Written by Khadijah Abdul-Haqq
Illustrated by Vitchapol Taerattanchai
Published in 2018
Why we chose this book:
I came across this on Goodreads and the synopsis intrigued me: a girl sets a positive, healthy example for dealing with bullying. I reached out to the publisher, and they sent me a copy to review.
Mom's Review
Nanni faces an islamophobic bully.
This was a painful but valuable book to read. This is a fictional account of what some hijabi girls may experience, and how one girl confronts her bully with love. At first, Nanni's classmates admire her hijabs. When Leslie joins her class, however, things change. Leslie bullies her, causing Nanni embarrassment and pain. Nanni's mother offers to contact the school, but Nanni doesn't want that. She wants to handle it herself. Although she wants to punch Leslie, she calms herself. She ultimately offers Leslie a hijab, explaining the significance of it. Leslie is taken aback, accepts, and becomes Nanni's friend.
The book was painful to read because it is hard to watch a child (Leslie) act so spitefully. I actually edited the story a bit when I read it to T, to soften her actions. We talked a lot as we read, about how each child might feel, and why each child might act certain ways. We also discussed what T might do in similar situations.
Nanni's Hijab was valuable to read for several reasons. First and foremost, it can help children empathize with victims of bullying and with those of different backgrounds. It also tackles the issue of bullying, showing Nanni’s understandable urge to lash out, but promoting peaceful conflict resolution. This book has prompted conversation in our household several times already, and we only received it in the mail yesterday.
Son's Review (T)
(age 3)
While reading:
Mom: How does that make you feel, hearing that Leslie hates Nanni's hijabs? How do you think Nanni feels? What do you think she should do?
Son: Sad. Sad. She should do a march to change Leslie's rules.
Mom: Well, Leslie doesn't really have rules. But It's a good idea to use words and talk to try and change things.
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Mom: How do you think Nanni feels when Leslie takes her hijab? What would you do?
Son: Sad. I would say, "Don't take her hijab."
Mom: That would be a good thing to say, I think.
Son: Why?
Mom: Because that is standing up and helping Nanni, telling Leslie it is not okay.
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Son: What is "Allah'?
Mom: It is another word for God. If you are Muslim, you say "Allah." If you are Christian or Jewish, you say "God."
Son: Why do you?
Mom: It's just a different way of talking about God.
After reading:
Mom: Do you think that Nanni solved her problem in a good or bad way?
Son: A good way.
Mom: Can you tell me what you thought of the story? What were some of your feelings?
Son: Sad because Leslie took it (the hijab). I was sad that Leslie was being mean.
Mom: That made me sad too. Did you ever stop feeling sad? What about at the end?
Son: Happy.
Mom: What would you do if you saw someone being mean to a girl in a hijab?
Son: I would say, "No, don't do that!"
Mom: Who should read this book?
Son: People who are being bad so they will be good.
Mom: Did you like reading it?
Son: Yeah
Mom: But you're not bad.
(I would like to point out here that we talk about actions, choices, or ideas as "bad," not people. Our favorite example is a bad idea I had of adding water to his chocolate milk when we were out of milk and he wanted a refill.)
Son: But sometimes I want to hit.
Mom: That's natural, but you know not to hit
Son: Yeah.
Later, when T was picking a book to read:
Son: Let's not read this one (Nanni's Hijab) right now.
Mom: Why not? Your voice sounds like you have some strong emotions right now...
Son: I don't like how Leslie is mean. It makes me sad.
Mom: Was there anything that you did like?
Son: I did like how they became friends in the end.
Mom: Why do think Leslie was being so mean to Nanni?
Son: Because she didn't like the hijabs. Because she haven't seen one (a hijab) in a while.
Mom: What helped her to be nice to Nanni?
Son: How Nanni gave her a hijab.
Mom: How do you think that made Leslie feel?
Son: Happy.
This was a painful but valuable book to read. This is a fictional account of what some hijabi girls may experience, and how one girl confronts her bully with love. At first, Nanni's classmates admire her hijabs. When Leslie joins her class, however, things change. Leslie bullies her, causing Nanni embarrassment and pain. Nanni's mother offers to contact the school, but Nanni doesn't want that. She wants to handle it herself. Although she wants to punch Leslie, she calms herself. She ultimately offers Leslie a hijab, explaining the significance of it. Leslie is taken aback, accepts, and becomes Nanni's friend.
The book was painful to read because it is hard to watch a child (Leslie) act so spitefully. I actually edited the story a bit when I read it to T, to soften her actions. We talked a lot as we read, about how each child might feel, and why each child might act certain ways. We also discussed what T might do in similar situations.
Nanni's Hijab was valuable to read for several reasons. First and foremost, it can help children empathize with victims of bullying and with those of different backgrounds. It also tackles the issue of bullying, showing Nanni’s understandable urge to lash out, but promoting peaceful conflict resolution. This book has prompted conversation in our household several times already, and we only received it in the mail yesterday.
Son's Review (T)
(age 3)
While reading:
Mom: How does that make you feel, hearing that Leslie hates Nanni's hijabs? How do you think Nanni feels? What do you think she should do?
Son: Sad. Sad. She should do a march to change Leslie's rules.
Mom: Well, Leslie doesn't really have rules. But It's a good idea to use words and talk to try and change things.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mom: How do you think Nanni feels when Leslie takes her hijab? What would you do?
Son: Sad. I would say, "Don't take her hijab."
Mom: That would be a good thing to say, I think.
Son: Why?
Mom: Because that is standing up and helping Nanni, telling Leslie it is not okay.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Son: What is "Allah'?
Mom: It is another word for God. If you are Muslim, you say "Allah." If you are Christian or Jewish, you say "God."
Son: Why do you?
Mom: It's just a different way of talking about God.
After reading:
Mom: Do you think that Nanni solved her problem in a good or bad way?
Son: A good way.
Mom: Can you tell me what you thought of the story? What were some of your feelings?
Son: Sad because Leslie took it (the hijab). I was sad that Leslie was being mean.
Mom: That made me sad too. Did you ever stop feeling sad? What about at the end?
Son: Happy.
Mom: What would you do if you saw someone being mean to a girl in a hijab?
Son: I would say, "No, don't do that!"
Mom: Who should read this book?
Son: People who are being bad so they will be good.
Mom: Did you like reading it?
Son: Yeah
Mom: But you're not bad.
(I would like to point out here that we talk about actions, choices, or ideas as "bad," not people. Our favorite example is a bad idea I had of adding water to his chocolate milk when we were out of milk and he wanted a refill.)
Son: But sometimes I want to hit.
Mom: That's natural, but you know not to hit
Son: Yeah.
Later, when T was picking a book to read:
Son: Let's not read this one (Nanni's Hijab) right now.
Mom: Why not? Your voice sounds like you have some strong emotions right now...
Son: I don't like how Leslie is mean. It makes me sad.
Mom: Was there anything that you did like?
Son: I did like how they became friends in the end.
Mom: Why do think Leslie was being so mean to Nanni?
Son: Because she didn't like the hijabs. Because she haven't seen one (a hijab) in a while.
Mom: What helped her to be nice to Nanni?
Son: How Nanni gave her a hijab.
Mom: How do you think that made Leslie feel?
Son: Happy.
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