FICTION

Mommy's Khimar

illus. by Ebony Glenn. 40p. S. & S./Salaam Reads. Apr. 2018. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9781534400597.
COPY ISBN
PreS-K—A young child is enchanted by her mother's many colorful khimars. She uses them to play dress-up, imagining herself as a queen, a mama bird covering her baby brother in his nest, or a superhero in a cape. The girl can inhale her mother's scent and comfort herself even if her mother is not near. She is even allowed to wear one of the khimars to the mosque where she is lovingly admired by a crowd of older women ("'Assalamu alaikum, Little Sis!'"). Her non-Muslim grandmother also makes an appearance and readers are told, "She doesn't go to the mosque like Mommy and Daddy do. We are a family and we love each other just the same." The child-narrator speaks in simple, clear sentences describing a supportive and loving family and community. However, Glenn's soft-colored, flat illustrations miss an opportunity to add visual depth and texture to the book. They serve their purpose, but don't enrich it.
VERDICT A sweet addition to picture book collections.

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