In the world of Islamic fiction, there are a lot of Eid books out there for children, but this one is definitely more fun than most, especially for the younger crowd. The presentation of a big, bright, hardback book is aimed at 3 to 6 year olds, and reads well out loud, however, the book is very, very inviting, and older kids with happily pick it up and thumb through the 32 pages of rhyming lines as well.
The book starts with Ilyas watching the sky to see if Ramadan is over and if Eid is here. Duck in all his silliness doesn’t know what Eid is and rushes out to get decorations to celebrate. he returns with a Christmas tree and ornaments. Ilyas non judgmentally explains that those are for our Chrisitian neighbors for their holiday. Duck then runs out again and returns with a menorah and dreidel and once again Ilyas explains that those are for our Jewish friends celebrating Hanukkah. Ilyas and Duck then fly away in their hot air balloon to the Masjid to learn about Eid.
The book works for Muslim children to understand what others celebrate and works for non Muslims to see what we celebrate. It is all done in a matter of fact way of celebration, not of doctrine. It is built on the idea that, “There is an Eid for every nation ant his is our Eid.”
Much like the first Ilyas and Duck book, this one is great to have around and read again and again!
Islamic School Librarian 