Here are 10 of some of the best children’s books about Ramadan – happy reading!
Here are 10 of some of the best children’s books about Ramadan – happy reading!
The holy month of Ramadan is an important time to nurture important beliefs and practices about Islam to toddlers and young children. It’s a rewarding time for Muslims and the perfect opportunity to get children to understand one of the five pillars of Islam – Sawm.
If you can, it’s wise to invest in a diverse and multicultural range of books. Here are my top 10 books about Ramadan that I recommend.
1. Musa and the Ramadan Moon: Written by Nurgis Ara Zeb and illustrated by Azra Momin
Suitable for ages: 1-3 years
This is the perfect book to introduce to toddlers. It’s also one of the only Ramadan lift-the-flap board books that I have been able to find.
It is about a young Muslim boy called Musa who watches the sky through various windows eager to see the crescent moon to signify the beginning of Ramadan. It’s a very interactive book, the language is clear and simple for young ones to understand and the illustrations are very sweet, especially with the addition of Musa’s companion who is a cat.
2. Hassan and Aneesa Love Ramadan: Written by Yasmeen Rahim and illustrated by Omar Burgess
Suitable for ages: 2-5 years
This is definitely one of my favourite books about Ramadan, partly because I love Omar Burgess’s illustrations, which really capture the excitement and joy Ramadan brings.
The two siblings, Omar and Hanna, are excited about the beginning of Ramadan. During Ramadan, they read the Qur’an, give charity, share food with neighbours, and try to fast.
The storyline focuses on interaction with their parents highlighting the importance of family to help understand Ramadan better. It also emphasises helping the community and your neighbours. At the same time, it portrays a realistic representation of Muslim family life.
For example at home, the mother does not wear her hijab and little details like this make me appreciate the book even more. It’s a very positive book and it has become a firm favourite on our bookshelf.
3. Rami the Ramadan Cat: Written by Robyn Thomas and illustrated by Abira Das
Suitable for ages: 4-8 years
This heart-warming story embodies the spirit of Ramadan in a more subtle way compared to the other books. It is about a boy called Saleem, who has just moved to a new city.
On the first night of Ramadan, he finds a scruffy kitten and decides to call the kitten ‘Rami’ because of his timely appearance. Even though Saleem and his family make posters to find Rami’s owners, he secretly hopes Rami is never found.
The book does touch upon prayer, iftar, and going to the mosque but these are part of Saleem’s everyday life rather than the book’s core theme. The book’s main themes about loneliness and empathy are articulated well.
This is the first Muslim childrens’ book that I have read which illustrates and focuses on a character with a disability.
4. Ramadan Around The World: Written by Ndaa Hassan and illustrated by Azra Momin
Suitable for ages: 5-10 years
This book covers how children from various cultures around the world celebrate Ramadan. It includes countries which might not usually be associated with Islam such as Brazil and Australia.
It is narrated by the Ramadan moon, which takes the reader around the world to visit children and their families. It details a wide range of cultural customs and dishes, which I found really interesting.
As a parent, I feel like I also learned some new things and it has prompted me to research some recipes, which I will be trying with my daughter.
I really appreciated the description for how a hearing-impaired child relies on sign language from his mother to communicate Ramadan has begun. The book also mentions autism that is often a topic that doesn’t get much attention in the Muslim community, so it’s wonderful to see it in a book for young children.
The illustrations are stunning and importantly included different family types such as children being raised by single mothers or their grandparents. This book really does prove to children how diverse the Muslim ummah is.
5. Who Will Help Me Make Iftar?: Written by Asmaa Hussein and illustrated by Saliha Caliskan
Suitable for ages: 4-8 years
Asma Hussein is one of my favourite authors and her innovative books never disappoint. The book is about an old man called Mustafa Amca and his wife who have a yearly tradition of cooking iftar for their family, friends, and neighbours on the first day of Ramadan.
This year, Mustafa Amca’s wife is sick and can’t help him cook! He insists on carrying on the beloved tradition and asks for help from various family and friends by they all make excuses to assist him.
Despite no help from anyone, he still invites everyone to enjoy the iftar but they all feel guilty and ask how they can eat the food when they did not help? But Mustafa replies that Allah (swt) loves those who are generous, and that he wants Allah to love him.
This book focuses on generosity, kindness, and sincerity especially towards other people who are not as generous with their time and efforts. It teaches a valuable lesson to children to also be forgiving so it will definitely be a story that I will be using after Ramadan too.
6. My Ramadan Dua’ Book: Written by Farzana Rahman and illustrated by Rahima Begum
Suitable for ages: 6-10 years
This is a sound book, which follows the Ramadan journey of two young siblings called Fatima and Ali. The book focuses on sharing iftar with non-Muslim friends, which I personally really like so it’s refreshing to see a book that encourages this.
I was pleasantly surprised by how detailed and advanced it is. The sounds include essential dua’ s for beginning and breaking fast, Surah Al Qadr, Laylatul Qadr, dua’ for New Moon, and Eid Takbeer.
My daughter and I enjoyed pressing the sound panels and practiced our Arabic pronunciations. She asked me what they meant and it was great to be able to slide the switch to hear the English translation. It also has it written down phonetically to help aid the reader visually too.
I also really liked the page at the end, which describes phonetically how to say Ramadan Mubarak in different languages including Ghanian, Somali and Pashto.
Out of all of the books in my review, I feel that this one would also benefit older children. To be honest, the book will also help refresh dua’s for many parents too!
7. My First Book About Ramadan: Written by Sara Khan and illustrated by Ali Lodge
Suitable for ages: 2-5 years
Inside this board book, there is a focus on the meaning and purpose of Ramadan. The illustrations are very bright and colourful, featuring Muslim families from diverse cultures.
It subtly introduces the five pillars of Islam and The Night of Power, and it also has some useful facts about Ramadan and common questions children might ask at the end of the book.
8. The Most Powerful Night – A Ramadan Story: Written by Ndaa Hassan and illustrated by Soumbal Qureshi
Suitable for ages: 5-10 years
This book beautifully describes the significance of Laylut Al Qadr with a little girl called Laila and her mother during a bedtime story.
At times, the language is quite magical which captures young children’s attention. But at other times, it also is able to detail events in a clear and informative way, such as the explanation about Angel Jibreel and the Holy Quran.
Laila asks her mother the same questions that other children are most likely to ask their parents like whether she can “stay up late ALL of the last ten nights of Ramadan?”
My favourite thing about this is book is the illustrations, which are very delicate and pretty because of the soft pink and purple colour theme.
9. 10 Things I Love about Ramadan: Written by and illustrated by Firhana Imam
Suitable for ages: 4-6 years
This book follows a little girl called Nabeela who explains why Ramadan is her favourite time of the year. It focuses in detail on ten important aspects of Ramadan.
The illustrations are very bright and solidify the meaning behind each aspect. It also has useful definitions of keywords throughout the book to help clarify each thing that Nabeela loves about Ramadan.
The sentence structure is a little more advanced so I would recommend it for older children. There is the welcome addition of some verses from the Qurans at the end of the book too.
10. Ramadan Moon: Written by Na’ima B Robert and illustrated by Shirin Adl
Suitable for ages: 4-8 years
This book allows the reader to follow Ramadan with the waxing of the moon from the first new crescent to the second new moon.
The language is very poetical conveying the beauty of Ramadan and Eid day celebrations from the perspective of a child. The illustrations are Iranian-inspired with a decoupage style so it’s unique and original.
Many books tend to convey the bustling nature of Ramadan but this one conveys a sense of calmness and reminds children of the opportunity to reflect quietly with Allah (swt.)
You can purchase all of these books from Anafiya Gifts.
