A lively telling of the true spirit of Ramadan.
A Muslim boy’s imagination soars as he learns about an old Ramadan tradition.
Adam waits impatiently for sunset so he can break his fast. When the family eats together, his mother and aunt reminisce about their first fast, when they were woken up for the pre-dawn meal by the Ramadan Drummer—a tradition that ended when people began relying on alarm clocks. That night, Adam dreams of meeting the Ramadan Drummer. Together they chant and beat the drum “until all the homes were lit.” The Drummer alerts Adam to the murmurs coming from the houses—a boy named Zane wishes for a friend; a girl named Hannah has won a tournament; homesick Mr. Sami longs for his family. The Drummer tells Adam, “During Ramdan, every act of kindness is rewarded tenfold.” The next day, Adam invites Zane to play, writes a note to congratulate Hannah, and drops off a gift for Mr. Sami. As he races home to break his fast, his stomach is rumbling, but his heart is filled with warmth. The uplifting story comes full circle as Adam realizes that good deeds are essential to Ramadan and fasting. The beautiful folk art–inspired illustrations are peppered with bright florals; scenes of Adam’s magical night, rendered in inky blacks and blues with pops of red and yellow, evoke a sense of coziness. Characters are brown-skinned, but the setting is unspecified.
A lively telling of the true spirit of Ramadan. (author’s and illustrator’s notes) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Jan. 16, 2024
ISBN: 9781478879145
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Reycraft Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
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
Only for dedicated fans of the series.
When a kid gets the part of the ninja master in the school play, it finally seems to be the right time to tackle the closet monster.
“I spot my monster right away. / He’s practicing his ROAR. / He almost scares me half to death, / but I won’t be scared anymore!” The monster is a large, fluffy poison-green beast with blue hands and feet and face and a fluffy blue-and-green–striped tail. The kid employs a “bag of tricks” to try to catch the monster: in it are a giant wind-up shark, two cans of silly string, and an elaborate cage-and-robot trap. This last works, but with an unexpected result: the monster looks sad. Turns out he was only scaring the boy to wake him up so they could be friends. The monster greets the boy in the usual monster way: he “rips a massive FART!!” that smells like strawberries and lime, and then they go to the monster’s house to meet his parents and play. The final two spreads show the duo getting ready for bed, which is a rather anticlimactic end to what has otherwise been a rambunctious tale. Elkerton’s bright illustrations have a TV-cartoon aesthetic, and his playful beast is never scary. The narrator is depicted with black eyes and hair and pale skin. Wallace’s limping verses are uninspired at best, and the scansion and meter are frequently off.
Only for dedicated fans of the series. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-4894-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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