Recommended Picture Book: Under the Ramadan Moon

Title: Under the Ramadan Moon

Author: Sylvia Whitman

Illustrator: Sue Williams

Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company;  March 1, 2011

Age: 3-7 years

Themes: Ramadan, Fasts and Feasts, Islam, Moon

Opening: We wait for the moon. We watch for the moon. We watch for the Ramadan moon.

Summary:
We wait for the moon. We watch for the moon. We watch for the Ramadan moon.
We give to the poor, and read Qur’an, under the moon.
We live our faith, until next year under the moon, under the moon, under the Ramadan moon.
Ramadan is one of the most special months of the Islamic year, when Muslims pray, fast, and help those in need. Sylvia Whitman’s lyrical story, with luminous illustrations by Sue Williams, serves as an introduction to Ramadan—a time for reflection and ritual with family and friends. 

Resources:
A detailed not about Ramadan is included at the end of the books.
This blog has some really fun activities based off the story. Jannah Steps has a treasure trove of Ramadan activities for all ages.

Why I Like This Book:
This book is perfect in every way. It is perfect for introducing Muslim culture and the Muslim holiday, Ramadan, to young children. In a classroom setting, this book is great because the words are simple, rhythmic and has repetition that is helpful to get children engaged and interactive during story time. For non-Muslim children, it shows the different practices of Muslims during the month like spending time with family, visiting friends, speaking kind words, giving to the poor, praying, reading from the Muslim holy book, the Qur'an.  Muslim families will enjoy the ease of reading the story to their children and discuss all the things that make this month special and important to Muslims. The best thing about the Under the Ramadan Moon, are the illustrations. They are so warm and beautiful. During story time at the Islamic Kids Library, one of the kids noticed that on each page, the moon changed. That it went from a crescent, to full moon, back to a crescent again. :) The moon is important to Muslims as it marks the beginning and end of each of the lunar months. So it was really cool to see the children recognize this and that the illustrator took the time to include this into her illustrated story.