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?

Posting to Resume Soon In'shaa allaah!

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

Now that the school year is rushing toward an end, Umm An-Nu'man is heading to the library in'shaa allaah! That means that posting on The Well Read Muslim will resume very shortly biithnillaah. 

I will also share some of the books that were enjoyed by students during the school year alhamdulillaah. 

Do you have a specific grade for which you would like to see book reviews posted? Leave a comment and let me know! But, I will say up front that I do not review books intended for high school aged children, so I will be unable to post book reviews for that age group.  

I look forward to engaging in more book talks with you!

Mini-Mu'min.com Launches Free Online Bookroom!

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

What a wonderful bit of news to share! Mini-Mu'min Publications has launched a FREE online bookroom where you can read many of their books in their entirety for free in digital e-book format! Masha'Allaah! Presented in colouful high-quality flip books, each book has sound and zoom features, making this an experience that children may really enjoy insha'Allaah.

Many of their stories rhyme which is a great way to help children remember words, begin to recognize word patterns. Rhyme is an important aspect in children's literacy education for several reasons: Rhymes are easy for children to learn, have fun with and remember. For emergent readers, rhyme is very important because it helps children learn about the language by making it easy for them to hear and learn word families (i.e. bat, sat, mat, rat, etc.). Rhyme also helps teach phonemic awareness which is a key factor in learning to read. Phonemic awareness helps children successfully navigate the sounds of a language because it helps them become aware that units of sound make words. And that knowledge, by the Permission of Allaah, helps lead to reading success insha'Allaah!

Another, and a big, plus about these books is that they are illustrated without the use of facial features! Beautiful, brightly coloured fun illustrations grace the pages of the books and this makes the books very appealing masha'Allaah. If you have never read any of the Mini-Mu'min books, I think you (and your child(ren) will enjoy these books. And if you have read them, then perhaps you might enjoy reading more of their titles....FREE!

Check out Mini-Mu'min's Free Bookroom here!

The Read Aloud: Calming Fears, Creating Bonds

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

For some parents, naptime and/or bedtime can be a challenging time - every day. I was speaking with a parent the other day and this topic opened somehow and I began to think about this. I wondered if the sound of the parents voice would calm the child as he/she lay waiting for sleep. That is when I had an idea.

Many parents do it and it is a fantastic literacy extension and a great way to deepen a child's love of being read aloud to. Choose some of your child's favourite suwar (pl. of surah), ahadith, stories of anbiya', etc. and record yourself (or a loved one whom your child is familiar with) reading them aloud. Burn them onto a cd and put this CD on at naptime or bedtime.

Perhaps some of the fears of bedtime - the dark, the noises that are now unfamiliar because the source of the noise cannot be seen, etc. - may be soothed by the beauty of the Quran and the sound of a parents voice...waallaahu alim. I use this same concept in my classroom although not for that reason.

In my classroom, as in many many classrooms, students have access to the listening centre. Here they are invited to listen to stories read aloud. I love to see students sitting nestled in bean bags, among pillows, or among friends, completely engaged in the story being narrated to them. It was when I was watching them that I became profoundly aware of the impact that literacy has on children. They retain so much of the story, so much so that they mimic the characters speech and behaviours. Here again, I saw the importance of screening the books that enter my classroom but I also saw just how absorbed the children become while listening to a story being read aloud.

Even as we sit together on our carpet and I read aloud to my students, I am keenly aware of the complete silence, the lack of movement on the part of the students, the upturned faces, alight with anticipation, and then as the story unfolds and meanders along, I see the students eyes. They are glossy and smiling and most of all, they reflect contentment. Subhana'Allaah, the power of reading aloud.

This is a profound experience that all parents should take advantage of insha'Allaah. It may not always be possible to sit with your child(ren) and read a book whenever they wish, however, you can utilize the computer, or a CD player and still give them the gift of literacy wrapped in the beauty of your voice. Of course, I do not believe that the recorded voice can ever replace the immeasurable pleasure derived from a parent sitting with a child and reading to him/her. This is an experience that is indescribable subhana'Allaah, so I always advocate this method above all others. But if time is short or many tasks compete for your attention, this is a wonderful alternative.

Shaykh Al-Uthaimeen (rahimahullah) used to do such things for his children. In an interview his wife related, "that the Shaykh (rahimahullah) used to record some short recitations and nasheed for his children and sometimes in the presence of one of the neighbors' kids. He then would re-play the cassette to them during some meeting with them at older ages."

Reading aloud, in its varied formats, is a gift that is precious, free and irreplaceable. Now the only question left to ask is, "Which stories will you record for your children insha'Allaah?"

May Allaah allow you to choose well, read well and enjoy the experience (and your children too).

Homemade Books: An easy way to build a home library

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

I love books! I love to read them, write them, and...I really enjoy making handmade/homemade books. Using paper bags, cardboard, scrap fabric, felt, or many other types of recycled materials, I like to make a book that, while not library binding quality *smile*, are done with care and thoughtfulness.

This is one thing that children in my classes enjoy doing as well. Given the right materials and encouragement, children can design beautiful handmade books that can be read again and again insha'Allaah. This is also a great way to build your child's home library insha'Allaah. By the end of a school year, children can have an entire collection of books that parents can feel safe letting their children read because the contents are completely up to you: the parent or teacher. This is an easy way to design beautiful, personal books that teach your children Islamic concepts.

Do you make handmade books?

Here are a few blogs to help you get started if you don't or would like to start, or would like to add to your current collection insha'Allaah:

Making Books Blog

Making Shape Books (I just googled and found this!)

Let's Book It (Just found this one too...some unislamic things so please skip those)

New site of Sheikh Al-Albani's works in English

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

Just sharing good things insha'Allah. This is a new site that is dedicated to providing the English translation of Sheikh Al-Albani's - rahimullah - works.

http://asaheeha.wordpress.com/

And: the Lesson Plan for Nabi Musa - alayhi salam - is pretty much done but I've been a bit busy but I haven't forgotten it alhamdulillah.

Welcome Post

Assalamu aliakum,

I started this blog as a place to share my love of teaching and reading insha'Allah. Not only would I like to share what I read, I'd like to share information about books, literacy, lesson planning, and education in general insha'Allah.

Each day, I'd like to post the book(s) we've read and enjoyed because with the plethora of children's books that exists, it is not always easy to know or take the time to sift through hundreds of books to see which are Islamically appropriate. But, this is an important step that I hope all parents and teachers dedicate some of their time to. I hope to help whomever I can in this process insha'Allah by sharing some of the books I have found that are insha'Allah, Islamically appropriate.

Whenever possible I will try to share Islamic fiction books but as this is an area that is still in progress in the Muslim Publishing industry, I regret to say that the number of non-Muslim kids book will far outnumber the Islamic ones. Insha'Allah, this will not be an enduring trend.

Literacy is a passion of mine walhamdulillah and as I continue to learn and implement strategies that work, I want to pass those strategies along insha'Allah.

If you're reading and/or following this blog, there is a high chance that you too share a love of the written word and strive to pass this love on to your child(ren). Although the bulk of my posts may veer off in the direction of children's literacy (for children ages birth to six), I would also like to share books that are on my bookshelf or that occupy a comfy space in my book bin.

I've even pondered the idea of sharing some of my own personal thoughts and dialoging with other Muslim sisters who teach (and I believe that parents fit right into the definition of teacher so be not afraid - join in insha'Allah), those who homeschool and those who 'after-school'.

As with my other blog, A Muslim Child is Born, this blog is dedicated to Allah and Him only. I do it seeking His Noble Face and I hope that He accepts it from me.