Ramadan Nights
Three picture books to cherish during the last ten nights of Ramadan.
Beautiful…
brilliant…
and full of baraka....
These three picture books about Ramadan have so much in common.
Sobhan Allah, I sat down multiple times with the intention to write individual reviews for these brand-new titles, but each time my attention got pulled away by more urgent endeavors. Now, Ramadan is in its final days and nights, the blessings of Allah within closer reach of the hearts that yearn for them. As masjids bustle with a special kind of energy that only exists once a year, it’s a great moment for reflection and collective care.
While each story is uniquely told, all three delve into Ramadan’s unique night-time atmosphere. A Ramadan Night and Ramadan for Everyone offer the jubilant, celebratory tone readers have likely come to expect of books about the holy month. Their main characters develop internal senses of Ramadan by participating in the evening prayers, called taraweeh. As masjids fill with worshipers, the overload of sensory details is both stimulating and sleep-inducing, the mood mesmerizing and whimsical. While Ramadan Rain shares in some of this sensory play, there is a deliberate sadness or vulnerability to the story that digs a little deeper into the heart. The main character wrestles with her desires, endeavouring to stay focused on what matters most while her hopes and wishes chase after beautiful things, not likely to come into her possession.
The illustrators of these three stories must have visualized the atmosphere of Ramadan nights in similar ways. Tones of blue, red, and yellow add decorative and folk-infused charm to the elegant stateliness of the Islamic spaces. The palette of Ramadan Rain is soft and gentle while A Ramadan Night and Ramadan for Everyone are bold and bright.
A Ramadan Night
It’s the first night of Ramadan and Sami’s father’s senses are attuned to the special atmosphere a Ramadan night carries. Sami wants to be just as attuned to the feeling of evening time during Ramadan and asks for an explanation, but his father keeps him guessing as they walk to the masjid to pray taraweeh. Bound to discover Ramadan nights for himself, Sami converses with the gleaming moon, bustling streets, echoes in the prayer hall, plush carpets, sweet scents, and food trucks, to learn about the unique atmosphere and allow it to settle into his senses.
Nostalgic and energetic, with images that invoke Van Gogh’s starry, starry night, this story awakens the senses to a special time of year.
Ramadan for Everyone
It’s Ramadan, but being a little one in the family, Habeeba still does not have the stamina to fast all day or stay awake at night during taraweeh. She tries and fails, tries and fails to achieve her intentions. Scents from the kitchen, where her father is cooking, break her resolve to fast until sunset. Sounds in the masjid and the comfort of the soft carpets overwhelm her desire to keep her eyes open. A little frustrated at herself, but mostly willing to take it in stride, Habeeba hopes she can still make her Ramadan count by helping others in the community.
Colorful, cozy, and complete. Offers fun ideas for kids to do during school lunch times and taraweeh.
Ramadan Rain
For a young girl named Haneen, Ramadan is off to a slow, damp start. She used to get to the masjid faster, but now that they don’t have a car, she and her mother must take the bus on a rainy Ramadan night. When she arrives at the masjid, Haneen is wet and her boots are muddy. Everyone else has dry, clean shoes, presumably because they were able to come by car. As Haneen settles in and observes others, more and more desires accumulate in her heart, while her most important longings gets pushed to the back of her mind, not finding expression in the drawing Haneen is making about everything she wants for Eid. When her mother realizes that she will not be able to provide Haneen’s wishes, she tries to hide her sadness and offer the best of what she has.
By now, Haneen has recalled the most important hope that she had neglected to pray for when she was distracted by others things. A new drawing reveals what she values over everything—her mother.
A poignant reminder to keep the heart focused on things that truly matter, so they will not be forgotten in prayer.
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