Reviews (1)

It's the Missing Ramadan Book!
Most Ramadan books are too difficult to read to my young students and I was missing that perfect book about this holiday.Now I can read them a book the students can enjoy and 1st and 2nd graders can read it on their own too!Thanks for the book, if only it had arrived sooner. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Celebrations - General    2. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Fiction    3. Children: Grades 1-2    4. Fasts and feasts    5. Holidays & Celebrations - General    6. Holidays & Celebrations - Other, Religious    7. Id al-Fitr    8. Islam    9. Juvenile Nonfiction    10. Juvenile literature    11. People & Places - General    12. Ramadan    13. Religion - Islam    14. °åId al-Fiòtr    15. Juvenile Nonfiction / Holidays & Festivals / Other, Religious   

Reviews (8)

Young readers are introduced to the holy month of Ramadan
Ramadan is the holiest month of the Islamic calendar and I think most Americans know at least that much if they had no clue as to what the holiday celebrates or what Muslim families do during that time.In this book Suhaib Hamid Ghazi answers all the questions young readers would have about Ramadan.The information is provided in terms of a story about how Hakeem and his family observe Ramadan while living in the United States.Young Readers will learn about how Ramadan was the month is which the Quran, the holy book of Islam, was revealed to the prophet Muhammed.This will learn how Muslims do not eat or drink anything during the day, rising before dawn to share "suhur," a special meal, and breaking their fast after sundown by eating a date and then having a big family meal called "Iftar."They will also learn about the other ways in which Muslims celebrate their faith during the holy month.The back of the book contains a Glossary that explains various words and greetings (such as "Ramadan Mubarak" meaning "Have a happy and blessed Ramadan") that are used throughout the book. Beautiful, but not what I was looking for
As other reviewers mentioned, this is a beautifully illustrated book. Common, day-to-day words used by Muslims (Imam, Suhur, Zakah) are explained in an understandable way, so I could see this being a reasonable way to introduce the concepts to non-Muslim children (or even adults). Overall, however, I was disappointed. The interesting, personable little details about Hakeem were heavily weighed down by the "adult talking to child" background information about every last little aspect of Ramadan. I would guess that a quick brush past two dozen new vocabulary words, painstakingly defined, will not actually teach those concepts to non-Muslim children. Meanwhile, I fear that the Muslim children for whom I intended this book as a gift will not find enough story among the definitions and explanations to hold their attention. We have so many stories set at Christmas-time that do not attempt to explain the entire Christian religion and all of the symbolism and rituals of Christmas... I haven't been able to find such stories to purchase for my young Muslim friends. Must every book about them be a child-sized textbook on Muslim faith and practices?

Incredible book
We are Christians, but I want my children to grow up knowing about religious diversity and learning about the beliefs of other religions. It's hard to respect what you don't know.Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Nonfiction    2. Children: Grades 1-2    3. Customs and practices    4. Fasts and feasts    5. Holidays & Celebrations - Other, Religious    6. Islam    7. Juvenile Nonfiction    8. Juvenile literature    9. Ramadan    10. Religious festivals   

Reviews (4)

a teacher
It's a very nice basic book about a religious holiday celebrated by 1.2 billlion people.

Political Correctness Run Wild!
I am sick and tired of the politically correct garbage that is fed on a daily basis to our children in the public schools in the name of fairness, tollerance, multiculturalsim, sensitivity, or what have you.
If I could give this author 0 stars I would.
It may be interesting to know what Ramadan is really about, but when you consider that the Muslim religion is being promoted in the schools of California when other religions are not allowed is an abomination.Terrorist acts in this country and around the world which started in the 70s have all been perpetrated by Muslims.This woman, Susan Douglass, reviews CA school books to make sure there is nothing negative about the religion in the textbooks and to promote Islam to young grade school children.I'd like to see the same thing happening in our government schools with a Christian or Jewish leader...but that'll never happen.Yet the religion of the terrorists is allowed to be promoted in government schools...what an abomination and what a clear violation of our first amendment, " Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion...."
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Subjects:  1. Children's 9-12 - Religion - World Religions    2. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Religion    3. Children: Grades 2-3    4. Holidays    5. Holidays & Celebrations - Other, Religious    6. Holidays & Festivals - Other, Religious    7. Id al-Fitr    8. Islam    9. Juvenile Nonfiction    10. Juvenile literature    11. Ramadan    12. Religion - Islam    13. Â°Ã¥Id al-Fiòtr   

Subjects:  1. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Nonfiction    2. Children: Grades 1-2    3. Fasts and feasts    4. Holidays & Celebrations - Other, Religious    5. Islam    6. Juvenile Nonfiction    7. Juvenile literature    8. Ramadan    9. Religion - Islam    10. Â°Ã¥Id al-Fiòtr    11. Juvenile Nonfiction / Holidays & Festivals / Other, Religious    12. Life Skills & Personal Awareness, General Studies   

Reviews (1)

A basic introduction
The basic ideas, customs, and attitudes of this holiday are introduced to young children with most of the appropriate vocabulary and pronunciation guides.Photographs show a nice cultural variety of Muslims, from Arabic to Indian and Indonesian.The book says that at the end of Ramadan, "Muslims have a three-day celebration."Since that celebration is a major part of the holiday and easy to pronounce (EED), its omission is a significant flaw.Another cause for concern is the photograph accompanying the suggestion that all-day fasting is to difficult for some people.Among all the beautiful variety of Muslims world-wide, the picture of apparently African-American children eating cotton candy implies that they are the ones who cannot "keep a promise" to fast.But even with these flaws, this may be the best introduction currently available. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Nonfiction    2. Children: Grades 1-2    3. Customs and practices    4. Fasts and feasts    5. Holidays & Celebrations - General    6. Holidays & Celebrations - Other, Religious    7. Islam    8. Juvenile Nonfiction    9. Juvenile literature    10. Ramadan    11. Readers - Beginner    12. Religion - Islam   

Reviews (3)

Overgeneralizes
This book stresses a conservative Muslim viewpoint and tends to overgeneralize Islam. It paints the picture that all Muslim females cover (not true) and that all Muslims pray five times a day (not true). Islam, as a lived religion, is globally diverse and people practice their faith in various ways. I really disliked the preachy tone of this book and the underlying assumption that there is only one "correct" version of Islam.

Good to Promote Understanding
I have this book for my kids, and I donated a copy to my son's school.They loved it.It's about real people in the United States and how they celebrate Ramadan and Eid (the holiday that follows).They even have a recipe for traditional cookies!The only problem is that one gets the impression that Muslim children are supposed to fast during Ramadan, and that's not the case - fasting is only required for healthy adults (that's defined as past puberty or when you've stopped growing).Otherwise, it's a beautiful book, with lots of basic information about Islam, as well.Highly recommend!

Celebrating Rmadan by Diane Hoyt-Goldsmith, Lawrence Migdale
This is a thoughtful book which presents the month of Ramadan as an important part of the religious practice of Muslims. The language was kid-to-kid, and the photos showed the family and how their religion fit in with their everyday life.I plan on using it in a 4th to 5th grade classroom as a part of a unit studying world religions and celebrations. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Religion    2. Children: Grades 3-4    3. Fasts and feasts    4. Holidays & Celebrations - Other, Religious    5. Islam    6. Juvenile Nonfiction    7. Juvenile literature    8. Ramadan    9. Religion - General    10. Religion - Islam    11. Rituals   

Features

• Illustrated

Subjects:  1. Fasting    2. Islam    3. Islam - General    4. Islam - Rituals & Practice    5. Islam - Sunnism    6. Ramadan    7. Religion    8. Religion - World Religions    9. Religious aspects   

Subjects:  1. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Nonfiction    2. Children: Grades 3-4    3. Holidays & Celebrations - General    4. Holidays & Celebrations - Other, Religious    5. Id al-Fitr    6. Islam    7. Juvenile Nonfiction    8. Juvenile literature    9. Ramadan    10. Rituals    11. Â°Ã¥Id al-Fiòtr   

Features

• Illustrated

Subjects:  1. Customs and practices    2. Holidays - Other    3. Islam    4. Islam - General    5. Islamic Theology    6. Psychology Of Religion    7. Psychology, Religious    8. Ramadan    9. Religion    10. Religion - World Religions    11. Religion / Psychology of Religion    12. Fasting   

Subjects:  1. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Nonfiction    2. Children: Grades 3-4    3. Customs and practices    4. Fasts and feasts    5. Holidays & Celebrations - Other, Religious    6. Islam    7. Juvenile Nonfiction    8. Juvenile Religion    9. Juvenile literature    10. Ramadan    11. Religion - Islam   

Subjects:  1. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Religion    2. Children: Grades 4-6    3. Fasts and feasts    4. Holidays & Celebrations - Other, Religious    5. Islam    6. Juvenile Nonfiction    7. Juvenile literature    8. Ramadan    9. °åId al-Fiòtr   

Subjects:  1. Islam    2. Ramadan    3. Religion    4. Rituals   

Subjects:  1. Children: Grades 1-2    2. Fasts and feasts    3. Holidays & Celebrations - Other, Religious    4. Id al-Fitr    5. Islam    6. Islam - General    7. Juvenile Nonfiction    8. Juvenile literature    9. Ramadan    10. Religion - World Religions    11. Â°Ã¥Id al-Fiòtr   

Reviews (1)

beautiful, spiritual and very readable
I would recommend this for anyone - of any religion, any age. For American Muslim kids, it's eminently readable and perfectly American and perfectly educational for the theological content. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Customs and practices    2. Fasts and feasts    3. Islam    4. Islam - General    5. Laylat al-Qadr    6. Ramadan    7. Religion    8. Religion - World Religions    9. Religion: general   

Subjects:  1. Fasts and feasts    2. Islam    3. Ramadan   

Subjects:  1. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Religion    2. Children: Grades 1-2    3. Fasts and feasts    4. Holidays & Celebrations - General    5. Holidays & Celebrations - Other, Religious    6. Islam    7. Juvenile Nonfiction    8. Juvenile literature    9. Ramadan    10. Religion - Islam