Tonight’s post is a book review of Ilyas & Duck and the Fantastic Festival of Eid-al-Fitr, kindly sent to us by Ibraheem Toy House.

Front Cover

This beautiful little book is the story of Ilyas and his experience of the Islamic festival of Eid-al-Fitr. Eid-al-Fitr is the celebration at the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting. The thing we particularly like about this book is that, although it is an explanation of an Islamic festival, it also explains the difference between Christmas and Hanukkah in a non judgemental way. It then goes on to discuss how Muslims celebrate Eid-al-Fitr and explains the importance of charity, known as Zakat. We also enjoyed the feature at the end of the book – a little glossary of terms, taught by Professor Duck, which is helpful for children (and mummies, daddies or teachers) who may not understand the Arabic terms.

Professor Duck’s bite-sized lesson

We think that is this is a great book for any child, regardless of faith as it explains the differences in simple terms and explains what Eid-al-Fitr is in a simple, non judgemental way. It would be an ideal book for schools to explore the basics of Islam and Islamic practices and to engage children in exploring different faiths, as well as learning about their own. In today’s current climate, non judgemental, truthful education is vital to encourage humanity to accept and tolerate our differences, as well as noting our similarities. Ibraheem Toy House are on Facebook and Twitter. They also have a wide range of books and interactive activities to encourage Islamic education, including puzzles to learn the process of prayer and a card making kit! They make brilliant gifts for Muslim children and excellent educational tools for schools, regardless of faith.

Beebop’s score: 5/5

It’s an early night for Beebop, as we’re meeting Miffy tomorrow at the library! Blog post to follow soon 🙂