The Perfect Gift

by J. Samia Mair

Overview

Sarah is sad because she cannot find an Eid gift for her mother, so she takes a walk along the secret path in the woods that always makes her feel better. There she finds the first flower of spring—God's perfect gift to the world. Leaving her gift in its place to share with her entire family, Sarah grows in her understanding and appreciation of nature and what it means to live in submission to God.

J. Samia Mair is a freelance author who writes in several genres, including children's and adult fiction, short stories, essays, scientific articles, and poetry.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780860374381
Publisher:	Kube Publishing Ltd
Publication date:	09/21/2010
Pages:	29
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 8.00(h) x (d)
Age Range:	5 - 7 Years

Editorial Reviews

Gr 1–4—It is almost time for Eid, and Sarah's brother and sister have already selected gifts for their mother. Sarah doesn't have any money, but she's looking for something special. Winter is almost over, snow blankets everything, and natural beauty is everywhere. As she walks along a path in the nearby woods, something catches her eye. It's the first flower of spring. Sarah has found her gift. But as she leans down to pick it, she remembers a saying of Prophet Muhammad, "Allah is beautiful and loves beauty." Sarah runs home and rummages in the garage for some materials. She returns to her flower and arranges a popsicle-stick fence around it and hangs up an Eid Mubarak greeting. She leads her family into the woods to see God's "perfect gift to the world." The family makes it a tradition to return to the spot every Eid-ul-Adha, thereby appreciating the Creator's wonders. Howarth's watercolor illustrations effectively portray a contemporary Muslim family living in North America or Europe. This realistic picture book, one of the few stories on Eid-ul-Adha, is a solid purchase for many collections.—Fawzia Gilani-Williams, Researcher in Children's Islamic Literature, University of Worcester, OH

School Library Journal

Sarah is sad: She has no Eid gift for her mother. Disconsolate, she walks through the snowy woods around her house, and along her special path is a bright-orange flower—the first of the spring. Recalling Mohammed's saying that "Allah is beautiful and loves beauty," she doesn't pick it but instead fences it in with Popsicle sticks and labels it, "Eid Mubarak. Allah's Perfect Gift to the world," before showing it to her family. The seasonal timing of this tale may puzzle North American readers, as Eid ul-Adha is celebrated on November 16-17 in 2010, long before any early spring flowers. Nevertheless, there are few enough titles available to help North American children observe Islamic holidays, so this book, with its depiction of a loving, observant family, is welcome. (glossary) (Picture book. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews