Review by Booklist Review
Ever since starting school a few months ago, Ameena has felt unseen by her classmates. No one can say her name, and they tend to ignore her. Is it because her skin is brown or because she is Muslim? She doesn't know. When a girl named Sundus joins the class, Ameena notices that the new girl's skin is brown, too, and, wearing a hijab, she is surely Muslim. Ameena wants to befriend her, but in her first attempt, her words come out wrong, and Sundus feels offended. Watching their mothers meet at the mosque on family night, Ameena hears Momma greet Sundus' mother by saying, "Assalamu Alaikum, Sister. Welcome!" At recess the next day, Ameena says the same phrase to Sundus, and the two lonely girls become "sister friends." When Ameena has a hard time communicating, the narrator observes, "Sometimes a mouth doesn't work right when too many excited words are in it," gracefully acknowledging the complexity of communications and relationships, while the illustrations capture every nuance of the characters' emotions in this moving picture book.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
At her new school, every day is "play-by-herself day" for Ameena: "Was it the twists in her hair? Her brown skin? No one else in class had twists and brownness." Ameena sees a possible companion in new student Sundus, portrayed with brown skin and wearing a lilac-hued hijab, but a well-meaning greeting goes awkwardly awry, and Ameena is called a copycat by classmates when she wears her own hijab to school in hopes of connecting with Sundus. The masjid on family night is the one place Ameena doesn't feel alone, and it's there that an encounter with Sundus leads to an in-school welcome and a growing bond. Thompkins-Bigelow's sweetly complex treatise speaks to experiences of loneliness and marginalization as well as of kinship and joy. In saturated, chalky textures, Maydani draws the girls' intent expressions against moody backgrounds that lead to scenes of heartfelt friendship. Background characters are portrayed with various abilities and skin tones. Ages 4--8. (May)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
After being excluded by her peers, a girl finally makes a friend. The only student with brown skin and her hair in twists, Ameena always plays alone at school. "No one saw her. No one heard her. Or maybe they did. They just didn't show it. She wasn't sure." When they aren't ignoring her, the other kids look at her like she's strange. But one day, there's a new student named Sundus in her class. "Ameena saw her brownness. Saw her hijab, like the ones Ameena also wore to masjid. Saw it was the color of spring, the color of lilacs." Ameena is not alone! The potential for friendship is there, but Ameena must first learn how to approach and communicate with Sundus, who mistakes Ameena's initial clumsy overture for a taunt. But a tender moment between their mothers during a visit to the masjid, witnessed by Ameena, offers a blueprint for the language of friendship. Maydani's sweetly hazy illustrations, which alternate between light pastels and darker shades, capture the characters' evolving emotions. Thompkins-Bigelow's words resonate deeply and convey feelings of isolation, exclusion, and joyful acceptance. Details such as the cornrowed braids in Ameena's hair and the depiction of the imam as a Black man with a beard add texture and normalize Black Muslim representation in children's literature. A powerful exploration of what it means to be welcomed, seen, and accepted. (Picture book. 5-9) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
