Dear Muslim Child

Written by Rahma Rodaah
Illustrated by Aya Ghanameh
HarperCollins Publishers, 2024
978-1-4434-6497-0
IL: Ages 4-7  RL: Grades 2-3

Dear Muslim Child, your story matters. In this lyrical ode to Islam, Muslim children all over the world are encouraged to celebrate their faith and traditions.

Muhammad's Recipe for Remembering

Written by Maidah Ahmad
Illustrated by Shruti Prabhu
Annick Press, 2024
978-1-77321-909-7
IL: Ages 4-7  RL: Grades 2-3

Muhammad wants to take part in his school’s assembly to honour veterans, but no one in his community, let alone his family, has been involved in the World Wars... have they? After discussions with his family and elders at his mosque, Muhammad starts to piece together his family’s lost history, and realizes that you don’t need a trophy or medal to remember those you’ve lost–it can be as simple as sharing a piece of roti.

Download the Educators' Guide and Colouring Sheets.

Khadija and the Elephant Toothpaste Experiment

Written by Farah Qaiser and Hajer Nakua
Illustrated by Natalya Tariq
Second Story Press, 2024
978-1-77260-365-1
IL: Ages 6-8  RL: Grades 2-3

Khadija is inspired by her visit to the science fair. There are so many different scientists all wearing safety goggles and lab coats! But how come none of them are wearing a hijab? After watching a scientist carry out the elephant toothpaste experiment, Khadija attempts to recreate it at home with mixed (and messy!) results.

Mehndi Boy

Written by Zain Bandali

Illustrated by Naji Balakumar
Annick Press, 2023
978-1-77321-792-5
IL: Ages 6-11  RL: Grades 2-3

The first time Tehzeeb tries mehndi, his passion for the art form blossoms. Soon, he’s creating designs for all his friends and family, and dreams of becoming the most in-demand mehndi artist in town. So Tez is hurt and confused when his favourite uncle tells him mehndi isn’t for boys. His art brings people joy. How could it be wrong? Tehzeeb doesn’t want to disappoint his uncle. But when a crisis before his cousin’s wedding puts his talents to the test, Tehzeeb must find the courage to be his true creative self.

Download the Mehndi Boy discussion guide.

The Unloveable Alina Butt

Written by Ambreen Butt-Hussain
Orca Book Publishers, 2023
978-1-4598-3491-0
IL: Ages 9-12  RL: Grades 4-5

Eleven-year-old Alina Butt has changed schools four times already since her family moved to England from Pakistan. Even after all that practice, she doesn’t seem to be getting any better at being the new kid. Mocked for her last name and her "weird" lunches, Alina has had enough! Taking a leap of faith to try and stand out for the "right" reasons, Alina auditions for the school play. Her hopes of landing the lead role in Cinderella are dashed when her new friend gets the part of Cinderella instead... and her bully is cast as Prince Charming!

Alina must rely on her stubborn will and wacky sense of humour to survive the endlessly embarrassing and ridiculous situations she finds herself in and discover her own unique way to shine!

Download the free The Unloveable Alina Butt Teachers' Guide.

Call Me Al

Written by Wali Shah and Eric Walters
Orca Book Publishers, 2024
978-1-4598-3794-2
IL: Ages 9-12  RL: Grades 4-5

Ali is an eighth-grade kid with a lot going on. Between the pressure from his immigrant parents to ace every class, his crush on Melissa, who lives in the rich area of town while he and his family live in a shabby apartment complex, and trying his best to fit in with his friends, he feels like he’s being pulled in too many different directions.

Download the free Call Me Al Teachers' Guide.

The Secret Diary of Mona Hasan

Written by Salma Hussain

Tundra Books, 2023
978-0-7352-7149-4
IL: Ages 10-14  RL: Grades 5-6

Mona Hasan is a young Muslim girl growing up in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, when the first Gulf War breaks out in 1991. The war isn't what she expects—"We didn’t even get any days off school! Just my luck"—especially when the ground offensive is over so quickly and her family peels the masking tape off their windows. Her parents, however, fear there is no peace in the region, and it sparks a major change in their lives.

Zara Hossain Is Here

Written by Sabina Khan
Scholastic Inc, 2021
978-1-338-58087-7
IL: Ages 14 and up  RL: Grades 9-10

Seventeen-year-old Pakistani immigrant, Zara Hossain, has been leading a fairly typical life in Corpus Christi, Texas, since her family moved there for her father to work as a pediatrician. While dealing with the Islamophobia that she faces at school, Zara has to lay low, trying not to stir up any trouble and jeopardize their family's dependent visa status while they await their green card approval, which has been in process for almost nine years. But one day her tormentor, star football player Tyler Benson, takes things too far, leaving a threatening note in her locker, and gets suspended. As an act of revenge against her for speaking out, Tyler and his friends vandalize Zara's house with racist graffiti, leading to a violent crime that puts Zara's entire future at risk. Now she must pay the ultimate price and choose between fighting to stay in the only place she's ever called home or losing the life she loves and everyone in it.

As Long As The Lemon Trees Grow

Written by Zoulfa Katouh
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2022
978-0-316-35137-9
IL: Ages 14and up  RL: Grades 9-10

Salama volunteers at a hospital in Homs, helping the wounded who flood through the doors daily. Secretly, though, she is desperate to find a way out of her beloved country before her sister-in-law, Layla, gives birth. So desperate, that she has manifested a physical embodiment of her fear in the form of her imagined companion, Khawf, who haunts her every move in an effort to keep her safe. But even with Khawf pressing her to leave, Salama is torn between her loyalty to her country and her conviction to survive. Salama must contend with bullets and bombs, military assaults, and her shifting sense of morality before she might finally breathe free. And when she crosses paths with the boy she was supposed to meet one fateful day, she starts to doubt her resolve in leaving home at all.