A visit with Grandmother in the Middle East is always special for Yasmin, but this time it is even more so in this picture book about faith and family.
On her first night visiting her grandmother, Yasmin is wakened by the muezzin at the nearby mosque calling the faithful to prayer. She watches from her bed as her grandmother prepares to pray. During her stay, Yasmin's grandmother makes her prayer clothes, buys her a prayer rug, and teaches her the five prayers that Muslims perform over the course of a day. When it's time for Yasmin to board a plane and return home, her grandmother gives her a present. When Yasmin opens the present when she gets home, she discovers a prayer clock in the shape of a mosque, with an alarm that sounds like a muezzin calling the faithful to prayer.
Maha Addasi's warm and endearing story, richly illustrated by Ned Gannon, is the recipient of an Arab American Book Award, Honor Book. Featuring text both in English and Arabic, this is a perfect title for children learning more about Middle Eastern cultures and language.
Maha Addasi was born and grew up in Kuwait, and has worked as a correspondent for Jordan Television, Dubai Television, and the BBC. She lives in Virginia.
Ned Gannon is the illustrator of
The White Nights of Ramadan by Maha Addasi. He lives in Wisconsin.
"The oil paintings are rich in tone, and the geometric patterns of cloth, rugs and the mosque are engaging." --Kirkus Reviews
"A beautifully woven tale of grandparent affection and spiritual development." --School Library Journal
"An affectionate, intergenerational story." --Booklist
