Sister Friend
A Picture Book
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Perfect for fans of The Day You Begin and Evelyn Del Rey Is Moving Away, author Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow and illustrator Shahrzad Maydani’s Sister Friend is a heartwarming new picture book celebrating the unique joy of cultivating friendships within your cultural community.
A Junior Library Guild Selection
A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year
A Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Book of the Year
***STARRED REVIEW*** "A powerful exploration of what it means to be welcomed, seen, and accepted." ―Kirkus Reviews
***STARRED REVIEW*** "Speaks to experiences of loneliness and marginalization as well as of kinship and joy." ―Publishers Weekly
Ameena feels invisible. It’s been that way since she started at her new school. But now there is another new girl in class. Ameena sees her brownness and her hijab, even though the other kids do not.
Ameena wants to be her friend, but she can’t seem to find the right words or do the right things. Until one day, they find them together: “Assalamu Alaikum, Sister. Welcome.”
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
At her new school, every day is "play-by-herself day" for Ameena: "Was it the twists in her hair? Her brown skin? No one else in class had twists and brownness." Ameena sees a possible companion in new student Sundus, portrayed with brown skin and wearing a lilac-hued hijab, but a well-meaning greeting goes awkwardly awry, and Ameena is called a copycat by classmates when she wears her own hijab to school in hopes of connecting with Sundus. The masjid on family night is the one place Ameena doesn't feel alone, and it's there that an encounter with Sundus leads to an in-school welcome and a growing bond. Thompkins-Bigelow's sweetly complex treatise speaks to experiences of loneliness and marginalization as well as of kinship and joy. In saturated, chalky textures, Maydani draws the girls' intent expressions against moody backgrounds that lead to scenes of heartfelt friendship. Background characters are portrayed with various abilities and skin tones. Ages 4–8.
