Please welcome my guest author today, Saadia Faruqi. Her new early chapter book series is Meet Yasmin!
Meet Yasmin! by Saadia Faruqi, illustrated by Hatem Aly
This is a delightful #OwnVoices series with a strong girl character. Yasmin is a second-grader Pakistani American with a multigenerational family. Her adventures reflect her enthusiastic nature and loving family. I love how Pakistani culture and languages are infused into the story. [early chapter book series, ages 6 and up]
We are giving away 3 copies of Meet Yasmin! Please enter the Rafflecopter at the bottom to enter.
——-
When I began writing the early reader series Meet Yasmin! I was faced with two choices: make her an all-American little girl or highlight her very Muslim identity. I looked at my own daughter, then in kindergarten, and all her friends, and realized that Yasmin could be both. The star of the series, surrounded by loving family members and friends, Yasmin is the typical American girl. Many adults may find her different than what they’d consider American, but I believe that’s not the case with my readers. The children in our elementary schools today are immersed in a culturally and religiously diverse atmosphere, where their friends and neighbors may be from a different country, or speak a different language at home, or practice a different faith. It’s what makes America, America.
Yasmin isn’t the only amazing Muslim character in young children’s books of course. Here are five more of my favorites – after my own Yasmin!
5 Muslim Girl Characters To Read Today
Rubina in Big Red Lollipop
I recently read this picture book by Canadian-Pakistani author Rukhsana Khan and was blown away by the very realistic portrayal of Rubina, the oldest daughter. How many times have my own children insisted on going to birthday parties, upsetting my own family’s traditions and younger siblings’ feelings? Rubina is stubborn, but she’s also a good girl who understands her role as first generation Western child. I want to give her a hug! [picture book, ages 4 and up]
Lailah in Lailah’s Lunchbox
Ramadan-focused books are always favorites of mine, and this one by Reem Faruqi tops my list. Lailah may be a lonely girl, but she’s brimming with creativity and imagination. She solves her problem with a little help from her teachers, but her courage is all her own. [picture book, ages 4 and up]
Fatimah in I’m New Here
Don’t feel sorry for this shy little girl, created by Anne Sibley O’Brien. Fatimah is intelligent and creative, just not very sure how she fits into her new classroom. She’s a character who will strike empathy in readers’ hearts and probably resembles someone you may know. [picture book, ages 4 and up]
Farah in One Green Apple
Imagine being the new girl in a new school and new country, where you can’t even speak the same language as everyone else. Eve Bunting has created a character in Farah who is brave and industrious, who figures out the similarities in everybody around her rather than focus on the differences. What a smart girl! [picture book, ages 4 and up]
Unnamed Girl in Mommy’s Khimar
I wish I knew this little girl’s name because she is so adorable! Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow has created a sweet and curious character who radiates fun and imagination. Creeping into mommy’s closet, playing dress-up, and dreaming big dreams is every little girl’s mission on a lazy afternoon. This is a book children will read over and over. [picture book, ages 4 and up]
3 Book Giveaway of Meet Yamin!
We are giving away 3 copies of Meet Yasmin! Please enter the Rafflecopter below to enter. We can only ship to U.S. addresses.
Saadia Faruqi is a Pakistani American writer, essayist, and interfaith activist. She writes for a number of publications including the Huffington Post and is editor-in-chief of Blue Minaret, a magazine for Muslim art, poetry, and prose. Her adult short story collection Brick Walls: Tales of Hope & Courage from Pakistan was published in 2015. She resides in Houston, TX with her husband and children. Her new early reader series Meet Yasmin! is now available at https://www.amazon.com/Meet-Yasmin-Saadia-Faruqi/dp/1684360226
To examine any book more closely at IndieBound or Amazon, please click on image of book.
As an IndieBound and Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Follow PragmaticMom’s board Multicultural Books for Kids on Pinterest.
Follow PragmaticMom’s board Children’s Book Activities on Pinterest.
My books:
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World
- Junior Library Guild Gold selection
- Selected as one of 100 Outstanding Picture Books of 2023 by dPICTUS and featured at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair
- Starred review from School Library Journal
- Chicago Library’s Best of the Best
- 2023 INDIES Book of the Year Awards Finalist
- Green Earth Book Award longlist
- Imagination Soup’s 35 Best Nonfiction Books of 2023 for Kids
Amazon / Barefoot Books / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Scholastic / Signed or Inscribed by Me
We recently discovered I’m New Here also and really enjoyed it!
Hi Deckled Edges,
That book is a real gem! I think I discovered it myself last year. It’s so quietly powerful.
I don’t think I have ever read a children’s book with a Muslim character, and I definitely want to change that! The world is so rich and diverse and I want the choices on our family library shelf to reflect that.
Hi Beth,
Let me share some lists with you!
https://www.pragmaticmom.com/2015/02/muslims/
https://www.pragmaticmom.com/2015/06/picture-books-arab-nation/
Thanks so much, Mia. These lists are wonderful. I saw quite a few I want to read and share.
Thanks Beth!
I love seeing all these books. Thanks so much for sharing.
Hi Cathy,
I think it’s a wonderful trend to see more Muslim characters in children’s books and to have them be more mainstream!
It’s not a kids’ book but I recently read A Place for Us by F. Mirza which follows a Muslim family, and it is fantastic!
Hi Kathy K.,
Thanks for sharing A PLACE FOR US by F. Mirza. I definitely want to hunt this one down!
Pakistani is not a language. It is the term used to denote a person from Pakistan, as Bangladeshi to denote a person from Bangladesh. The two largest languages of Pakistan are Punjabi and Pashto, and there are a number of others.
Sensitivity readers for blogs too, please! 😉
Thank you for that correction! I fixed it!
Big Red Lollipop was a mentor text for one of my PBs.
Hi Manju,
I think I read it but I can’t remember it very well. Time to re-read it. Big Red Lollipop comes up again and again as a great picture book. Thanks for this book rec!
Congrats to you, Saadia!! Can’t wait to read your book! We need it even more now than ever!
Have been meaning to read Lailah’s Lunchbox! I also enjoyed Rukshana Khan’s King for a Day in addition to her lollipop book. Loved the illustrations and the spirited character in Mommy’s Khimar too!
Thanks so much Maria! Her book is much needed and wonderful with a strong Muslim girl character who has a big imagination and spirit!
I have read the book Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel by Muslim author Sara Farizan. Great read for a teenager and adult.
Hi Jacquelyn,
I don’t know that one but will be on the lookout at my library! Thanks so much for sharing!
I love this and these books! I wish I knew they existed sooner. Too often are we fed ethnocentric materials. I home school my children and am trying to ensure they are world citizens. Thank you for introducing me to these for my children.
Thanks so much Derek! I love that you expose your children to diverse books celebrating different cultures and religions!
My daughter loved the Jenna Jewels series, based on Muslim girls characters. Love seeing more diversity for them, as I didn’t have it growing up!
Hi Isra,
I don’t know that series so thank you so much for including it in this post! They sound great and I think it’s so important for everyone to read about Muslim characters to get rid of the negative stereotypes. I am personally making it a point to educate myself and my kids.
These are all great! Thanks for compiling the list.
Thanks so much Olivia!
I keep seeing Yasmin everywhere, I am excited to read her story! I love “I’m New Here,” It’s a great book for teachers with ELL students. The best story I read with a Muslim character was the YA book “Does my head look big in this,” about a girl trying to decide if she wanted to wear her hijab to school.
Hi Mandy,
I love I’m New Here! I also really loved It’s No So Awful Falafel which is a funny middle grade story set in Southern California during the Iraq hostage crisis.
Yasmin is my first one.
I’m glad you like Yasmin!
I’ve not read this one, yet, however, Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns; A Muslim Book Of Colors by Hena Khan has such a pretty cover.
It’s a lovely way to learn about colors, shapes and Muslim culture.
Do please support Dr. Bashi™️ social justice diverse books! “P is for Palestine: A Palestine Alphabet Book” (Palestinian/Arab girl heroine at the center of the book). As well as our “Counting up the Olive Tree: A Palestine Number Book” a playful soccer story (promoting girls sports and non-toxic masculinity) as well as racially diverse body-positive kids coming together to save a precious olive tree while teaching young kids how to count numbers.