A beautifully written page-turner about belonging. (Fiction. 6-8)Pub Date: April 16, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4598-1727-2
Page Count: 104
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: Jan. 14, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2019
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