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Under my hijab
2019
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This lovely book from the author of Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns invites readers to understand and appreciate the hijab and the Muslim women who decide to wear it. - (Baker & Taylor)

As a young girl observes that each of six women in her life wears her hijab and hair in a different way, she considers how to express her own style one day. - (Baker & Taylor)

Grandma's hijab clasps under her chin. Auntie pins hers up with a whimsical brooch. Jenna puts a sun hat over hers when she hikes. Iman wears a sports hijab for tae kwon do. As a young girl observes the women in her life and how each covers her hair a different way, she dreams of the possibilities in her own future and how she might express her personality through her hijab.

With cheerful rhyming text by acclaimed author Hena Khan, and charming illustrations from talented newcomer Aaliya Jaleel, Under My Hijab provides a friendly introduction to hijabs for all readers, and celebrates the many Muslim women and girls who choose to wear them.

- (Baker & Taylor)

This lovely book from the author of Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns invites readers to understand and appreciate the hijab and the Muslim women who decide to wear it.

- (Lee & Low Books)

This lovely book from the author of Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns invites readers to understand and appreciate the hijab and the Muslim women who decide to wear it.

Grandma's hijab clasps under her chin. Auntie pins hers up with a whimsical brooch. Jenna puts a sun hat over hers when she hikes. Iman wears a sports hijab for tae kwon do. As a young girl observes the women in her life and how each covers her hair a different way, she dreams of the possibilities in her own future and how she might express her personality through her hijab.

With cheerful rhyming text by the author of Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns, and charming illustrations from a talented newcomer, Under My Hijab provides a friendly introduction to hijabs for all readers, and celebrates the many Muslim women and girls who choose to wear them.

- (Lee & Low Books)

Author Biography

Hena Khan is the author of many award-winning children's books, including Under My Hijab, Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns, Amina's Voice, and the Zara's Rules series. She lives near Washington, DC, with her family. Please visit her online at henakhan.com and followher at @henakhanbooks.

Aaliya Jaleel is a student at the University of Texas-Dallas, where she studies animation and enjoys trying new dessert places with her friends. Under My Hijab is her first picture book. She lives near Dallas. Please visit her online at aaliyamj.com and follow her at @aaliyamj.

- (Lee & Low Books)

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Booklist Reviews

A young girl watches the women in her life, paying close attention to how they wear their hijabs. Grandma carefully tucks in the ends of hers, like the pastry on the pies she bakes. Auntie, who is an artist, winds her silky hijab high on her head and pins it with a jewel. Iman's more sporty covering stays put while she competes for her martial-arts black belt. This book is a generous invitation by both author and illustrator to young Muslim girls to witness the variety of ways and reasons women wear hijabs. It is necessarily unsubtle, for it also considers the gaze of the outsider who may wonder and have questions. The women and girls the protagonist admires vary in profession, age, and race. They go about their lives with confidence and pride, choosing to style their hijabs according to circumstance or whimsy. An author's note explains when and why some Muslim women choose to cover, or not. Cheerful, colorful images complement the affirming tone and message of this timely book. Grades K-3. Copyright 2018 Booklist Reviews.

Kirkus Reviews

A window into the world of a Muslim-American girl and the diverse women in her family and community. A young, unnamed female narrator observes the women in her lives in public situations where they wear hijab and other situations where they do not, clearly showing when Muslim women who wear hijab transition into situations and places where they do not wear hijab. Khan connects in words the personality of each woman in and out of hijab. When Grandma is at work baking, "her hijab is carefully folded, / like the crusts on my favorite pies," while "at home in her kitchen, / Grandma fixes her hair in a bun." When she's in her shared studio, an aunt's hijab "towers up high, / pinned with a handmade jewel," but at home the narrator can appreciate how her hair "is streaked pink and purple." Jaleel's illustrations pair well with Khan's text, depicting some of the various ways hijab is styled. Though specific ethnicities are not mentioned, the family is multiracial, with the grandmothe r and father appearing black, a light-skinned mother and other female relatives, and friends with various skin tones. Women are also varied in ages and body shape. An endnote provides further information about hijab, what the word means, when women choose to wear it, why they choose to wear it, and that some women, like the author of the book, choose not to wear it. Informative and genuine, the book offers much to learn about the settings and situations of hijab. (Picture book. 4-10) Copyright Kirkus 2018 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved.

Publishers Weekly Reviews

The narrator, a Muslim girl, has many impressive women in her life: her grandmother is a baker, her mother is a doctor, her cousin Iman excels at karate. In public, each of these women wears a hijab in a style that's as individual as they are; at home or with other women or girls, they uncover their heads, and their chosen hairstyles are equally expressive. When the girl's aunt, an artist, works in her public studio, "her silky hijab towers up high,/ pinned with a handmade jewel." But when Auntie is in her own home with the narrator, she shows off an edgy haircut and pink and purple dye. Simple rhyming text by Khan (Amina's Voice) is a bit on the nose ("Jenna's our fearless troop leader./ She makes us the gooiest s'mores!/ Her hijab is topped with a sun hat/ whenever we hike outdoors"), and debuting illustrator Jaleel matches this straightforward approach with lifelike tableaus. But their matter-of-fact approach accomplishes what it sets out to do: celebrate the diversity and autonomy of contemporary Muslim women. Ages 4–8. Author's agent: Matthew Elblonk, DeFiore & Co. (Feb.)

Copyright 2018 Publishers Weekly.

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