Features
- Reading level: Ages 9-12
- Library Binding: 104 pages
- Published by: Albert Whitman & Company February 2002
- Written in: English
- ISBN 10 Number: 0807553077
- ISBN 13 Number: 978-0807553077
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Book Dimensions:
11.4 x 8.5 x 0.5 inches
- Weighs: 1.4 pounds
From School Library Journal
Grades 2-4--Avowedly didactic, as its subtitle indicates, Muslim Child presents aspects of the daily lives of Muslim youngsters in various locales, including Canada, the U.S., Nigeria, and Pakistan. The child's-eye view substantially increases the likelihood that non-Muslim readers will be able to internalize and understand what the protagonists are feeling and thinking, even if the religious basis of those thoughts and emotions is unfamiliar. In one story, a young American Muslim grumbles about having to wake before dawn for morning prayer and then spends a good deal of his energy during the prayer trying to suppress a fart, which will render the prayer ritually unclean. In another tale, a Canadian boy is embarrassed to have his school friends see his mother in her full-body dress, with head and face coverings. The resolutions of these and the other stories are always positive and reinforce the beliefs that the children may have earlier questioned. For this reason, the text has a thematic similarity to fiction written for evangelical Christian audiences, an overlap that parents and religion teachers may choose to emphasize. Sidebars explain Arabic terms and aspects of Muslim belief and practice referred to in the stories. Devotional poems, selections from the Quran, and activities appear throughout. Soft, full-page pencil illustrations accompany the tales, and smaller illustrations are worked into the sidebars and stories. Though Khan's express purpose is to explain Islam to non-Muslim children, the most avid audience for this book may be American Muslim children excited finally to find stories with characters to whom they can relate.
Coop Renner, Moreno Elementary School, El Paso, TXCopyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Gr. 4-6. Fictional scenarios stretched thinly over heavy morals introduce the challenges and blessings of being a Muslim child today. In the opening story, a young boy begins his predawn prayers only to fart, a ritual impurity that requires him to begin again. Instead, he goes back to bed--until his conscience propels him to do the right thing. Unfortunately, the lesson may be lost in the snickers, a problem with many of the scenarios here. Readers will not find out much about the everyday life of Muslim children either;
Celebrating Ramadan (2000), by Diane Hoyt-Goldsmith, does a much better job of describing that. But with adult help, they'll learn a number of terms and discover tidbits about Islamic scriptures and history, mostly from the many sidebars that accompany the stories. In a time when non-Muslim children are likely to be asking questions about Islam, this book does have some answers, and its scenarios can serve as springboards for discussion about Islam and religious tolerance.
John GreenCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Reader ReviewsA timely book that fills gap, Muslim Child consists of 8 stories that illustrate the history of Islam, the 5 pillars of Muslim religion (belief, praying, fasting, charity and the pilgrimage to Mecca) and introduce traditional Islamic customs of dress, diet, and celebration. Written by a practicing Muslim, the stories stress that the religion is worldwide with diverse practitioners, and shows Muslim children struggling with fitting in while keeping the faith. The author states in her introduction that her intention is to "Correct the misconceptions regarding Muslims" but there are several minor errors in comparing the culture of America and Christian religion to Islam, for example, stating that Halloween is a celebration of the forces of evil when it is based on the pagan new year. The stories themselves are unexceptional; for example, in "The Black Ghost," point of view shifts midway through the story, and the endings of most are predictable. Still, the sprinkling of Arabic and small cultural details make the setting genuine. Sidebars define unfamiliar terms, but much of the information is repetitive, as if the publisher did not intend the work to be read a whole. Informational pages containing traditional recipes, excerpts from the Quran, or a history lesson are interspersed between the fiction, and a glossary and pronunciation guide concludes the book. Hopefully this will be the first of many such books about a people that are in the forefront of our minds and that makes up a fifth of the world's population.
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