Ramadan Kareem

This beautifully illustrated picture book shows how Muslims celebrate the holy month of Ramadan around the globe. The illustrator, Hatem Aly uses bright colours to create eye-catching pictures depicting busy scenes of family and community life. We learn how Muslims around the world observe fasting, told through children’s viewpoints. Many Muslim children will relate to wanting to fast for the very first time, the excitement of joining in with everyone and also the anticipation of the difficulties they may encounter throughout the fast. It’s interesting to see how Muslims in different parts of the world like South Korea or the Middle East celebrate Ramadan.

Readers will have fun searching for the flags on the pages and guessing/learning the country’s name associated with it. The author, M.O. Yuksel introduces us to different customs practised, traditional and newer ones. We learn about the variety of foods eaten at Suhoor and Iftar (meals eaten before sunrise and after sunset), and about the good deeds and prayers performed throughout the month. And finally we observe what happens when Ramadan finishes and Eid is celebrated.

A charming and useful book to introduce children and initiate conversations about Ramadan.