Title: NIGHT of the MOON - A Muslim Holiday Story
Author: Hena Khan
Illustrator: Julie Paschkis
Publisher: Chronicle, 2008
Intended age: 4-8
Themes: Holidays, Ramadan
First lines: "It was bedtime, and Yasmeen waited for her mom to read her a story as she did every night. But this night was different."
Synopsis: A seven-year old girl celebrates the month of Ramadan.
Why I like this Book: I don't know much about Ramadan. I knew that people fasted, but not much more. The story portrays a close knit loving family while explaining the holiday that they are celebrating, emphasizing the themes of family traditions and charity for others who are less fortunate. This book contains basic information so it probably isn't for members of the Muslim community who would know these things already.
The illustrator frames the spreads with lush mosaic patterns of teal and turquoise.
Resources/Activities:
- Read a little bit about Ramadan and celebrate with the Fattoush salad or Lentil soup recipes provided by education.com.
- Try to complete the fill-in-the-blanks worksheet at Education world.
- Primarygames.com has printable coloring pages and games to play.
- Last year I read, and recommended, a book by this same author (Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns, 2013). The Little Big Book Club has posted a lesson plan for that book with more information about Islam.
- A group of occupational and speech therapists and special education teachers created a wonderful unit for their students about Islam, using Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns
This review is part of PPBF (perfect picture book Friday) where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's site. Along with tons of writing wisdom, she keeps an ever-growing list of Perfect Picture Books. #PPBF
Thanks for stopping by!
Thanks for sharing this book - finding good picture books about holidays in diverse cultures is not easy.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sue. This is a good one!
DeleteOh, thank you for sharing this one! It's so great to find books that show different kinds of family celebrations. The cover makes it seem like it has interesting illustrations that could be used in art activities.
ReplyDeleteI have a mosaic kit I purchased when we lived in the UK that is perfect for this. But paper mosaics (Scissor skills, anyone?) would be fun, and lantern cutouts.
DeleteGreat resource to share with non Muslims in the classroom. I had a number of Muslim kids in our school who fasted from junior high onwards. Those colors are exquisite!
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting on different sites to read information about when Muslim children start to fast. Some very early, some not until late teens. The philosophy of showing thankfulness is for all ages. :)
DeleteCool! I love Julie's work and haven't seen this yet! Thanks, Wendy!
ReplyDeleteBetting you will love it, Julie!
DeleteThanks for sharing this one, Wendy. You are right...a beautiful book is timeless. ;)
ReplyDeleteI love that kids and parents who don't know anything about this holiday will find out something about it...and I think it is so very important for everyone to get exposure to difficult cultures...when we gain knowledge, we lose fear. And I also think it is important for Muslim children here in America to be able to read picture books books that feature their culture.
I hope that parents who read the book to their children learn a lot, too. I know I did! It is gentle and lovely.
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