A Party in Ramadan - Asma Mobin-Uddin

Illustrated by Laura Jacobsen
Boyds Mill Press, PA 2009
$16.95
32 pages
Rating: 4
Endpapers: Neighborhood homes morning/evening

This is the story of fasting on Ramadan and the acceptance a young girls finds when she is invited to a birthday party by her non-Muslim friends. This first day (ever?) of fasting is not easy, but the benefits and the evening meal are worth it.

Lovely soft illustrations emphasize and illustrate without being preachy.

An author's note discusses Ramadan and about wearing the Hijab (head covering.)

My First Ramadan - Karen Katz

Henry Holt & Company, 2007
$14.95
24 pages
For: young kids
Rating: 4
Endpapers: Wide vertical stripes with different colors and designs,

Karen Katz is a folksy artist that I like very much. If the illustration is not a two-page spread, the single page of writing has a wide vertical strip along the edge (like a border) that compliments and finishes the page beautifully. She depicts Muslims of every color, ethnicity, and level of involvement. "I see Muslims from Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia, North America, and South America."

In clear, simple language Karen Katz describes the annual Muslim month of Ramadan; the customs and reasons behind it. From the point-of-view of an early elementary boy, she describes his day, the fasting from sunup to sundown, the meals, and the three-day festival at the end, Eid al-Fitr. I worked for two years with many Muslims, enjoyed many meals - including during Ramadan, but this simple book gave me more information and insight than I had during those two years. Thanks, Karen Katz!

Ramadan this year was from August 21 - September 19th.
In 2010 it will begin on August 11th and end on September 9th.

Night of the Moon - Hena Khan

A Muslim Holiday Story
Illustrator: Julie Paschkis
For: Kids (and clueless adults)
Published: 2008
Rating: 5
Read: October, 2008 (during Ramadan!)
Endpapers: Blue/Aqua/Gold detail from Islamic tiles

Two wonderful things about this picture book - the illustrations and the information.

The illustrations. They remind me of batik, my very favorite fabric. The outline for each picture is done in an ivory/cream-colored line. How? It says they were "rendered in gouache and permanent masking medium on paper". I'm not sure what this means, but it sure is intriguing. And there's no negative space. None at all. Each illustration is framed by a shape; rectangles, tablets, mosque-shaped araches. And outside those frames, all the way to the edge of the page, is an Islamic tile motif...lots and lots of different designs in rich blues, aquas, turquoises. Camels and suns and leaves and flowers. Its almost like that thin ivory/cream line is the grout holding hundreds of pieces of ceramic together. Mmmmmm. Love it.

The information. The story is about Yasmeen, a Muslim girl living in the US. At the beginning of the month of Ramadan (the ninth month in the Muslim year) Mr. Sanchez, her teacher, introduces the holiday to his multi-racial class. Throughout the story we learn about fasting, special meals, partying, gift-giving, henna hand-painting, Eid, and how the moon and lunar calendar are the basis for the Muslim calendar.

I've been lucky enough to attend two different end-of-Ramadan feasts with Turkish friends. The food! The graciousness! Another wonderful culture to savor and enjoy. And this book celebrates this holiest of months in a gorgeous feast for the eyes. Great book.