Night of the Moon is a wonderful explanation of the details of the celebration of Ramadan and Eid experienced through the eyes of a seven-year-old Pakistani-American girl and her family. The colorful illustrations reveal the beauty of Islamic art and support the text to learn about Muslim culture and traditions.

Critical Analysis: This book is a wonderful mirror for those who celebrate and a great window and sliding door to understand and appreciate how a family celebrates Ramadan and Eid. I have used this book with Kindergarteners with great success. Children can learn to see from different perspectives, appreciate and value diversity and learn about their world.

Favorite quote: "Subhanallah, Yasmin whispered as she looked at the wonderful moon. I can't wait for Ramadan next year"

Winner of the Parents' Choice Book Award ( )

Glossary and pronunciation at the back of the book.

I enjoy reading this book for several reasons. One includes that the book provides the perspective of a child who is growing up in a family who celebrates Muslim holidays like Ramadan and Eid. Since we get to read it from Yaseem’s view, we as the reader get to learn the why, how, and what of the two important Muslim holidays. For example, the beginning shares the view of gazing at the start of a new moon as pointed out by the mom. Yasmeem questions why the new moon signifies a new month when it is only the 17th day of the month. Instead of dismissing this by saying it’s tradition, the mom goes into explaining it so that Yasmeen and the reader can understand. Second, the reader is provided with rich language that assists one is understanding and being included in the celebrations in the Muslim traditions. In addition, it places a glossary of the important words that are bolded through as well as background information to further the reader’s understand of the traditions. Third, the illustrations throughout provide vivid, geometrical patterns that are often found in Muslim faiths and middle eastern cultures. With the beautiful patterns stretched across each page, the reader becomes familiar with the artistic aspect of the culture they are reading about possibly without initially noticing. The message the story shares is that it is good to be curious and to ask questions so that unfamiliar aspects of life can be better understood. ( )

Yasmeen is a young girl with a Pakistani background living in the United States. The book shares her feelings during the holy month of Ramadan. It explains the cultures and traditions of Islam and how many families observe this holiday. This book would be a good choice to introducing children unfamiliar with any Muslim cultures. It accurately portrays a loving family and a peaceful supportive community. The art work is reminiscent of the interior of classic mosque, with detailed tile work and bright blues and cool turquoises. ( )

I like this book because I like learning about the culture of Ramadan. First, I like the illustrations in the book. The illustrator was very precise with her drawings of the moon, the people, the presents, and the clothing of the people in the book. This allowed for us to understand and see the Ramadan tradition. The illustrator did a great job of making the book look kid friendly and also explain in pictures what happens. I also liked this book because the book discussed the different moons and what they meant. It talked about a full moon and what happened during that time, as well as a crescent moon and a half moon. It was interesting to read because I never knew that before. I think the main idea of this book is about tradition and learning new things. Just as the audience is learning about Ramadan, the children in the book are also learning more about their culture and what they do and what it is all about. ( )