Yasmeen Ismail
Author of Time for Bed, Fred!
About the Author
Image credit: photo by Olivia Hemingway
Works by Yasmeen Ismail
Associated Works
Over the Hills and Far Away: A Treasury of Nursery Rhymes (2014) — Illustrator — 94 copies, 9 reviews
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Gender
- female
- Occupations
- animator
illustrator - Agent
- Vicki Willden-Lebrecht (The Bright Agency)
Arabella Stein (The Bright Agency) - Short biography
- [from author's website]
Irish-born, Bristol-based Yasmeen Ismail is an award-winning author, illustrator and animator. Yasmeen studied at art school in her hometown, Dublin. After graduating, Yasmeen moved to London where she worked on many different projects ranging from advertising and short films to children's publishing. After a few years of working hard in London Yasmeen changed career and began writing and illustrating picture books. Her illustrations are bright, fluid and full of energy and movement. She loves to work with anything that will give her bright colours and good marks on the page. Yasmeen loves to experiment and expand in all areas of her work and is constantly trying new ways to improve her writing and drawing. Yasmeen has now illustrated over 15 books and has written 12 of them. She continues to make books everyday. When she's not painting or writing you can find her drinking coffee. - Nationality
- Ireland
- Birthplace
- Dublin, Ireland
- Places of residence
- Bristol, Gloucestershire, England, UK
London, England, UK
Members
Reviews
The eponymous girl in this engaging picture-book has to constantly correct people who assume that she is a boy, or refer to her with masculine pronouns. Just because she makes a lot of noise and mess, likes to compete athletically, and is interested in boats, people assume that she is a he. Determined to be herself, she always speaks up to set them right, affirming her identity in the process. Eventually she meets a little boy who is interested in things like dolls and princess dresses, and show more a beautiful friendship is born...
Although I have long been aware of Irish-born author/illustrator Yasmeen Ismail, I'm a Girl! is the first of her books that I have read. I'm glad I picked it up, as I appreciated both the narrative, which contradicts many of the stereotypes we have about gendered behavior, and the colorful artwork. I particularly liked the palette she used here, and the exuberant sense of motion she worked in throughout the book. Recommended to anyone looking for children's stories that affirm children's natural interests, and present the idea that those interests do not have to be tied to gender identity. show less
Although I have long been aware of Irish-born author/illustrator Yasmeen Ismail, I'm a Girl! is the first of her books that I have read. I'm glad I picked it up, as I appreciated both the narrative, which contradicts many of the stereotypes we have about gendered behavior, and the colorful artwork. I particularly liked the palette she used here, and the exuberant sense of motion she worked in throughout the book. Recommended to anyone looking for children's stories that affirm children's natural interests, and present the idea that those interests do not have to be tied to gender identity. show less
A bouncy kitten tears off in pursuit of her favorite toy in this aptly named picture book, causing lots of chaos and noise, and having oodles of fun in the process. When the family dog gives chase, and she tumbles down some stairs, she gets a scare, but mother is there to lick her clean and give comfort, giving her the sense of safety she needs to... go tearing off again!
Originally published in 2019, Joy is the second picture book I have read from author Yasmeen Ismail, after her 2015 I'm a show more Girl!, which she illustrated herself. Here the accompanying artwork is provided by Jenni Desmond, the creator of many wonderful books of her own. In any case, I found this one an absolute delight. Full of onomatopoeia, with a rolling rhythm and a bouncy rhyme, the text here just begs to be read aloud, while the mixed media artwork captures the charm of both feline and canine figures. This is a picture book suited for younger children—babied and toddlers—and I would recommend it as a read-aloud for them. show less
Originally published in 2019, Joy is the second picture book I have read from author Yasmeen Ismail, after her 2015 I'm a show more Girl!, which she illustrated herself. Here the accompanying artwork is provided by Jenni Desmond, the creator of many wonderful books of her own. In any case, I found this one an absolute delight. Full of onomatopoeia, with a rolling rhythm and a bouncy rhyme, the text here just begs to be read aloud, while the mixed media artwork captures the charm of both feline and canine figures. This is a picture book suited for younger children—babied and toddlers—and I would recommend it as a read-aloud for them. show less
Meena loves her family, including her extended family of aunts, uncles, and cousins, who visit their house every Saturday because Meena's father is the oldest brother, and her parents were the first to emigrate. But Meena doesn't think the strict gender roles are fair: unlike her and her sisters, her brother doesn't have to get up early, make chai, help with shopping and cleaning and cooking, and then wait to eat until after all the men have eaten! Meena makes plans for how things will be show more different when she's a grown-up - like a kitchen with a table big enough to seat everyone at once - but for now, she makes a small change: squeezing in next to her dad at the table and starting to eat with him. show less
I love that this book shows the reader that girls can be wild, messy and loud like boys. It shows a girl breaking the stereotypes between boys and girls. It also teaches the reader to be yourself and not care about what others think of you. At first she just corrects the people that think she is a boy, but by the end of the story she gets angry with the people who call her a boy. The illustrations show that she is happy when she is being herself, but angry when she yells "I'm a girl!" I feel show more like this would be a great book for children to read to show that they should always be themselves. show less
Lists
Awards
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 21
- Also by
- 3
- Members
- 382
- Popularity
- #63,244
- Rating
- 3.9
- Reviews
- 27
- ISBNs
- 70
- Languages
- 5
