The Proudest Blue By Ibtihaj Muhammed & S.K. Ali

 

About Book

Title: The Proudest Blue
Authors: Ibtihaj Muhammed with S.K. Ali
Illustrator: Hatem Aly
Genre: Realistic Fiction, Multicultural
Major Book Awards: No major book awards
Recommended Age Range: 4-8
Appropriate Grade Levels: Pre-k to 3rd grade

Summary

This book talks about a little girl named Faizah and her older sister Asiya on their first day of school. On the first day, Faizah had her new light up shoes and Asiya had on her blue hijab. Faizah was in awe of how beautiful her sister's hijab was, until she saw people whispering, laughing, pointing, and questioning it. Faizah couldn't understand why they were doing that when in her eyes the hijab was like the ocean and the sky, it was normal, beautiful, and were always there. She got really upset, but was reminded by her mother's words to ignore the things people say, since what they say belongs to them and only them. At the end of the day, both sisters walk home together and Faizah was really excited to show her mom the picture she drew in class. It was a drawing of her and Asiya both with blue hijabs and crowns sitting together on an island. Looking at one another, the sisters know that they will always be here for each other, just like Asiya's hijab has always been there. 

Teacher Evaluation

This book was truly wonderful. From the message and the illustrations, I loved every bit of it. A lot of people may not be aware of what a hijab is and look at those who wears one differently, so this book is for them. It was also interesting to find out that Ibtihaj is an Olympian athlete and wrote this book from her own experience. I would incorporate this book in my classroom because it brings awareness to many things such as family, bullying, being true to oneself, identity, respect, and etc. Since there aren't as many books that have characters with hijabs, I'm sure many of my students who can relate will love this book. It shows kids that bullying someone for being themselves is not good and teaches kids to "drop" those hurtful words and walk away. The grade levels that I think is appropriate would be Pre-k to 3rd grade. A fun activity that students can do is write their own story and share what makes them proud to be themselves. I can also talk more about the hijab and why it is important for those that wears it.