Moon Watchers: Shirin's Ramadan Miracle [Paperback]

Gr 1-4This thought-provoking tale straddles American, Persian, andIslamic cultures. Shirin, nine, watches for the moon signaling the startof Ramadan. She is disappointed because she is too young to fast, buther father encourages her to do good deeds. Jalali depicts theShia-Muslim form of prayer, which includes kissing a stone, and alsotouches on the issue of women covering their hair. Throughout the story,Shirin follows the waxing and waning stages of the moon and isdelighted when she gets permission to do half-day fasts and even morepleased when it appears that she is able to cope with them better thanher brother. To her astonishment, she discovers him secretly eating. Shedecides not to expose Ali and counts it as a good deed. As Ramadanends, the family prepares for Eid-ul-Fitr. O''Brien's watercolorillustrations evoke a culturally authentic Persian-American aesthetic,depicting warm characters in a family setting. An explanation of Ramadanand Eid is given in the back matter. This is another wonderfulcontribution to the slowly increasing collection of fictional books onthe observance of Ramadan and a great resource for librarians andteachers.Fawzia Gilani-Williams, An-Noor School, Windsor, Ontario? Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.This moving picture book for older readers about a young Muslim girl andher family at Ramadan weaves together the traditional observance andits meaning with a lively drama of sibling rivalry. In her backyard inMaine, Shirin, 9, and her father watch for the new moon that starts theholy month. Shirin begs to be allowed to fast, like her older brother,Ali, 12, but she is furious when her family tells her she is too young.Then her parents decide to let her fast for part of the day, and she isthrilled. She also learns that Ramadan is about doing good deeds to helpothers. The unframed, intricately detailed, mixed-media illustrationsshow the siblings'' ugly stalSŲ