THE LITTLE GENERAL

The young Prophet Muhammad displays a flair for leadership and miraculous healing powers in this first installment of an illustrated children’s book series.

Abidi’s (The Valuable Gift, 2017) winsome story relates several episodes from the life of Muhammad, who, though just a young boy, already has a presence that is softly commanding but also thoughtful and kind. The action opens with Muhammad playing with other boys, waving a toy shield and issuing marching orders that the soldiers happily obey. Thinking to ease his troop’s thirst, he repairs to the house of his aunt and foster mother, Fatimah bint Asad, for water. On his way back, Muhammad casually touches a withered, barren date palm, which immediately blossoms into greenery and grows clusters of luscious fruit that he then feeds to his little army. This reminds the astonished Fatimah of other stories she heard from Muhammad’s previous foster mother, Halima. Once, Halima and the infant Muhammad fell asleep beneath another withered date palm, which duly blossomed. Another time, Muhammad touched a sheep with a broken leg and instantly healed it. Pondering these things, Fatimah feels rapturous emotion and asks Allah to send her a son to be Muhammad’s lieutenant—the future Imam Ali. Abidi’s simple but active narrative is nicely illustrated in a Disney-ish style colored in pastel red, blue, purple, green, and gold, with intriguing visual details to draw kids’ eyes. The uncredited images include village and pasture scenes that are decorated with ornate rugs and wildflowers and teem with chickens, cats, and ruminants busy with their own antics. The Prophet’s face is piously obscured by a blaze of divine radiance, but other figures wear nuanced expressions that convey a complex mix of joy, awe, and unease at his supernatural doings. The scenes of Muhammad and Fatimah interacting feel a bit more reverent and stilted than they might in an ordinary family. (Fatimah: “If I cannot be your soldier, I can at least be your supporter, right?” Muhammad: “My supporter? Yes, that’s a great idea!”) Still, the story conveys Muhammad’s holiness in a way that children can understand and enjoy.

A captivating and relatable religious tale for kids.