Arab Arab All Year Long!

by Cathy Camper, Sawsan Chalabi (Illustrator)

Overview

Celebrate the beauty and diversity of life in the Arab diaspora throughout the year.

Wrapping grape leaves, playing doumbek, drawing henna tattoos,
we’re Arab, Arab, Arab, the whole year through!

Yallah! From January to December, join some busy kids as they partake in traditions old and new. There’s so much to do, whether it’s learning to write Arabic or looking at hijab fashion sites while planning costumes for a local comic convention. With details as vivid as the scent of jasmine and honeysuckle perfume (made to remind Mom of Morocco), children bond with friends, honor tradition, and spend loving time with family. Accompanied by buoyant and charming illustrations, this portrait of Arab life and childhood zeal is sure to bring joy all year round. Back matter includes an extensive glossary and notes to enrich the experience for readers of any culture.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781536242287
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	01/07/2025
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Cathy Camper is the author of the Lowriders series, illustrated by Raúl the Third; Ten Ways to Hear Snow, illustrated by Kenard Pak; and several other books for young readers. She is a proud Arab American of Lebanese descent and a founding member of the Portland Women of Color zine collective. Cathy Camper currently lives in Portland, Oregon, where she has worked as a writer, artist, and librarian.

Sawsan Chalabi is an award-winning artist and designer. She is the illustrator of H Is for Haiku, written by Sydell Rosenberg. Born in Lebanon, Sawsan Chalabi now lives in the Washington, DC, area.

Editorial Reviews

A generous and helpful introduction to the richness and variety of what it means to be Arab that will have readers comparing and contrasting scenes with their own family ­activities.
—School Library Journal (starred review)

Camper offers 12 charming glimpses into the experience of being Arab in the diaspora, organized across the months of the year and accompanied by heartwarming, loose-lined digital illustrations.
—Kirkus Reviews

A detailed patchwork of representative food, clothing, music, celebration, art, and history, the sum of which gives a joyfully round impression of the richness and diversity found within Arab culture. . . . A lovely tribute to an underrepresented ethnic group.
—Booklist

From the Publisher

★ 06/01/2022

PreS-Gr 4—Camper has selected events to reflect the wide variety of "language, culture, and ethnicity" found among those who identify as Arab. The author's note explains that the various stories are based on her own life experiences. Illustrations show children and families in activities throughout the year: creating costumes for a comic convention, cooking together, gathering with friends. Within those familiar activities are details specific to each family, such as painting henna designs on each other's hands during a sleepover, listening to the sounds made by a doumbek drum, or choosing the fillings for maamoul cookies. Another page mentions that "vowels are dots and dashes, hovering like birds around the consonants" in written Arabic with a matching image of words flying out a window. A wide variety of skin tones, hair colors, and clothing styles show "There is no universal definition of who is Arab." Along with the author's note is a glossary, though in the case of the stars with Arabic names—Betelgeuse, Rigel, and Aldebaran, for example—they are shown in Arabic within the illustration. VERDICT A generous and helpful introduction to the richness and variety of what it means to be Arab that will have readers comparing and contrasting scenes with their own family activities.—Suzanne Costner

School Library Journal

2022-04-27
What does being Arab mean?

Camper offers 12 charming glimpses into the experience of being Arab in the diaspora, organized across the months of the year and accompanied by heartwarming, loose-lined digital illustrations. Whether “skateboarding in the sun, / or waiting for the bus with our headphones on” or creating a comic to spread awareness of Ramadan at school, the characters are “Arab, Arab, Arab, / the whole year through!” In an author’s note, Camper explains that these stories—a family observing a New Year’s Eve tradition of spotting stars with Arabic names; children and a grandmother making maamoul; a father playing his doumbek—are drawn from her and her friends’ experiences. Supplemented with a glossary, the book doesn’t shy away from politics, with references to the Arab Spring and the Palestinian struggle, and avoids universalizing statements about Arab culture. In the glossary, geddo is only “one way to say grandfather in Arabic.” And Camper’s definition of the hijab is nuanced—she notes that “in the Quran, the Islamic sacred book, God advises both male and female Muslims to dress modestly, and this principle is called hijab. There are many stylish and high-fashion designs for Muslim women’s wear.” Illustrations portray Arabs with different skin tones, hair colors, and dress styles. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A fun, informative window into the experiences of Arabs in the diaspora. (Picture book. 7-11)

Kirkus Reviews