Kid Review

Kid Review – Yusuf and Yusra’s Happy Dilemma – chapter book

Posted on by mouttet.menagerie

Dawood, A. Yusuf and Yusra’s Merry Dilemma. Illustrated by Fatimah Farooqi. NP: Shush Books, 2023

Summary

Ramadan is almost over, and the Rahim family is getting ready for Eid al Fitr.

Yusuf and Yusra are both excited. But when their charity goes missing, it’s up to them to find out what happened before time runs out!

Through faith and friendship, YUSUF AND YUSRA’S HAPPY DILEMMA is the perfect holiday read to let Muslim children know how to celebrate and appreciate Eid al Fitr.

Preorder Yusuf and Yusra’s Happy Dilemma on Amazon – https://amzn.to/3RWZCSS

My Kid Review

A. Dawood has written a book for Muslim families, however I think she lost a great opportunity to share some details of the Muslim culture/faith with non-Muslims. There are so many undefined Arabic words in the text that it is challenging to figure out exactly what is happening in the story. I understand wanting to make the book culturally accurate but not having an English translation (either parenthetically or in a glossary) makes it difficult to learn about the culture if you are not familiar with it. 

There are black and white illustrations by Fatimah Farooqi throughout the book – about one per chapter. The illustrations look like they may have been done with paper and pencil and then scanned into the manuscript. 

Because there is so much non-English in the book, I cannot recommend it for a K-12 Christian school library. As stated earlier, this could have been a good teaching tool, but, because of the language issue, it is not. 

I received a complimentary copy of Yusuf and Yusra’s Happy Dilemma. This is my honest review.

About the Author – A. Dawood

A. Dawood, born and raised in Montreal, Canada, to an Indian family, currently resides in Chicago, Illinois. She studied Islamic Theology for five years at Mu’einul Islam Seminary in Johannesburg, South Africa—some of her most inspiring and life-changing years.

A. Dawood nurtured a love for reading and writing since childhood and is passionate about weaving Islamic elements into her characters and stories. She is also the author of The Say SubhanAllah series, a picture book series encouraging children to love Allah and His creation.

Now a mother of three little girls, she loves to see the joy on their faces when embarking on literary adventures.

When not writing or teaching, and if the weather is nice, you’ll find the Dawood family hiking, looking for woodland elves, and epic views while escaping tantrums and toddler woes (hopefully!).

Read more Kid Review posts.

Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2024 (1/25/25)

MCBD is in its 11th year! Valarie Budayr and Mia Wenjen founded this non-profit children’s literacy initiative; they are two diverse book-loving moms who saw a need to shine the spotlight on all of the multicultural diverse books and authors on the market while also working to get those books into the hands of young readers and educators.

Read Your World’s mission is to raise awareness of the need to include kids’ books celebrating diversity in homes and school bookshelves. Read about our Mission and history HERE.

Read Your World celebrates Multicultural Children’s Book Day and is honored to be Supported by these Medallion and Ruby Sponsors!

FOUNDER’S CIRCLE: Mia Wenjen (Pragmaticmom) and Valarie Budayr (Audreypress.com)

🏅 Super Platinum Sponsor: Author Deedee Cummings and Make A Way Media

🏅 Platinum Sponsors: Publisher Spotlight, Language Lizard Bilingual Books in 50+ Languages, Lerner Publishing Group

🏅 Gold Sponsors:  Barefoot Books, Astra Books for Young Readers

🏅 Silver Sponsors: Red Comet Press, Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, Valerie Williams-Sanchez and Valorena Publishing, Lee and Low Books, Cardinal Rule Press

🏅 Bronze Sponsors: CK Malone, Tonya Duncan Ellis, Anita Crawford Clark, Star Bright Books, Blue Dot Kids Press, Brunella Costagliola, Red Fin, Fabled Films 

Ruby Sponsor: Crayola 

Poster Artist:  Rebecca Burgess 

Classroom Kit Poster: Barefoot Books 

MCBD 2024 is honored to be Supported by these Author Sponsors!

Authors: Gwen Jackson, Josh Funk, Eugenia Chu, Sivan Hong, Marta Magellan, Kathleen Burkinshaw, Angela H. Dale, Maritza M Mejia, Authors J.C. Kato and J.C.², Charnaie Gordon,  Alva Sachs, Amanda Hsiung-Blodgett, Lisa Chong, Diana Huang, Martha Seif Simpson, DARIA (WORLD MUSIC WITH DARIA) Daria Marmaluk-Hajioannou, Gea Meijering, Stephanie M. Wildman, Tracey Kyle, Afsaneh Moradian, Kim C. Lee, Rochelle Melander, Beth Ruffin, Shifa Saltagi Safadi, Alina Chau, Michael Genhart, Sally J. Pla, Ajuan Mance, Kimberly Marcus, Lindsey Rowe Parker

MCBD 2024 is Honored to be Supported by our CoHosts and Global CoHosts!

MCBD 2023 is Honored to be Supported by our Partner Organizations! 

Check out MCBD’s Multicultural Books for Kids Pinterest Board!

📌 FREE RESOURCES from Multicultural Children’s Book Day

📌 Register for the MCBD Read Your World Virtual Party

Join us on Thursday, January 25, 2024, at 9 pm EST celebrating more than 10 years of  Multicultural Children’s Book Day Read Your World Virtual Party! Register here. 

This epically fun and fast-paced hour includes multicultural book discussions, addressing timely issues, diverse book recommendations, & reading ideas.

We will be giving away a 10-Book Bundle during the virtual party plus Bonus Prizes as well! *** US and Global participants welcome. **

Follow the hashtag #ReadYourWorld to join the conversation, and connect with like-minded parts, authors, publishers, educators, organizations, and librarians. We look forward to seeing you all on January 25, 2024, at our virtual party!

You’ll find the link party at https://fresh.inlinkz.com/p/ff851e13c3de4bd0b9c376498d30b7bc on January 25, 2024

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