What do you think?
Rate this book
96 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2018
This is perfect! I love Yasmin; she's a great character who will be relatable and aspirational for kids. She has insecurities and fears but she also has enough courage to face them. Kids will relate to plot points like getting lost, being bored, feeling frustrated about not being talented/skilled enough at something, etc.
The art was cute and I enjoyed the diverse characters in the background. It wasn't simply a template where the skin colors were changed; each person looked different. We saw people using wheelchairs, too, which is great for kids to see if they haven't already.
For some kids, seeing words like "baba," "naan," and "jaan," will be familiar, and so this book (series?) will act as a mirror, showing them that other kids have similar backgrounds and families, too. How awesome is it to see yourself and your family in books? I know as a teen, whenever a character reflected some part of my life, it was meaningful . . . especially when I thought my experiences made me truly isolated and alone.
For other children, this might be a totally new exploration into Pakistani/Pakistani-American and perhaps even South Asian culture and traditions. For that purpose, this book was great -- it has a glossary of the potentially new terms and facts about Pakistan, but it doesn't Other Yasmin's family or make her family seem anything but normal.
Also great to see more girls with an interest in STEM depicted in books!