Mini ARC Reviews | The Arabic Quilt: An Immigrant Story & Your Name Is a Song

Your Name Is a Song

Author: Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow & Luisa Uribe // Published: July 7, 2020

★★★★★

 

Frustrated by a day full of teachers and classmates mispronouncing her beautiful name, a little girl tells her mother she never wants to come back to school. In response, the girl’s mother teaches her about the musicality of African, Asian, Black-American, Latinx, and Middle Eastern names on their lyrical walk home through the city. Empowered by this newfound understanding, the young girl is ready to return the next day to share her knowledge with her class. Your Name is a Song is a celebration to remind all of us about the beauty, history, and magic behind names.

 

GOODREADS

 

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Thank you Innovation Press for the gifted review copy!

 

I can’t explain to you how important this book is! This picture book shows how important and beautiful names from all cultures are. The meaning behind each name and the beauty that others might miss. The importance of learning how to pronounce people’s names, and to teach others the beauty behind them and the importance to put in the effort to pronounce them correctly. I loved the art. I loved the idea behind this book. I loved that it also teaches children to love their own names and to see how that makes them unique and to also take pride in their culture. I hope this book makes it into the hands of children and teachers very soon!

 

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The Arabic Quilt: An Immigrant Story

Author: Aya Khalil & Anait Semirdzhyan // Published: February 18, 2020

★★★★★

 

That night, Kanzi wraps herself in the beautiful Arabic quilt her teita (grandma) in Cairo gave her and writes a poem in Arabic about the quilt. Next day her teacher sees the poem and gets the entire class excited about creating a “quilt” (a paper collage) of student names in Arabic. In the end, Kanzi’s most treasured reminder of her old home provides a pathway for acceptance in her new one.  

This authentic story with beautiful illustrations includes a glossary of Arabic words and a presentation of Arabic letters with their phonetic English equivalents. 

 

GOODREADS

 

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Thank you Tilbury House Publishers and the author for the gifted review copy!

 

I read this book knowing that there would be representation of the Muslim culture. I wasn’t aware that I would end up feeling so much from a picture book that is a few pages. It might be marketed towards children but this book made me recall so many things that I went through in my childhood and I felt this so closely. Absolutely loved this and it’s definitely a way to make children become more proud of where they come from and the languages they speak. I’m so excited for the world to see this!

 

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Nothing to say aside from please read these!