Tag: family

Aliya’s Secret A Story Of Ramadan by Farida Zaman

Aliya’s Secret
A Story Of Ramadan
By Farida Zaman
Owlkids Books

A heartwarming celebration of Ramadan, food, and community

Ramadan is coming, and as Abba and Ammi prepare for their month-long fast, Aliya hugs a secret to her chest: she’s going to fast too! Ammi says she’s still too young to fast, but Aliya is determined. At school, she refuses her snack, her lunch—even the cupcakes Sanjay’s mom drops off for his birthday. But when she gets home, she can’t resist Ammi’s sweet, syrupy baklava. Before Aliya can stop herself, she reaches out and takes a big bite.

Aliya is disappointed in herself, but Ammi explains that there are many other ways to celebrate Ramadan besides fasting, like performing acts of kindness! Together, Aliya and her parents spend the month preparing and delivering meals to people in need.

This joyful look at Ramadan is based on the author’s own childhood experiences and is rich with facts and details about the holiday. Readers familiar and unfamiliar with the holiest month in the Islamic calendar will get swept up in the festivities, and perhaps be inspired to share a meal with their community.

Cover image and summary via Owlkids Books

Marya Khan And The Spectacular Fall Festival (The Marya Khan Series) by Saadia Faruqi

Marya Khan and the Spectacular Fall Festival (Marya Khan #3) Marya Khan And The Spectacular Fall Festival
(The Marya Khan Series , Vol. 3)
by Saadia Faruqi
Amulet/Abrams

Perfect for fans of Ivy & Bean and Stella Diaz, Marya Khan and the Spectacular Fall Festival is the third stand-alone adventure in Saadia Faruqi and Ani Bushry’s illustrated chapter book series about a Pakistani American third grader whose ambition sometimes gets away from her.

Marya loves fall. Every year, her family goes to the town’s pumpkin patch and picks out the best pumpkin. But this year, after she sees her frenemy, Alexa, winning a big, cool pumpkin-shaped trophy, Marya knows she’s got to win a trophy for something.

It just so happens that her school is going to hold its own fall festival, with games and food and even a hayride. All the ticket sales will go to an animal shelter, and the person who sells the most tickets will win a prize. Cue Operation Sell Tickets! But when Marya is so focused on winning, is she losing sight of what really matters?

Includes a Pumpkin-Based Recipe to Make and Enjoy

Cover image and summary via Abrams

Tagging Freedom by Rhonda Roumani

Tagging FreedomTagging Freedom by Rhonda Roumani
Union Square & Co.

Out of the revolutions across the Arab world comes this inspirational story of hope, freedom, and belonging, perfect for fans of Other Words for Home and A Good Kind of Trouble.

Kareem Haddad of Damascus, Syria, never dreamed of becoming a graffiti artist. But when a group of boys from another town tag subversive slogans outside their school, and another boy is killed while in custody, Kareem and his friends are inspired to start secretly tag messages of freedom around their city.

Meanwhile, in the United States, his cousin, Samira, has been trying to make her own mark. Anxious to fit in at school, she joins the Spirit Squad where her natural artistic ability attracts the attention of the popular leader. Then Kareem is sent to live with Sam’s family, and their worlds collide. As graffitied messages appear around town and all eyes turn to Kareem, Sam must make a choice: does she shy away to protect her new social status, or does she stand with her cousin?

Informed by her time as a journalist, author Rhonda Roumani’s Tagging Freedom is a thoughtful look at the intersection between art and activism, infused with rich details and a realistic portrayal of how war affects and inspires children, similar to middle grade books for middle schoolers by Aisha Saeed, The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandi, or Refugee by Alan Gratz.

Cover image and summary via Union Square & Co.

Sour Cherries An Afghan Family Story by Dezh Azaad, Illustrated by Nan Cao

Sour Cherries An Afghan Family StorySour Cherries: An Afghan Family Story
by Dezh Azaad, Illustrated by Nan Cao
Abrams

Author Dezh Azaadand illustrator Nan Cao’s picture book Sour Cherries is a moving, personal story about an Afghan refugee child and the fruit that connects him to family and home.

My favorite day is in the summer,
picking cherries with my mother.

Sour Cherries follows a summer day as an Afghan child learns to make sour cherry jam, stew, and tea with his mother, just like she learned from her mother. Pull the stem, pop the seed—together, they carefully prep their family dishes while sharing stories of his grandmother and the place they come from.

Inspired by the author’s life, this warmhearted companion to The Carpet: An Afghan Family Story celebrates the taste of home.

Cover image and summary via Abrams

The Carpet: An Afghan Family Story by Dezh Azaad, Illustrated by Nan Cao

Carpet: An Afghan Family Story The Carpet: An Afghan Family Story
by Dezh Azaad, Illustrated by Nan Cao
Abrams

This poignant story, about an Afghan refugee child and the family carpet that connects them to home, inspires readers to live and learn in love, not fear

We sip our tea and talk together,
Ruby cushions of goose feather.
The carpet is for sitting.

The Carpet follows a day in the life of an Afghan refugee child, where every moment revolves around love, family, and the carpet that connects them to home. The carpet is the centerpiece of family life, where meals, stories, laughs, and memories are shared. This moving story, inspired by the author’s life, celebrates what makes a home—no matter where you are.

Cover image and summary via Abrams

My Big, Fat Desi Wedding Edited By Prerna Pickett

MY BIG, FAT DESI WEDDING Big, Fat Desi Wedding
Edited By Prerna Pickett
Page Street Books

Drama. Food. Fashion. More drama. More food. Nosey aunties and uncles―and, of course, the universal language of love. These elements are a must-have for any Desi wedding, inclusive of people indigenous to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. In this anthology, authors from various parts of the Desi community will share genre-bending stories that explore the lush traditions of their region, translating that universal language through the familiar lens of the Ultimate Family Gathering.

In this collection that centers hope, love, and family, readers will enjoy eight stories from both award-winning and debut authors including Tashie Bhuiyan, Payal Doshi, Anahita Karthik, Syed M. Masood, Sarah Mughal, Aamna Qureshi, and Noreen Mughees, and edited by Prerna Pickett.

Cover image and summary via Payal Doshi

Salma Makes a Home by Danny Ramadan, illustrated by Anna Bron

Salma Makes a Home
by Danny Ramadan, illustrated by Anna Bron
Annick Press

Charming, creative Salma takes on big feelings with even bigger ideas as she navigates life in a new country, Syrian identity, family changes and new friendships in this engaging and heartfelt early chapter book series.

After a year, eleven months, and six days apart, Salma’s dad is finally joining her family in their new home. Salma is so happy to see her baba–but she’s also worried. What if he misses Syria so much that he leaves them again? She throws herself into showing him around the city and helping him learn English, but as Baba shares memories of Damascus Salma starts to realize how much she misses Syria, too. Can Salma make space in her heart for two homes? And can Baba?

Cover image and summary via Edelweiss

The Jump by Brittney Morris

The Jump
by Brittney Morris
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

From the acclaimed author of SLAY and The Cost of Knowing comes an action-driven, high-octane novel about a group of working-class teens in Seattle who join a dangerous scavenger hunt with a prize that can save their families and community.

Influence is power. Power creates change. And change is exactly what Team Jericho needs.

Jax, Yas, Spider, and Han are the four cornerstones of Team Jericho, the best scavenger hunting team in all of Seattle. Each has their own specialty: Jax, the puzzler; Yas, the parkourist; Spider, the hacker; and Han, the cartographer. But now with an oil refinery being built right in their backyard, each also has their own problems. Their families are at risk of losing their jobs, their communities, and their homes.

So when The Order, a mysterious vigilante organization, hijacks the scavenger hunting forum and concocts a puzzle of its own, promising a reward of influence, Team Jericho sees it as the chance of a lifetime. If they win this game, they could change their families’ fates and save the city they love so much. But with an opposing team hot on their heels, it’s going to take more than street smarts to outwit their rivals.

Cover image and summary via Edelweiss

A Bit of Earth by Karuna Riazi

A Bit of Earth
by Karuna Riazi
Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins

Maria Latif is used to not having a space of her own. But what happens when she feels the sudden urge to put down roots in the most unexpected of places? Karuna Riazi crafts a tender coming-of-age story about friendship, family, and new beginnings. A Bit of Earth is a reimagining of the classic The Secret Garden for readers of Other Words for Home and The Bridge Home.

Growing up in Pakistan, Maria Latif has been bounced between reluctant relatives for as long as she can remember—first because of her parents’ constant travel, and then because of their deaths. Maria has always been a difficult child, and it never takes long for her guardians to tire of her. So when old friends of her parents offer to “give her a better life” in the United States, Maria is shipped to a host family across the world.

When Maria arrives on Long Island, things are not quite what she was expecting. Mr. Clayborne has left on an extended business trip, Mrs. Clayborne seems emotionally fraught, and inexplicable things keep happening in the Claybornes’ sprawling house. And then Maria finds a locked gate to an off-limits garden. Since she’s never been good at following rules, Maria decides to investigate and discovers something she never thought she’d find: a place where she feels at home.

With a prickly main character, a sullen boy, two friendly allies, and a locked garden, A Bit of Earth has everything a reader could want from a retelling of The Secret Garden. Karuna Riazi’s evocative prose is interspersed with poetic verses, illuminating each character’s search for a place they can truly call home. This tender yet incisive reimagining of a classic work will captivate fans of the original—and widen the appeal for a modern audience.

Cover image and summary via Edelweiss

The Love Match by Priyanka Taslim

The Love Match
by Priyanka Taslim
Salaam Reads / Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before meets Pride and Prejudice in this delightful and heartfelt rom-com about a Bangladeshi American teen whose meddling mother arranges a match to secure their family’s financial security—just as she’s falling in love with someone else.

Zahra Khan is basically Bangladeshi royalty, but being a princess doesn’t pay the bills in Paterson, New Jersey. While Zahra’s plans for financial security this summer involve working long hours at Chai Ho and saving up for college writing courses, Amma is convinced that all Zahra needs is a “good match,” Jane Austen style.

Enter Harun Emon, who’s wealthy, devastatingly handsome, and…aloof. As soon as Zahra meets him, she knows it’s a bad match. It’s nothing like the connection she has with Nayim Aktar, the new dishwasher at the tea shop, who just gets Zahra in a way no one has before. So, when Zahra finds out that Harun is just as uninterested in this match as she is, they decide to slowly sabotage their parents’ plans. And for once in Zahra’s life, she can have her rossomalai and eat it too: “dating” Harun and keeping Amma happy while catching real feelings for Nayim.

But life—and boys—can be more complicated than Zahra realizes. With her feelings all mixed up, Zahra discovers that sometimes being a good Bengali kid can be a royal pain.

Cover image and summary via Edelweiss