More Great Picture Books about Ramadan and Muslim Culture

Last year, the coincide with the beginning of Ramadan, I published a post on 5 Positive Picture Books for Ramadan. Since then, I have found several more wonderful books to share.

A Party in Ramadan (2009) by Asma Mobin-Uddin and illustrated by Laura Jacobsen. Leena faces a dilemma: she has promised to fast for the first Friday of Ramadan but she has received an invitation to a classmate's birthday party. This story is a great introduction to Ramadan and how to be accepting of others. (H/T Alex's great post Some Books about Ramadan for Younger Readers.)

The White Nights of Ramadan (2008) by Maha Addasi and illustrated by Ned Gannon. Set during the middle of the month of Ramadan (the white nights refer to the full moon), Noor is looking forward to celebrating with her neighbors.

Going to Mecca (2012) by Na'ima B. Robert and illustrated by Valentina Cavallini. This is a lovely second-person book that invites you, the reader, to join the pilgrims on each step of the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca. A note at the back provides more contexts about the individual steps during the journey. I really appreciated the details of this story and especially how the illustrator sought to be inclusive in her collage, including women, children, and people with disabilities. (H/T Myra from Gathering Books.)

The Best Eid Ever (2007) by Asma Mobin-Uddin and illustrated by Laura Jacobsen. Aneesa is disappointed to be celebrating Eid al-Adha without her parents, who are undertaking the Hajj pilgrimage. But by befriending two recent refugee girls, Aneesa learns an important lesson about the true importance of Eid.

Time to Pray (2010) by Maha Addasi, translated by Nuha Albitar, and illustrated by Ned Gannon. In this tender bilingual book, young Yasmin is visiting her grandmother in a Muslim country. Fascinated by the calls of the muezzin, she asks her grandmother to teach her to pray. When she returns home (presumably to America), she finds a special gift from her grandmother to remind her about her prayers. A note at the end of the book describes the five times for prayer and the reasons behind them. (H/T Myra from Gathering Books.)

Find more great recommendations in the first post in this series, 5 Positive Picture Books for Ramadan.

Stories from the Chinese Zodiac

Every year when we study Asia I share a book about the Chinese zodiac with my third graders. They love hearing about the different animals and their tricks, but they especially love finding out which animal they are and how they relate well (or less) well to all the other animals in their lives.

(This is also always the awkward day when my students, realizing that they do not know the year their parents were born, start shouting out their parents' ages to try and figure out their zodiac sign. More information than I needed!)

There are many great picture book versions available that tell stories about how the Chinese zodiac came to be. This post reviews several of my favorites and includes the worksheet that I give my students to calculate their zodiac animal.

If you are interested in other books about Chinese New Year, check out the post A Chinese Twist on Favorite Tales for several Chinese New Year stories, as well as other Chinese versions of familiar fairy tales.

The Race for the Chinese Zodiac

One common story for the origins and order of the animals in the Chinese Zodiac involves a race. Each of these picture books offers their own take on this traditional tale.

Cat and Rat: the legend of the Chinese Zodiac (1995) by Ed Young. This book opens with an author's note about the history and mythology of the Chinese zodiac, along with a listing of the animals, years, and their characteristics. In this version of the story, the Jade Emperor has declared a race as the deciding factor for zodiac inclusion. Best friends Cat and Rat hatch a plan together, but when Cat falls short of qualifying for the final 12, it explains why cats and rats today are enemies. The dark and loose illustrations for this book make it more difficult to read aloud to a large group but perfect for cuddling up and reading close.

Story of the Chinese Zodiac (1994) retold by Monica Chang, illustrated by Arthur Lee, and translated into Vietnamese by Nguyen Ngoc Ngan. This charming version of the tale featured three-dimensional cut paper animals. I especially love that this a bilingual book with both English and Vietnamese versions. There is also a Chinese/English version.

The Race for the Chinese Zodiac (2010) retold by Gabrielle Wang and illustrated by Sally Rippin. This version of the race story works well for read aloud - brief text and large, ink-outlined illustrations of the animals. The book ends with a brief description of each animal's characteristics and the years.

The Great Race: the story of the Chinese zodiac (2006) retold by Dawn Casey and illustrated by Anne Wilson. This similarly quick retelling of the race tale has bright, cheerful illustrations. In additional to information about the Chinese calendar and the zodiac animals, there is an additional page about other important Chinese holidays including New Year, the Dragon Boat Festival, and the Moon Festival.

The Animals of the Chinese Zodiac (1998) retold by Susan Whitfield and illustrated by Philippa-Alys Browne. This rather lengthy retelling of the race story placed Buddha in the role of Jade Emperor and spends a great deal of time with the beginning, introducing the animals as the various apsaras visit them. There is a detailed note at the end about the origins of the zodiac, as well as a long paragraph about each animal's qualities and the associated years.

The Cat's Tale: why the years are named for animals (2008) by Doris Orgel and illustrated by Meilo So. This final take on the race story gives a different point-of-view, as the story-within-the-story is the cat relating her version of the race event. The frame story is also an important one about family and misunderstandings.

Other Stories from the Chinese Zodiac

The Rooster's Antlers: a story of the Chinese Zodiac (1999) written by Eric Kimmel and illustrated by YongSheng Xuan. My students are a big fan of Eric Kimmel's Anansi stories, so they are always excited when they see the cover of this book. This is one of my favorite read alouds about the Chinese zodiac, especially for the ridiculous antics of the scheming centipede. Proud Rooster allows Dragon to borrow his antlers for "as long as he needs them," only to become suddenly self-conscious about lacking them when the Jade Emperor comes to choose the animals for the zodiac. This book also offers a bit of a pourquoi tale for why Roosters crow and chase centipedes. It also includes a two-page spread of the animals and the years and personality characteristics.

Why Rat Comes First: a story of the Chinese Zodiac (1991) retold by Clara Yen and illustrated by Hideo C. Yoshida. In this version of the tale, based on one modified by the author's father, the Jade Emperor invites the animals up to his palace but then cannot decide between Ox or Rat for the first year. He decides to allow the children of Earth to choose the winner. The book includes the years for the twelve animals but not their characteristics.

The Dragon's Tale and Other Animal Fables of the Chinese Zodiac (1996) retold and illustrated by Demi. Finally, this book presents a different take on the zodiac tales. Rather than explaining how the animals were chosen, this book includes twelve separate fables featuring each of the animals. Each fable ends with a short epigraph that restates the moral lesson. This could be a great addition to a lesson on fable or Aesop or for studying aphorisms. (An aside, this book contains the most fascinating note on the illustrations I have ever read. I am still not sure if it is factual or sarcastic.)

Here is the worksheet that I share with my students after we read about the Chinese Zodiac. I usually also include a copy of the characteristics of the different animals from whichever book we share.

Right-click to save. Prints at 8.5 x 11"

Do you have a favorite Chinese zodiac story that I have missed? Please share in the comments below!

A Chinese Twist on Favorite Tales

Fairy tales and folktales are a great way to learn about another culture. This post highlights a collection of my favorite fractured or twisted fairy tales that have been given a Chinese twist - or, in the case of Yeh-Shen, have a Chinese origin. Several of these stories are also based around the Chinese New Year which begins this year on February 19th.

A Chinese Twist on Favorite Tales

 

The Runaway Rice Cake and The Runaway Wok: a Chinese New Year tale by Ying Chang Compestine. These two retellings of the Gingerbread Man story feature some unexpected characters - a naughty rolling rice cake and a quickly-moving wok! Kids will love the humor and dialogue in these entertaining tales and might also learn something about Chinese culture and the Chinese New Year. Read more in my in-depth analysis of patterning in The Runaway Wok.

Lon Po-Po: a Red-Riding Hood story from China by Ed Young. The sparse palette of the illustrations adds to the doom and gloom in these Chinese version of the Red-Riding Hood story. This time there are three children visited by a wolf.

Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas (2014) by Natasha Yim and illustrated by Grace Zong (A Junior Library Guild Selection). Goldilocks is given a Chinese-American twist in this story set on Chinese New Year. Poor Goldy Luck is worried about being unlucky for another year. Her fear of bad luck (and her extreme tiredness) lead her into some predictable situations ... but at least she learns a valuable lesson in the end.

Yeh-Shen: a Cinderella story from China retold by Ai-Ling Louie. This Chinese version of the Cinderella story is perhaps the oldest-known recorded version, dating back to the ninth century. In this original Cinderella tale, Yeh-Shen finds help from the magical bones of the fish she had fed and raised who had been killed by the stepmother. There is also a tiny gold sandal and a dramatic end for the stepmother and stepsister. (Read other worldwide Cinderella stories from Asia, Africa, and Europe and from the Americas.)

Chinese Mother Goose Rhymes retold by Robert Wyndham and illustrated by Ed Young. This bilingual collection translates traditional Chinese nursery rhymes for English readers. A delightful addition to any youngsters' library!

Do you have a favorite Chinese twist that I missed?

5 Positive Picture Books for Ramadan

The Muslim holy month of Ramadan is coming to an end soon, as the full moon is already waning its way towards next week's new moon. Why not take a moment during this time to think about adding some Ramadan books to your school or classroom library? These five fictional tales will help introduce students to some of the traditions and meaning of Ramadan.

Books about the Month of Ramadan

Night of the Moon: a Muslim holiday story by Hena Khan and illustrated by Julie Paschkis. Night of the Moon tells the story of the month of Ramadan through the eyes of seven-year-old Yasmeen (though her age and background as a Pakastani-American are directly referenced only on the book jacket, not within the story). Yasmeen's journey through the month and her questions provide background knowledge for the reader while still keeping the story interesting. 

Julie Paschkis used Islamic tiles as her inspiration for the designs and patterns behind the main illustrations, and her use of color gives the book a unified feel. I particularly appreciate the diversity of students pictured in Yasmeen's class and at the Night of the Moon celebration, as the illustrations reinforce the point that this is a story for everyone. 

Moon Watchers: Shirin's Ramadan Miracle by Reza Jalali and illustrated by Anne Sibley O'Brien follows in a very similar vein but with a slightly older protagonist, nine-year-old Shirin. (Again, it is only explicit in the jacket cover that the story takes place in America.) This book also follows Shirin's full month of Ramadan but with a stronger focus on some of the important practices like fasting, prayer, and good deeds. The realistic style of the illustrations may make it easier for younger readers to connect these characters to real people around them.

Under the Ramadan Moon by Sylvia Whitman is a lovely poem of a picture book about Ramadan. I generally love poetic picture books, but the level of repetition in this one could become tedious for somewhat older students. This would probably make a better one-on-one read than a whole class read aloud. The author concludes with a page-long note providing additional background about Ramadan.

Books about Eid

Samira's Eid by Nasreen Aktar and illustrated by Enebor Attard is a bilingual book available in ten different dual language editions: Albanian, Arabic, Bengali, Farsi, French, Gujurati, Panjabi, Somali, Turkish, and Urdu (the Arabic cover is pictured). This realistic fiction picture book focuses on the celebration of Eid at the conclusion of the month of Ramadan and follows Samira and her brother Hassan as they prepare. The setting is never explicit in this story, allowing the readers to infer their own connections between the location and the languages of the story.

Nabeel's New Pants: an Eid Tale retold by Fawzia Gilani-Williams and illustrated by Proiti Roy. This fun folktale was one of the books I picked up during my summer in Jordan, and it is a humorous take on Eid. As everyone hurries to get ready, Nabeel asks different family members to help him hem his pants. They each independently decide to help him secretly with predictably disastrous results!

Want more? Check out More Great Picture Books about Ramadans and Muslim Culture. Do you have a favorite Ramadan picture book that I have missed? Let me know in the comments.