Staff Writer: Kathleen
Book Title by Author: Amira’s Picture Day by Reem Farugi, illustrated by Fahmida Azim
Published Date: April 13, 2021
Number of pages: 32 pages
Format: Physical book
Genre: Children’s
Tags: Picture Book, Eid, School, Religion, Muslim Protagonist, POC Protagonist, Female Protagonist, Female Author, Female Illustrator, POC Author, POC Illustrator
Cardigan rating: 5 out of 5
This book caught my eye when I was looking for other picture books because it’s just so cute and colorful! Even the spine is eye-catching- the henna-esque designs from the covers cross over onto the spine, and Amira’s name is a pretty raspberry color. Azim’s digital illustrations are dynamic and adorable, too. Amira is so expressive, and every side character is unique, with their colorful clothes and different facial features.
The story is wonderful, too. It doesn’t set out to teach you about Eid, but I still learned! A lot of holiday picture books focus so much on teaching about the holiday and not on making it fun, but Amira’s Picture Day doesn’t do that. It’s about Amira’s dilemma, and if you learn about another faith’s holiday along the way, great! Personally, I had no idea that the date for Eid isn’t determined ahead of time- it’s at the sighting of the crescent moon at the end of Ramadan, so you have an idea of when it will be, but not exactly when. I think it’s great to have picture books like this for kids, ones that don’t make a big deal about unfamiliar faiths and traditions but where they’re a backdrop for the plot. They’re just as normal, so every book with a Muslim character or family doesn’t have to be a whole big thing. Amira is a normal American girl just like Junie B. Jones or Annie from The Magic Treehouse, and little girls like her deserve to have their stories told too.