My Own Special Way by Mithaa Alkhayyat, retold by Vivian French (Children's, 5 years +, 10E/10E)

March 2012, Orion
62 pages, Paperback
Review copy

Themes: wearing the headscarf for the first time, youngest child syndrome, being too little to play with siblings, trying people's way of doing things which don't quite suit you, inspiration for making something unique to you, family love and friendship, lots of humour

Summary from Orion

Little Hamda wants wear the veil, like her big sisters, but it's up to her to find her own special way and prove she's grown up, just like her sisters.

Hamda feels left out. She wants to be like her four sisters. One evening she makes a decision, and nobody can change her mind. She wants to wear the veil like her sisters. Each sister puts forward her own suggestion based on what worked for her. But it is up to Hamda to work out her own unique way to wear the veil making it a part of her active and happy life.

Nayuleska's thoughts

Every page of this book has colour illustrations which captures the mood of the story's events in a powerful way. I easily relate to the difficulties Hamda had trying to wear hijab as other people did. Even those who dont wear hijab can understand the desire of a youngest sibling wanting to be just like her sisters, and how frustrating it is when you do something that isn't quite the right way for you, and the sheer eleation at finding 'your' way which make this a perfect read.

Suggested read 

For older readers, a fun contemporary story about a Muslim girl wearing hijab is Does My Head Look Big in This by Randa Abdel-Fattah