I used to teach young children and was always on the lookout for good books. All rights reserved.Tell us about yourself and how you came to write for children. To see a complete listing of all the Perfect Picture Books (PPB) with resources, please visit author Susanna Leonard Hill’s website. Make sure you check out the Glossary of Arabic Words at the end with Arabic letters and English words derived from Arabic, like zero, algebra, candy, sugar and coffee.Įvery Friday, authors and KidLit bloggers post a favorite picture book. Resources: This is an excellent classroom or school project that will help unite kids of all cultures. Make sure you check out the Arabic names on the quilt. I don’t want to spoil the ending, but it will put a smile on your face.Īnait Semirdzhyan’s lively and expressive illustrations are beautiful and full of details. I love that this celebratory story of cultural traditions, acceptance, and inclusion is based on the author’s own childhood experiences, after immigrating to the US from Egypt. Completed, the quilt is hung on the wall outside the classroom. The teacher invites Kanzi’s mom to teach the students how to write their names in Arabic for their quilt squares. They think it’s cool and want to make a classroom quilt. The teacher asks Kanzi to bring her quilt to share with the other students. Kanzi writes a poem about her Arabic quilt and shares it with her teacher.

Kanzi’s teacher handles a difficult situation with such creativity. They want so badly to fit in with and be accepted by the other children, even though they may dress a little differently and bring an ethnic lunch from home. The Arabic Quilt is a compassionate and feel-good book for immigrant children who are bilingual and starting a new school.

What she doesn’t know yet is that the quilt will help her make new friends. It smells like Teita’s home in Cairo, and that comforts Kanzi.

She writes a poem about her beloved quilt. That night, Kanzi wraps herself in the beautiful Arabic quilt her teita (grandma) in Cairo gave her. Mama wears a hijab and calls her daughter Habibti (dear one). Maybe that’s why on her first day in her new school, she forgets to take the kofta sandwich her mother has made for her lunch, but that backfires when Mama shows up at school with the sandwich. Kanzi’s family has moved from Egypt to America, and she wants very much to fit in. Opening: “Kanzi, habibti, your’e going to be late to the first day of school,” Mama calls. Themes: Quilt, Immigration, Egypt, Bilingual, School, Prejudice, Inclusion, Diversity, Friendship

The Arabic Quilt by Aya Khalil