Moon’s Ramadan – A journey of celebration around the world is a beautifully illustrated introduction to Ramadan. It explains the events and traditions that take place during the time of fasting and the role that the moon plays in determining when Eid celebrations can begin.
The main character in the story is Moon. Her crescent’s silver sliver signals the start of Ramadan and as she grows she watches Muslims, young and old, from different cultures observe traditions throughout the month. The book starts in Egypt and travels to various countries including Indonesia, the UK, the USA and India.
As we travel through the book and Moon grows we are introduced to the concept of fasting, who fasts and the special meals that are eaten – Suhoor is the early morning meal eaten before sunrise and Iftar breaks the fast after sunset. Moon also watches as Muslims do charitable deeds – delivering baskets of cookies and moon shaped biscuits and sharing wealth with those in need. There are also nightly prayers and henna painting and as Moon becomes new again lanterns are lit on Chaand Raat, the evening before Eid.
The lyrical text is accompanied by beautifully atmospheric illustrations. They’re predominantly blue and purple and Moon’s gently, smiling face is present on every page. We love the way that the illustrations include children, adults and people of other faiths – the US page shows people of different faiths sharing biscuits and a variety of breads.
Moon’s Ramadan gives an interesting and child friendly introduction to Ramadan and a glossary at the back of the book explains phrases and vocabulary. We learnt about fawanees (lanterns), Sadaqah jars (jars for collecting donations and Taraweeh (nightly prayers). The book also introduces the traditional greetings of Ramadan Kareem and Eid Mubarak. It’s a fabulous book to read in an Early Years / Key Stage classroom to raise children’s awareness of the rituals and the significance of Ramadan.
The lunar cycle and the phases of the moon are also explained by the author who has written a short introduction to Ramadan at the start of the book. You can also download a teachers guide.
Age Range: 3 +
Author / Illustrator: Natasha Khan Kazi
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