A good book vs. a great book

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

Jazakallaahu khayr to the reader who passed this along. 

What do you think? 

Of course the book should be Islaamically appropriate, but do you find this to be true for you or for the child(ren) you teach?

Helping Children Learn to Be Grateful for Allaah's Favours

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

Abu Hurairah reported Allaah's Messenger (sallallaahu alayhe wa salam) as saying: Look at those who stand at a lower level than you but don't look at those who stand at a higher level than you, for this would make the favours (conferred upon you by Allah) insignificant (in your eyes). Abu Mu'awiya said: Upon you.{Sahih Muslim: Book Pertaining to Piety & Softening the Heart #7070}.

If you have a little one who is on the way to becoming an independent reader and you would like to teach him or her about the importance of being grateful and satisfied with the favours that Allaah has conferred upon us, The Foolish Tortoise is a book that you might want to use (after mentioning ayaat from the Quran and authentic ahadith). This book is appropriate for children who are able to read longer sentences independently (i.e. sentences longer than 2-3 words), can recognize and read most (if not all) sight words for KG-grade 2, and are ready to learn new, slightly more difficult vocabulary words than they are used to. The book can also be read aloud to children who are still working on becoming proficient readers. The rhyming text will appeal to children and will act as a prompt when children are trying to determine what the last word in each sentence might be.

In The Foolish Tortoise, the tortoise has a shell that is just right for him because Allaah has created everything in the best way. The tortoise, however, does not appreciate his shell and longs for what other animals have. Foolishly and ungratefully, the tortoise sheds his shell and soon regrets it. 

Before reading this story with children, you can mention that Allaah is الخالق و البارئ (the Creator and the Originator), and He is المصور (the Bestower of forms). You can mention/read to children the following verse from the Quran, "الَّذِي خَلَقَ فَسَوَّىٰ {Surah al-A'laa: 2}" and you can mention to children (in grade level appropriate language) what Shaykh Abu Abdur-Rahman Nasir as-Sa'di (رحمه الله) said: [Allaah is] "the one who created all that is in existence and originated it, who made everything correct and in its place in accordance to the dictates of His wisdom, who shaped everything by virtue of His praise and wisdom" (Explanation to the Beautiful and Perfect Names of Allaah, 59-60). 

After mentioning the verse from the Quran, the applicable Names and Attributes of Allaah, and the explanation of those names by the noble Shaykh, you can read The Foolish Tortoise and have a small discussion about being grateful to Allaah for His countless favours. The discussion can end by reading the following ayaat to the children:

فَاذْكُرُونِي أَذْكُرْكُمْ وَاشْكُرُوا لِي وَلَا تَكْفُرُونِ

Therefore remember Me (by praying, glorifying), I will remember you, and be grateful to Me (for My countless favours on you) and never be ungrateful to Me. {Al-Baqarah: 152)

وَإِن تَعُدُّوا نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ لَا تُحْصُوهَا إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَغَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ

And if you would count the favours of Allah, never could you be able to count them. Truly! Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. {An-Nahl: 18}

...ذِي الطَّوْلِ ۖ لَا إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ۖ إِلَيْهِ الْمَصِيرُ

...the Bestower (of favours). La ilaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He), to Him is the final return. {Ghafir: 3}

During your next trip to the library, check the shelf for The Foolish Tortoise and check it out!

What Islaamic stories do you use to teach children about being grateful for Allaah's countless favours? 

A Book to Help Children Learn About the Creation of Allaah

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

Here is a book that your children/students might enjoy during storytime, and the book can be used when teaching about animal life cycles. Guess What Is Growing Inside This Egg has simple riddles that invite children to guess which animal is growing inside of each egg presented. The answers for each riddle are on the next page, but discerning children might notice that there are hints on each page with each egg. A part of the parent animal is drawn on each page with the egg to provide a clue. 

Along with teaching children what the eggs of different animals look like, the book also teaches children how certain animals care for their eggs and their young. Children will have the chance to explore the creation of Allaah and see His ayaat, and they will see that animals care for their young and work together to protect themselves and their children, like humans do. Allaah aza wa jal says,

وَمَا مِن دَابَّةٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَا طَائِرٍ يَطِيرُ بِجَنَاحَيْهِ إِلَّا أُمَمٌ أَمْثَالُكُم ۚ مَّا فَرَّطْنَا فِي الْكِتَابِ مِن شَيْءٍ ۚ ثُمَّ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِمْ يُحْشَرُونَ

There is not a moving (living) creature on earth, nor a bird that flies with its two wings, but are communities like you. We have neglected nothing in the Book, then unto their Lord they (all) shall be gathered.

{Al-An’aam: 38}

If you would like to see ways to teach this book, this lesson plan is a good place to start
in shaa' Allaah.

This book, Guess What Is Growing Inside This Egg, would make a nice addition to your class or home library (all of the text is appropriate alhamdulillaah). Or, during your next visit to the library, check it out!

A Text to Use When Teaching Habitats

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته
 
When teaching habitats, having a variety of interesting, well-illustrated non-fiction texts enhances the unit and helps engage students, and, most importantly, it helps students gain further appreciation for the Greatness of Allaah.

Down, Down, Down: A Journey to the Bottom of the Sea is a non-fiction text that will provide children with a generous, but not overwhelming, amount of fascinating information about the creation of Allaah, while helping them understand that Allaah is al-Khaliq.

Read this review and you will see why having this book in your homeschool classroom/ classroom will enhance your ocean or animals unit. 

"...Steve Jenkins offers young readers a quietly stunning story about the world below the watery surface in Down, Down, Down: A Journey to the Bottom of the Sea. With his incredible paper collage illustrations of sea creatures and informative text, Jenkins manages to plumb the unfathomable depths of our oceans for the age 5-9 set in this perfect read-aloud and look closely book. Down, Down, Down captures the vastness, complexity and mysteriousness of the deep without over-simplifying the new research and astonishing discoveries. This oceanography lesson unfolds as a story in which the reader descends from the blue surface down nearly 36,000 feet (that’s seven miles down!) to the Marianas Trench, while meeting Flying Squids and Loosejaw Stoplight Fish along the way. This is an enchanting and informative choice for kids who loved the classic illustrations of Eric Carle, Lois Ehlert and Leo Lionni as pre-schoolers, but are ready to bump up to a nonfiction read..." ~~Amazon.com

Here is a peek at some of the paper collage illustrations:

Source: Amazon.com

  

Source: Amazon.com

What books do you use when teaching habitats?

Trapped!

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

Before Ramadan, we were exploring the One Small Square series, but we took a break to review The Lonely Scarecrow. Let's stay sidetracked for a little while longer. Have you read Trapped! A Whale's Rescue, yet? No, well head to your local library and search the shelves, because this is a really good book! Read this review from Booklist and you'll see what I mean. 

"Based on an event that took place near San Francisco in 2005, this picture book depicts a humpback whale swimming, diving, and feeding freely until she becomes entangled in abandoned, drifting nets. Her struggles draw the ropes tighter until, trapped, she stops and lies still. Boats bring rescuers to the scene. Five divers cut the lines, one by one, until the whale can swim again. "She moves among the cheering rescuers, softly nudging each one, as if saying thanks." The whale breaches and swims away. In Minor's beautifully composed gouache paintings, the whale is a silent but enormously empathetic character. Several appended pages offer more information about the actual event, whale rescues in general, and humpback whales in particular. Adults reading the book aloud may want to introduce words such as spyhop, lobtail, fluke, and krill before beginning, to avoid breaking the cadence of the writing once the story is underway. Like the stately illustrations, the precise prose has a dignity that is worthy of its subject and unusual in a picture book for preschool and primary-grade children. Although the episode of the whale's entrapment and release is short, it will linger in young listeners' minds long after the book is closed."
-Booklist

The prose and tone of this book very effectively take the reader under the water, and readers will very likely hold their breath, feel a burst of concern as the whale struggles, and cheer when the whale is freed. 

And the paintings...well...subhanallaah...they are just as strong and as captivating as the prose. Have a look (But you will really need to check this book out to appreciate its strength and beauty):

Source

Source

Young children will be able to see, easily, how large and stunning whales are. What an excellent opportunity to reinforce (or teach) how Great Allaah is! This is definitely a book to consider purchasing for your classroom//homeschool classroom. 

We will return to our review of the One Small Square series (maybe - if other great books keep coming to my attention, we may not make it back to One Small Square!) in the future in shaa' Allaah. 

**A note of caution: In the back of the book, there are pages that give more information about whales and, unfortunately, in the "Did You Know" section there is a sentence that is unislaamic; it is shirk, so children should not be allowed to read this section alone.

Until the next book in shaa' Allaah