UNDER MY HIJAB: A story about different ways to express yourself by Hena Khan & Aaliya Jaleel

I was really interested to learn about the hijab and all the different ways it can be worn!

Summary from Amazon:

Grandma's hijab clasps under her chin. Auntie pins hers up with a whimsical brooch. Jenna puts a sun hat over hers when she hikes. Iman wears a sports hijab for tae kwon do. As a young girl observes the women in her life and how each covers her hair a different way, she dreams of the possibilities in her own future and how she might express her personality through her hijab.

With cheerful rhyming text by the author of Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns, and charming illustrations from a talented newcomer, Under My Hijab provides a friendly introduction to hijabs for all readers, and celebrates the many Muslim women and girls who choose to wear them.

Under My Hijab was written by Hena Khan and illustrated by Aaliya Jaleel. It was published in 2019 by Lee & Low Books.

Opening:    

 

Grandma peeks into the oven

as a brown loaf of bread starts to rise.

Her hijab is carefully folded,

like the crusts on my favorite pies.

My Thoughts as a Writer:

One of the things I found intriguing about this text was the structure. Each woman or girl is shown first in one situation wearing a hijab, and then in a situation without it. I haven’t seen many picture books written this way, but I like the way it allows the reader to compare the situations easily. I really enjoyed the way the women are shown with many different roles and interests.

My Thoughts as an Educator:

This is a great book for talking about individual differences and cultural or religious traditions. I loved how each character expressed themselves differently through their clothing.

Ages: 4-9

Grades: K – 3

Themes: individual differences, women, traditional clothing

Activities:

Dramatic Play: Provide pieces of cloth for children to fold and experiment with wearing.

Draw & Write: Do you have a favourite piece of clothing? Draw a picture of it. What makes it special to you?  (Educators could hang the drawings around the classroom for a “gallery walk” as a basis for more discussion on individual differences.)

STEAM Challenge: Design a piece of clothing that can be worn on the head – a head scarf, hat or hair accessory. What patterns and colours could you include? Draw your design first, and then try to make it using paper, cloth and other materials.

ALL ARE WELCOME by Alexandra Penfold & Suzanne Kaufman

This lovely rhyming book is perfect for starting off the school year and to keep on hand in the classroom for students to explore. I think I will have to buy a copy for my classroom.

Summary from the publisher:

A warm, welcoming picture book that celebrates diversity and gives encouragement and support to all kids.

Follow a group of children through a day in their school, where everyone is welcomed with open arms. A school where kids in patkas, hijabs, and yarmulkes play side-by-side with friends in baseball caps. A school where students grow and learn from each other’s traditions and the whole community gathers to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

All Are Welcome lets young children know that no matter what, they have a place, they have a space, they are welcome in their school.

All Are Welcome was written by Alexandra Penfold and illustrated by Suzanne Kaufman. It was published by Alfred A. Knopf in 2018.

Opening:     

Pencils sharpened in their case.

Bells are ringing, let’s make haste.

School’s beginning, dreams to chase.

All are welcome here.

My Thoughts as a Writer:

A lovely example of a rhyming story with a positive message for children. The repetition of the line "All are welcome here" is so effective. I can see myself using this throughout the year as a reminder, or even to post in the classroom. Brilliant word choice! I especially liked the way the illustrations show diversity & inclusion with different skin colors, clothing, and family groupings.

My Thoughts as an Educator:

This book upholds all the values that we see in a strong public education environment. There are opportunities for talking about individual differences, diversity, what it means to feel safe, how each child has their own unique story and how we can learn from each other. I plan to read this to my kindergarten students early in the year!

Ages: 4 - 7

Grades: K – 2

Themes: diversity, community, school

Activities:

Draw and Share: What is your special talent? What could you teach to others?

Discuss: What is your favorite page in the story? Why?

Make: Have students write the words "All Are Welcome Here" as a banner to put up in the classroom. 

Draw: Draw a picture of what you could do to make a new student feel welcome.

Create: Use yarn to create welcoming hearts for the fence at your school playground (see inside covers).

Learning from Picture Books – LIFE by Cynthia Rylant & Brendan Wenzel

A thought-provoking look at our planet with lovely, detailed illustrations.

Summary from the publisher:

There are so many wonderful things about life, both in good times and in times of struggle. Through the eyes of the world’s animals—including elephants, monkeys, whales, and more…

Life was written by Cynthia Rylant and illustrated by Brendan Wenzel. It was published in 2017 by Beach Lane Books, a division of Simon & Schuster.

Opening:

Life begins small.

Even for the elephants.

Then it grows.

My Thoughts as a Writer:

This is a quiet book with slight touches of humor. It’s an interesting example of a circular text that begins and ends the same way. The illustrations show the diversity of life on our planet with muted tones and lots of detail.

My Thoughts as a Teacher:

This is definitely a book for a quieter moment. For me, it generated lots of wonderings and thoughts about appreciating the smaller things in life, the diversity of life on our planet and what it needs to survive, and being hopeful when struggling with challenges. The text has many different interpretations and will work for several different age groups.

Ages: 4 - 12

Grades: PreK and up

Themes: diversity, appreciation of the earth, perseverance through challenges

Activities:

Choose your favourite animal. What would this animal love about life? Create a piece of art and write your message as a caption.

Take a picture of something small in nature. What could it grow into or become? Draw your idea. 

NOTE: This title has been nominated for the Cybils Award, and I am a first round panelist. There are many nominations and six other judges. My opinions should not be construed as a sign of inclusion or exclusion on the final short list.

Learning from Picture Books – I AM CANADA: A Celebration by Heather Patterson & many wonderful Canadian illustrators

What a lovely book for a classroom collection! It celebrates diversity through the different activities mentioned in the text and through the different styles of illustration on each double-page spread. 

            

Summary from the publisher:

Simple text describes the ample space available to our children in this country, and the freedom they have to grow and dream and share. With artwork from 13 of Canada’s finest illustrators, each page is a celebration and a reminder of the infinite variety of our home and native land.

Heather Patterson’s free verse poem I Am Canada, originally published in 1996, gets new life in this beautiful, illustrated hardcover timed to celebrate both Canada’s 150th year and Scholastic Canada’s 60th anniversary.

Illustrations by:

Jeremy Tankard

Ruth Ohi

Barbara Reid

Jon Klassen

Marie-Louise Gay

Danielle Daniel

Ashley Spires

Geneviève Côté

Cale Atkinson

Doretta Groenendyk

Qin Leng

Eva Campbell

Irene Luxbacher

I Am Canada: A Celebration was published in 2017.

Opening:

“I am Canada.

I run. I swim. I skate, I dance.”

My thoughts as a writer:

In a lovely, child-friendly way, this book shows the space and freedoms of living in Canada, from “I have space” to “I stay out late and see the northern lights.” I especially enjoyed the way it celebrates diversity through the different activities mentioned in the text, as well as through the diversity of illustrators who created work for this project. It’s a good book to explore if you’re thinking about how to create a meaningful and expressive text using minimal words.

If you’re an illustrator, this book will be very interesting to investigate, since it showcases 13 different illustration styles. It was also fun to look through the book to see if I could tell who the illustrator was for each spread (they are listed at the back). I enjoyed reading the notes at the back, describing the inspirations for creating the work from the author and each illustrator.

My thoughts as an educator:

I think this is an important book to read aloud with students. Almost every page provides an opportunity for young children to share a bit about themselves and will lead to discussion about similarities, differences and what it means to be part of a community and culture. I hope to find it in my school library—and it’s on my wish list of books to purchase for my classroom.

Ages: 4 - 8

Grades: K - 3

Themes:  Canada, community, diversity

Activities:

What is your favourite page in the book? Why?

Work with your classmates to create your own “I Am Canada” book. What will you create on your page? What is important to you about being Canadian?

Fox Creek Municipal Library's Time for Tots presents a reading of the book with a northern lights art activity:

Scholastic Canada provided a short video to promote I AM CANADA: