Muslim Reads

Children's Fiction

Yan’s Hajj by Fawzia Gilani and illustrated by Sophie Burrows

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Yan is a poor farmer who wants to go to hajj. But every time he saves up enough money and sets out, he meets someone in his path who needs his help.

He empties his money purse while on his journey three times, first to help repair a burned-down school, then to rescue a hurt and exploited boy, and finally, to build a mosque.  Each time, he simply goes back home and gets back to work to save more money. Eventually, he is old enough that he knows he won’t be able to save enough money again. But the good deeds he filled his life with have caught up with him, and the boy he rescued comes to take Yan to hajj. On this final journey, he sees the fruits of his labor: the school, the boy’s happy parents, and the mosque. View Post

Magazine

myDeen Magazine

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myDeen is a monthly magazine for Muslim children. I love that they produce three magazines every month, so that children of different age groups get a tailored experience. The age groups are 2–4 years, 5–7 years, and 8–11 years. Each month, all three magazines focus on a theme, so that siblings who subscribe to the different magazines can learn about the same topic, but in their own way.   

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Graphic Novels

The Muslims by Ahmad Philips

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The Muslims is a graphic novel by Ahmad Philips. Printed in full color, this 8.5 x 11 book has five chapters, each of which focuses on one of the two children in the family: Hani and Huda.

The first chapter was pretty funny: I laughed out loud. In it, Hani does badly on a quiz that he forgot about. He learns his lesson and studies really hard next time, only to discover that he studied the wrong subject.   View Post

Adult

Born with Wings by Daisy Khan

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While’s Daisy Khan’s life is fascinating and her work is admirable, her memoir is alienating and reads more like a résumé than a biography.

Born in Kashmir, Daisy Khan moved to the US in high school to study design. She went on to found WISE, the Women’s Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equality, an organization that works for women’s rights. Born with Wings is her memoir and first book.

The book tells Khan’s life story chronologically, with each chapter focusing on one event in her life: a specific problem she overcame or an issue she explored. Interspersed between the chapters are snippets that highlight specific initiatives of her own or of other women. For example, one snippet tells the story of Misbah, a Pakistani beautician who helps the survivors of acid attacks receive medical and cosmetic treatment and regain their confidence. View Post

Picture Books

Mini-Review—Surprise! by Zaheera Jina

61k96V726RL._SX260_Oomi tells Yusuf and Isa that she has a surprise for them. They take guesses as they eat dinner, and clean up, and play, and brush their teeth, and finally . . . They discover that the surprise is even better than any of their guesses. This is a cute story about a young family’s everyday life with a Muslim bent.