This stunning picture book celebrates the beauty of the Muslim hijab tradition, the bond of sisters, and the strength to stand tall when bullied.
Written by Olympic medalist Ibtihaj Muhammad, "The Proudest Blue" tells the story of two Muslim sisters attending school, the youngest watching with pride as her older sibling wears a hijab for the first time. Her pride soon turns to confusion when young Faizah witnesses other children taunting Asiya for looking different from themselves, for wearing what they mockingly call a "tablecloth." Faizah refuses to let the bullies diminish her pride, insisting on comparing her sister's hijab not to an inanimate tablecloth but to a strong, friendly, blue ocean in motion. She also figuratively joins her sister in wearing a hijab in the picture she draws of the two of them during class, then literally as she marches away from the schoolyard bullies, refusing to engage with them or allow their words to diminish her strength of identity. Asiya, too, stands resolute at the end of the day, smiling and strong, the two sisters even more bonded together than ever before.
The illustrations beautifully reinforce the beauty, bonds, and strength emanating from the narrative. Illustrator Hatem Aly depicts the hijab with imaginative and emotionally evocative flair, giving it a life of its own. First filling the brilliant blue hijab with tiny clouds like a perfect day, then later bestowing it with the forward movement of irrepressible ocean waves, and finally wrapping it around the resolute face of Asiya with her unblinking eyes, Aly illustrates the hijab as a beautiful, unwavering presence in these girls' lives. That Aly refuses to grant the bullies faces on the page, but fills whole spreads with Asiya's countenance, denies hate even any pictorial power in this book. The connection drawn between the sisters--through hands held, footsteps in the other's shadows, and faces turned toward one another--comprise other attentive illustrative touches.
This stunning book is a work of art that will not only mirror to its hijab-wearing readers their own internal strength but also present other readers with a humanizing portrayal of Muslim children and a compelling anti-bullying message.
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| Price | $9.97 | $10.49 | $14.40 | $7.89 | $10.34 |
| Inspring reads from Olympic medalist Ibtihaj Muhammad | A powerful, vibrantly illustrated story about the first day of school--and two sisters on one's first day of hijab. | This sequel to the acclaimed New York Times bestseller The Proudest Blue shows the power of friendship and kindness. | In this finale to the Proudest Blue series, Faizah learns to overcome her fears and celebrate family, fencing, and community. | The inspiring and critically acclaimed all-American story of faith, family, hard work, and perseverance, adapted for young readers. | A moving coming-of-age story from one of the nation's most influential athletes and illustrates how she rose above it all. |
I can’t recommend this book enough, I am so happy I found it!
I own a little licensed daycare/preschool. I’ve told every preschool/daycare provider I know about this book. We are doing an ‘around the world’ unit this summer and I have kids 3-5. I bought this book for the week we talked about Egypt & the Middle East. This book is beautiful to look at. As soon as the kids discovered this in our classroom they were FASCINATED. They couldn’t wait for the unit to come up for me to read it & asked every day. I’m in a weird little pocket of the PNW that is not very diverse. As a provider I loved that this book gave us the perfect opportunity to talk about and explore hijab without any kindof religious subtext to potentially concern parents. We talked about how the little sister was so proud of her big sister & her beautiful hijab. We talked about how the big sister was so strong and brave. We talked about how the words of the disrespectful boys in the story would make us feel and how the mother had taught the girls that hurtful words belonged to the people who said them and were not theirs to keep. It was such a *perfect* story to bring about the conversation of what hijab is, to help the children respect and appreciate the beauty in cultural differences.
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2020
I own a little licensed daycare/preschool. I’ve told every preschool/daycare provider I know about this book. We are doing an ‘around the world’ unit this summer and I have kids 3-5. I bought this book for the week we talked about Egypt & the Middle East. This book is beautiful to look at. As soon as the kids discovered this in our classroom they were FASCINATED. They couldn’t wait for the unit to come up for me to read it & asked every day. I’m in a weird little pocket of the PNW that is not very diverse. As a provider I loved that this book gave us the perfect opportunity to talk about and explore hijab without any kindof religious subtext to potentially concern parents. We talked about how the little sister was so proud of her big sister & her beautiful hijab. We talked about how the big sister was so strong and brave. We talked about how the words of the disrespectful boys in the story would make us feel and how the mother had taught the girls that hurtful words belonged to the people who said them and were not theirs to keep. It was such a *perfect* story to bring about the conversation of what hijab is, to help the children respect and appreciate the beauty in cultural differences.
I can’t recommend this book enough, I am so happy I found it!
Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2020
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- Reviewed in the United States on February 29, 2024
- Reviewed in the United States on October 23, 2022
- Reviewed in the United States on July 5, 2020
Top reviews from other countries
- SejlaReviewed in Germany on January 5, 2022
Beautiful, empowering
A children’s book, beautifully written and accompanied with illustrations. I am happy to see muslim representation in children’s books.SejlaBeautiful, empowering
Reviewed in Germany on January 5, 2022
“The first day of wearing hijab is important, Mama has said. It means being strong.”
The important of family, the love between sisters, mothers wise words and the magical power of hijab. I definitely recommend this book.
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