Crescent Moons and Pointed Minarets: A Muslim Book of Shapes (Islamic Book of Shapes for Kids, Toddler Book about Religion, Concept book for Toddlers)

by Hena Khan, Mehrdokht Amini (Illustrator)

Overview

Crescent Moons and Pointed Minarets - Islamic book for kids

"A beautiful picture book that simultaneously explores shapes, Islam, and the cultures of the Muslim people." - Kirkus Reviews

Toddler book of shapes and Islamic traditions: From a crescent moon to a square garden to an octagonal fountain, this breathtaking picture book celebrates the shapes-and traditions-of the Muslim world.

Toddler book by author Hena Khan: Sure to inspire questions and observations about world religions and cultures, Crescent Moons and Pointed Minarets is equally at home in a classroom reading circle and on a parent's lap being read to a child.

If you and your child like books such as Lailah's Lunchbox, Numbers Colors Shapes, or The Name Jar, you will love Crescent Moons and Pointed Minarets.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781452155418
Publisher:	Chronicle Books
Publication date:	04/10/2018
Series:	A Muslim Book Of Concepts Series
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	169,671
Product dimensions:	9.25(w) x 11.50(h) x 0.37(d)
Age Range:	3 - 5 Years

About the Author

Hena Khan is the author of numerous books for children, including Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns: A Muslim Book of Colors and Night of the Moon: A Muslim Holiday Story. She lives in Rockville, Maryland.

Mehrdokht Amini is the illustrator of Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns: A Muslim Book of Colors and other books for children. She grew up in Iran and now lives in Surrey, England.

Editorial Reviews

"A thoughtful, multilayered offering." -Booklist, starred review

"A thoughtful, multilayered offering." -Booklist, starred review

"An affirming child's-eye view of Islamic religious practices." -School Library Journal

"An affirming child's-eye view of Islamic religious practices." -School Library Journal

"A beautiful picture book that simultaneously explores shapes, Islam, and the cultures of the Muslim people." -Kirkus Reviews

"A beautiful picture book that simultaneously explores shapes, Islam, and the cultures of the Muslim people." -Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

★ 07/01/2018
K-Gr 4—A follow-up to Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns: A Muslim Book of Colors, by the same team, this appealing and well-designed picture book has great potential for cross-curricular use. Khan blends geometry terms (arch, hexagon, cone) and vocabulary about Islam in gentle couplets rich with sensory detail. Amini's vividly colored spreads use patterns and architectural elements from classical Islamic art, enlivened with whimsical additions, such as a tabby cat that appears on several pages. Although Amini's style is painterly overall, subtle photographic elements add dimensionality and specificity to clothing, meals, and setting, all of which shift at each turn of the page to depict different countries. A multiracial cast, large eyed and expressive in gesture, engages in ritual acts including washing before prayers (wudu), using a drum (daff) in celebration, and reading an ayah (verse) of the Quran. Khan's accessible text is lyrical ("square is a garden with sweet orange trees, a hint of jannah on its fragrant breeze") but simple enough for younger readers. A glossary gives clear definitions of the Arabic terms (although not the geometry words) and an author's note explains why shapes and patterns are so important in Muslim artistic traditions. VERDICT This affirming child's-eye view of Islamic religious practices will be a strong addition to most collections.—Miriam DesHarnais, Towson University, MD

School Library Journal

2018-03-27
A beautiful picture book simultaneously explores shapes, Islam, and the cultures of the Muslim people.Ranging from simple (circle, rectangle, triangle, oval, diamond) to more advanced (cone, cube, hexagon, octagon, arch, crescent), various shapes introduce an object, architectural form, or concept related to Islamic faith or cultural practices. "Cube is the Ka'aba, / a most sacred site, / where Muslims worship / each day and night." The daff (a type of drum) is a circle; the minaret is a cone; an ayah, defined as "a verse of the holy Quran" in the glossary, is printed on a hexagonal tile, and diamonds adorn a new kaftan for Eid, "an Islamic holiday." Illustrations are elaborately adorned and ornamented, a characteristic of Islamic art, and depict Muslims of many races and ethnicities. However, Muslims dressed in noncultural clothes are largely (though not entirely) missing from illustrations, potentially reinforcing a stereotypical image for non-Muslims. This is partially remedied by the author's note that each spread represents a different country, but without a key or labels, it is difficult to discern which ones these are. The book successfully covers a wide array of concepts, cultures, and shapes, but Islam's vastness, rightly celebrated here, means that some choices in spelling ("mimbar" vs. "minbar"; "Ka'aba" vs. "Ka'ba" or "Ka'bah"), definition ("iftar" is not necessarily a "light" meal), and illustrative detail (the kaftan is not belted) may throw readers accustomed to other practices.A good accompaniment to the duo's Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns, which featured a Western Muslim family (2012), in a collection of children's books with an Islamic theme. (Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews