Farah Kahndaker Books

Yusuf lives with his older sister, his mum and his grandma. When his older sister starts to prepare for her wedding, Yusuf realises that he must become ‘the man of the house’. However, when he looks into the responsibilities that this entails, he knows that he is not yet ready for the role. So he sets about trying to prevent his sister from getting married so that she will stay at home and continue to take on responsibilities.

The series title for this book is ‘My Laugh-Out-Loud Life’ and, as soon as you start reading the book, it is clear why. Yusuf and his cousin Aadam get into all sorts of bother as they try to sabotage everything to do with the wedding, from meal preparation to the wedding outfit. The harder they try to cause problems, the more trouble they get into. And as they go about causing mayhem, they have to contend with the formidable Amma (Yusuf’s mum) and Nanu (Yusuf’s grandma).

This is ultimately a book about family and the bonds that hold them together. Through the story, the reader learns a lot about daily life, cultures and traditions in a British-Bengali family. Yusuf always has a side note to explain Bengali words and phrases that are used throughout the story.

The illustrations by Farah Khandaker really help to bring the story to life and to capture some of the mayhem that Yusuf causes. This is a great book to have in classrooms or a school library. The style would appeal to readers who feel daunted by pages of text, as the side notes and illustrations help to break up the words on the bag and make it feel less daunting. It is also ideal for bringing more diversity into class bookshelves, whether for children to see themselves represented in books or for them to learn more about other cultures.