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

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