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Arab Arab All Year Long!
Various Arab traditions and cultural practices are observed all year round in this spirited picture book. Each month of the year gets a two-page spread while cheerful line drawings show Arab families and individuals with various skin tones, clothing styles, and interests engaging in a variety of activities, including but not limited to holiday celebrations and religious observances, with racial, religious, and cultural diversity among Arab people clearly shown. In February, inspired by a comic about Martin Luther King Jr., two children make a comic to educate their classmates about Ramadan, while March shows children making maamoul with their grandmother for Easter. The text celebrates other foods (warak enab and pomegranates), types of clothing (hijabs, keffiyehs), and art forms (a type of drum called a doumbek, henna designs, Arabic calligraphy). During special celebrations and on ordinary days, “no matter where we are, / no matter what we do, / we’re Arab, Arab, Arab, / the whole year through!” ©2022 Cooperative Children’s Book Center
Illustrated by Sawsan Chalabi
CCBC Age Recommendation: Ages 5-10
Age Range:
PreK-Early Elementary (Ages 4-7)
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-10)
Format:
Picture book
Subjects:
Arab People
Celebrations, Holidays, and Observances
Faith, Spirituality and Religion
Traditions
Diversity subjects:
Arab
Christian
Muslim
Publisher:
Candlewick
Publish Year: 2022
Pages: 32
ISBN: 9781536213959
CCBC Location: Picture Book, Camper