Published by Amulet Books
Summary: 15 Muslim author have created 14 stories about Eid al-Fitr, the holiday celebrating the end of the month of Ramadan. Although the kids in the stories are experiencing divorce, the sickness of a parent, being a refugee, and other struggles, the stories are upbeat, celebrating family, friendship, and food. Non-Muslim readers who finish all 14 stories will learn a lot about Ramadan, Eid, and Islam. Eleven of the stories are in a traditional short story format, with one graphic-novel style tale, a story in verse, and a poem rounding out the collection. Includes an editors’ introduction and biographical information about all the authors.
Pros: A much-needed addition to the small number of American books featuring Muslim characters. I’m not usually much of a short story fan, but I zipped through these pretty quickly, mostly because each one took me right into the action and presented interesting characters. Even though the characters have a wide variety of heritages and are in some cases living outside the U.S., American kids will find plenty here to enjoy.
Cons: I didn’t get to see any of the illustrations in my advance reader copy.
