The Proudest Blue: A Story of Hijab and Family

Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction/Multicultural

Title: The Proudest Blue: A Story of Hijab and Family

Author: Ibtihaj Muhammad with S.K. Ali

Illustrator: Hatem Aly

Awards: N/A

Age Range: 4-8 Years Old

Summary: Asiya and Faizah are sisters who are getting ready for the first day of school. Their mother takes them to the store so Asiya, the eldest sister, can pick out her first day hijab. She chooses a blue hijab that is as pretty as the ocean. The sisters walk to school and Faizah's classmate asks her what her sister is wearing. She was a little embarrassed by the question at first, but then she answered proudly. There was a boy that was being rude to Asiya by laughing at her and threatening to pull off the hijab. However, Asiya chose to ignore him and continue about her day playing with her friends that accepted her just the way she is. Asiya knew it may be hard because her mother warned her that people may not understand, but it is up to her to be strong. Faizah looks up to her sister and wants her first day hijab to be blue too. At the end of the day, the sisters walk home and Faizah is excited to show their mother the picture she drew in school.

Evaluation: I thought this was a beautiful story that shares insight into the Muslim culture. I would love to use this in my classroom because I want to teach my students about various cultures that way they are aware. Also, I find it important to teach students the importance of accepting people from other cultures and that it is not okay to be rude or laugh at them. I think this book would be a great way to teach students about a different culture and how words can hurt. I would use this book to teach about hijab culture as well as about kindness to everyone. I think this book would be best for upper elementary such as third through fifth grade because older students would have a better understanding of different cultures. After reading, I would ask students to journal about their culture. They can pick something that they wear, eat, read, or even celebrate and just explain it in a few sentences. Then, I would ask for volunteers to share and if no one does then I would have a few things to share about myself.

Comments

The Name Jar

Genre: Fiction/Multicultural Title: The Name Jar Author/Illustrator: Yangsook Choi Awards: Arkansas Diamond Primary Book Master List, Arizona Younger Readers Award Nominee Age Range: 3-7 Years Old Summary: Unhei is new to America and is attending school for her first day. She is nervous, and some of the kids make fun of her name. She tells her mom that she wants an American name because she does not want to be different. She tests out different names by introducing herself in the mirror, but nothing seems to sound right. The next day at school Unhei found a jar on her desk, which was filled with name suggestions from her classmates. It keeps getting filled up, but one day when she went to class the name jar was gone. Only one name was on her desk and it was her own. She decided to introduce herself to the class and keep her original name. Johnny showed up at her house that evening with the name jar. He told Unhei that he wanted her to keep her own name which is why he took the ja...

Little Rabbit Foo Foo

Genre: Poetry Title: Little Rabbit Foo Foo Author: Michael Rosen Illustrator: Arthur Robins Awards: N/A Age group: 3-6 years old Summary: A fairy visits Little Rabbit Foo Foo because he is being mean to others. The fairy gives him three chances to change, but he does not listen. Therefore, she turns Little Rabbit Foo Foo into a goon. Evaluation: This would be a fun book to not only read but to sing chorally as a class. I would create some hand motions for the students to do as we read and sang the song. I think this book could be a good brain break especially if I incorporated some movements with the song. Also, I can use the book to teach students that we should be kind to others and the importance of listening when told to do something the first time.

When Jessie Came Across the Sea

Genre: Historical Fiction Title: When Jessie Came Across the Sea Author: Amy Hest Illustrator: P. J. Lynch Awards: Christopher Award Age Range: 7-12 years old Summary: Jessie had no plans of going to America, but the rabbi in her village chose her to go in his place. Jessie was not happy to go to America because she was scared. On the boat the first day, she cried a lot. Although, eventually she decided to sew to pass the days. She even helped a few fellow passengers by sewing some of the clothes. Cousin Kay was there to greet Jessie when she got to the U.S. She was very excited to see her. Cousin Kay made Jessie go to school because she wanted her to learn English. Jessie has also been working very hard sewing because she is trying to earn enough money to purchase a ticket to America for her grandmother. Jessie has been in America for 3 years now, and when she was out walking she ran into her friend Lou who she met on the ship. One day, he asked her to marry him and when Jessie...

Ms. Sevon's Booktique

Search This Blog