Night of the Moon: A Muslim Holiday Story

Expecting a bedtime story one night, Yasmeen is instead surprised to find her mother drawing her over to the window, and pointing out the new crescent moon. It is the beginning of Ramadan - the Muslim month of fasting - and many exciting experiences are before her! Explaining the season to her friends and classmates at school, enjoying the post-dusk meals with her family, attending special events - like the barbecues thrown by friends, or the "Night of the Moon" celebration at the mosque - Yasmeen has a wonderful month, tracking the waxing and waning of the moon throughout. But the best thing of all comes last, in the form of a special Eid present from her parents...

A lovely picture-book celebration of Ramadan and Eid, Hena Khan's Night show more of the Moon: A Muslim Holiday Story is a warmhearted family tale, full of love and joy. It offers a wonderful portrait, not just of a very special time of year in the Muslim calendar, but of a close-knit Pakistani-American family and their diverse community. The accompanying illustrations by Julie Paschkis, inspired by Islamic art, are lovely, particularly the tile-like borders and accents. All in all, a very pleasing holiday tale, one I recommend to anyone looking for good picture-books about Ramadan and Eid. show less

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 show more wonderful moon. I can't wait for Ramadan next year"

Winner of the Parents' Choice Book Award show less

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 show more 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. show less

This book is about a young girl, Yasmeen. Yasmeen and her family are Muslims. Yasmeen learns to use the moon as a calendar to keep track of Muslim holidays. I liked this book for two reasons. First, the illustrations enhanced the story. All of the illustrations use mostly blues with hints of oranges and yellows. This follows the theme of the night sky and the moon. Second, I liked the organization and flow of the story. Yasmeen's mother first explains to her how the thin crescent moon signifies a new month and that this month is the beginning of Ramadan. Throughout the story Yasmeen uses the moon to track the Muslim holidays as her and her family celebrate (Ramadan and Eid). The big idea of this book is to embrace your culture and show more recognize the beauty within it. show less

I thoroughly enjoyed the book Night of the Moon. The book is a fictional and informational story about a family and their celebration of a religious holiday. The family is Muslim and are all preparing to celebrate Ramadan. I mostly enjoyed the illustrations in the story, and their ability to make the story realistic. The illustrations match the verbiage so well that the story could be told without words. For example, on the first page of the story a daughter and her mom are gazing out at the stars and the crescent moon as the mom describes the moon phases. On the following page, the illustrations include camels, gifts, a temple, and men pointing to the moon. This page describes how the crescent moon indicates the beginning of a new show more month on the Islamic calendar. On page 4 the family is illustrated sitting at the dinner table, with Mom pouring a white beverage and Dad holding a bowl of fruit. The words explain that the family is preparing to eat their traditional foods which include mild and fresh dates. The illustrator did a phenomenal job bringing the words on each page to life.
I also loved the flow of the book. The book describes a full month of Ramadan in great detail. The book opens with the first day of Ramadan and how it is identified from the moon’s phase. It continues to describe what a Muslim family has to look forward to. For example, page 2 describes that Ramadan is filled with delicious foods, new clothes, lots of parties, and presents. As the book continues the reader is able to see all of the described expectations come to life in the listed order. The examples are in such a realistic order that the reader can feel like they are traveling through the holiday with the characters. For example, the author describes how during a family fast and the sun goes down the family partakes in traditional foods. The author continues the flow and describes the new clothes that the children receive to look beautiful for the parties at the Mosque. The book ends with the moon returning to its beginning phase and the reader satisfied with the journey.
The central message in the book provides a clear understanding for why Muslims celebrate Ramadan and the traditions that accompany it. Reading this book provides a look into the traditions from a child’s perspective, as well as the adults. show less

So far i have liked every book i have read by Hena Khan. Her books educate readers about Muslim traditions and feature vibrant illustrations. In this particular book readers learn about moon cycles and their relation to the muslim calendar and ramadan. This text can introduce non Muslim readers to new ideas and cultures. More importantly it can relate to young Muslims reader who are learning to read English, seeing characters who look like them and do similar cultural things is very beneficial to their learning.

This was amazing to read. It helped me, as a non-muslim, learn about a holiday that I didn't know existed. It was beautiful.