Nabeel's New Pants: An Eid Tale [Hardcover]

Proiti Roy (Illustrator), Fawzia Gilani-Williams (Narrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2010 | Age Level: 3 and up

Ramadan has come to an end. The fast is over, and tomorrow the celebration of Eid will begin. Nabeel decides to buy each of his family members something special to wear for the holiday. But while he’s choosing, the shopkeeper persuades him also to buy a gift for himself—a pair of new pants that are too long! Nabeel asks his wife, his mother, and his daughter to hem them, but no one has the time—everyone is busy preparing for the festivities. Will Nabeel be able to wear his new pants to celebrate Eid? Only a pair of scissors can tell. A glossary and pronunciation guide are also included.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Kindergarten-Grade 2—Nabeel's dilemma with his new pants is a familiar sort of predicament borne by simple, good-hearted folks in many strains of folklore. He's a shoemaker whose business has gone well on the eve of Eid, the holiday culminating Ramadan. Purchasing gifts for his family, he also buys new pants to replace his patched trousers. However, they are "four fingers too long." Though his wife, mother, and grown daughter are appreciative of the finery he has bought for them, all are too busy with holiday preparations to shorten the pants. Roy's cheerful folk views, the figures drawn in ink and painted in warm tones of gold, brown, green, and blue, pair beautifully with the economical, repetitive scheme, which soon becomes predictable. Nabeel shortens the pants himself, only to be followed by the three women, each of whom cuts off four inches and hems them again in gratitude for his goodness. The author and illustrator are both from India; the tale is ostensibly Turkish and is sprinkled with Arabic terms, listed in an opening glossary. A fine choice for read-aloud fun, the story is a simple introduction to Muslim culture that will evoke empathetic chuckles when the mishap is discovered as Nabeel dons his knee-length pants on the morning of Eid. The damage is soon repaired in a tale that will pair nicely with Simms Taback's Joseph Had a Little Overcoat (Viking, 1999) and countless other tales of shoemakers and tailors or domestic errors.—Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston
(c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

From Booklist

Family life is the heart of this upbeat picture book about the Muslim celebration of Eid, which takes place after the fast of Ramadan. Turkish shoemaker Nabeel buys Eid gifts for his family, including a burqa (a garment with a veil) for his wife, a dupalla (long scarf) for his mother, and bangles for his daughter. The shopkeeper also persuades Nabeel to buy himself new pants, but the pants are too long. His wife, mother, and daughter are all too busy cooking for Eid to shorten his pants, so he cuts a few inches off them himself. Later, the women in the house feel guilty, and each secretly trims the pants more, not realizing the trousers’ increasingly shortened length. When Nabeel finally puts them on, they only reach his knees. Roy’s cheerful gouache, watercolor, and ink illustrations show the bonds among family members as they follow their traditions together. Kids will laugh right along with the loving characters, who sew the missing pants pieces back together to give Nabeel perfectly fitting trousers in the end. Preschool-Grade 3. --Hazel Rochman

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Marshall Cavendish Childrens Books (April 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761456295
• ISBN-13: 978-0761456292
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 9.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #663,544 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic book for kids, October 7, 2010

By 

Saadz - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nabeel's New Pants: An Eid Tale (Hardcover)

I picked up this book for my 3 year old daughter from the library and it was surprisingly very well written and humorous! She asked me to read it every night to her until I finally returned it to the library. Highly recommended!

5.0 out of 5 stars This tale about the celebration of Eid and the special love Nabeel's family had for him is delightfully humorous & heartwarming!, June 22, 2010

By 

D. Fowler "Dragonfly77" (Vermont) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Nabeel's New Pants: An Eid Tale (Hardcover)

Ramadan was over and everyone was preparing for Eid. Nabeel was a shoemaker and his day had been so busy that he didn't have a single shoe in his shop. He decided to go on a shopping excursion and buy his family some special gifts so they would look nice for the holiday. He bought his wife a beautiful blue burga, a dupatta for his mother, and some pretty bangles for his daughter at Hamza's Shop. He wanted to please them and worked hard making the best choices he could.

Hamza noticed that Nabeel's pants were patched and worn and convinced him to purchase a pair of pants, but he didn't have time to shorten them. Nabeel left the shop with pants "four fingers too long," but was certain his wife would shorten them. Yasmeen was delighted with her burga, but had no time to shorten the pants because she had to make biryani for Eid. His mother, Habiba was very pleased with her blue dupatta, but had to make sheerkorma for Eid. Miriam was equally busy and it looked like Nabeel was going to have to figure out what to do with those pants, but what could he do?

This tale about the celebration of Eid and the special love Nabeel's family had for him is delightfully humorous and heartwarming. Many children have learned about Ramadan in school, but few know about the celebration of Eid. This book is an excellent stepping stone to learning about the celebration. The book is presented in a fable-like manner, something that is very appealing and makes it quite interesting. There is a glossary in the front explaining many of the words or phrases. For example we learn that Wa alaikum salaam (wa-Lay-kum sa- LAM) is "a common response to the greeting `Asalaamu alaijum,' meaning `And upon you be peace.'" this book would be a lovely edition to your holiday collection for your homeschool, classroom, or library shelves!