A sweet and valuable tale of cultural understanding and the meaning of kindness.
Elzein highlights the power of kindness to reach across cultural and religious divides in this illustrated children’s story about the spirit of Ramadan.
The house next door to young Ahmad and his mother, Leila, is for sale, and an elderly woman named Gladys, and her cat, Fluffy, come to see the place. Gladys notices a sign in front of Ahmad’s house that reads, “Salam Alaikum” and wonders what it means; the real estate agent says that he doesn’t know, but that the home belongs to a Muslim family. The woman troublingly expresses worry and says that she’s “not sure about this neighborhood,” but the agent convinces her to try the house for a month and “meet the neighbors.” It’s soon established that her worries are based on ignorance regarding a faith and a people she knows nothing about. Ahmad and Leila knock on Gladys’ door that evening, bringing her a plate of warm food and inviting her to be their special guest for dinner the next night in celebration of Ramadan. As Ahmad and Leila offer kindness to Gladys and others in the community, Gladys learns the true meaning of Salam Alaikum (“peace be upon you”) and forges a special bond with Ahmad. This sweet story offers children a beautiful example of cultural competency and what it means to love one’s neighbor. As Gladys and Ahmad share their Egyptian Muslim and English Christian cultural backgrounds (and foods) with each other, it offers valuable opportunities for learning, empathy, and mutual understanding. The story also demonstrates the uniting power of kindness, community service, and hospitality—the perfect book to read with children during Ramadan. It also shows kids how they can make a difference in their neighborhoods, no matter how young they are. Elgazzar’s bright, friendly illustrations have a soft, childlike appeal and ably communicate the warm, friendly tone of the story.
A sweet and valuable tale of cultural understanding and the meaning of kindness.Pub Date: March 12, 2024
ISBN: 9781954507128
Page Count: 31
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: July 5, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Not enough tricks to make this a treat.
Another holiday title (How To Catch the Easter Bunny by Adam Wallace, illustrated by Elkerton, 2017) sticks to the popular series’ formula.
Rhyming four-line verses describe seven intrepid trick-or-treaters’ efforts to capture the witch haunting their Halloween. Rhyming roadblocks with toolbox is an acceptable stretch, but too often too many words or syllables in the lines throw off the cadence. Children familiar with earlier titles will recognize the traps set by the costume-clad kids—a pulley and box snare, a “Tunnel of Tricks.” Eventually they accept her invitation to “floss, bump, and boogie,” concluding “the dance party had hit the finale at last, / each dancing monster started to cheer! / There’s no doubt about it, we have to admit: / This witch threw the party of the year!” The kids are diverse, and their costumes are fanciful rather than scary—a unicorn, a dragon, a scarecrow, a red-haired child in a lab coat and bow tie, a wizard, and two space creatures. The monsters, goblins, ghosts, and jack-o'-lanterns, backgrounded by a turquoise and purple night sky, are sufficiently eerie. Still, there isn’t enough originality here to entice any but the most ardent fans of Halloween or the series. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Not enough tricks to make this a treat. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-72821-035-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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