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quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
My ammu’s hijab is NOT her hair.
It’s NOT a towel and it definitely ISN’T a hat - so why does she wear it?
Full of curiosity and LOTS of questions, Noor sets out to find her answer …
This heart-warming yet funny tale is a celebration of Muslim women, curious children and family love.
Noor’s mum, her auntie Salma, both her grandmothers and her big sister Affa all wear hijab. But none of their hijabs look alike - they all wear hijab differently - and Noor wants to understand why. So Noor goes to ask her sister and her auntie and her grandmothers about why they wear it but everyone is too busy to explain it to her and the more Noor thinks about it, the more she wonders …
Farina Islam and Nabila Adani’s picture book is a bright, cheerful and slightly cheeky look at what the hijab is and why some Muslim women wear it. Noor’s imaginative thoughts on why her relatives may wear hijab made me smile and I really liked the fact that when she finally gets an answer, her mum stresses how it is Noor’s choice to wear hijab but that it does go to her mum’s identity as a Muslim and she is unapologetic about that.
Noor is a great character - curious and a little bit cheeky, I really enjoyed her interactions with her female relatives and the little observations she makes about them (e.g. her sister’s gigantic ears, and her grandmother having bad hair days). The illustrations are a lot of fun - filled with bright colours and showing both the different types of hijab that Noor’s relatives wear but also getting across their respective characters (I especially liked Noor’s curious grandmother who she thinks may well be a spy).
Some people may find this book to be an irreverent look at the hijab but I think it does a great job of demystifying it and there is very much an emphasis on how the hijab is not a uniform - there are different types and women wear them for different reasons. I was especially pleased to see how the emphasis at the end on how it is a choice to wear hijab but Door’s ammu (mum) also stresses how it is part of her identity as a Muslim and that she is proud to wear it.
All in all, I thought that it was a lot of fun and a really good way for grown ups to talk about hijab with their young readers, regardless of whether they are Muslim or not. On that basis, I think it is well worth a read.
The Verdict:
Farina Islam and Nabila Adani’s picture book is a bright, cheerful and slightly cheeky look at what the hijab is and why some Muslim women wear it. Noor’s imaginative thoughts on why her relatives may wear hijab made me smile and I really liked the fact that when she finally gets an answer, her mum stresses how it is Noor’s choice to wear hijab but that it does go to her mum’s identity as a Muslim and she is unapologetic about that.
NOT NOW, NOOR! was released in the United Kingdom on 16th March 2023. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
My ammu’s hijab is NOT her hair.
It’s NOT a towel and it definitely ISN’T a hat - so why does she wear it?
Full of curiosity and LOTS of questions, Noor sets out to find her answer …
This heart-warming yet funny tale is a celebration of Muslim women, curious children and family love.
Noor’s mum, her auntie Salma, both her grandmothers and her big sister Affa all wear hijab. But none of their hijabs look alike - they all wear hijab differently - and Noor wants to understand why. So Noor goes to ask her sister and her auntie and her grandmothers about why they wear it but everyone is too busy to explain it to her and the more Noor thinks about it, the more she wonders …
Farina Islam and Nabila Adani’s picture book is a bright, cheerful and slightly cheeky look at what the hijab is and why some Muslim women wear it. Noor’s imaginative thoughts on why her relatives may wear hijab made me smile and I really liked the fact that when she finally gets an answer, her mum stresses how it is Noor’s choice to wear hijab but that it does go to her mum’s identity as a Muslim and she is unapologetic about that.
Noor is a great character - curious and a little bit cheeky, I really enjoyed her interactions with her female relatives and the little observations she makes about them (e.g. her sister’s gigantic ears, and her grandmother having bad hair days). The illustrations are a lot of fun - filled with bright colours and showing both the different types of hijab that Noor’s relatives wear but also getting across their respective characters (I especially liked Noor’s curious grandmother who she thinks may well be a spy).
Some people may find this book to be an irreverent look at the hijab but I think it does a great job of demystifying it and there is very much an emphasis on how the hijab is not a uniform - there are different types and women wear them for different reasons. I was especially pleased to see how the emphasis at the end on how it is a choice to wear hijab but Door’s ammu (mum) also stresses how it is part of her identity as a Muslim and that she is proud to wear it.
All in all, I thought that it was a lot of fun and a really good way for grown ups to talk about hijab with their young readers, regardless of whether they are Muslim or not. On that basis, I think it is well worth a read.
The Verdict:
Farina Islam and Nabila Adani’s picture book is a bright, cheerful and slightly cheeky look at what the hijab is and why some Muslim women wear it. Noor’s imaginative thoughts on why her relatives may wear hijab made me smile and I really liked the fact that when she finally gets an answer, her mum stresses how it is Noor’s choice to wear hijab but that it does go to her mum’s identity as a Muslim and she is unapologetic about that.
NOT NOW, NOOR! was released in the United Kingdom on 16th March 2023. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
