Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Muslimah Media Watch

Home
Muslim
Religion News
Toddler Tales: Review and Giveaway

Toddler Tales: Review and Giveaway

Last updated on: April 3, 2013 at 2:00 am by woodturtle

Toddler Tales: Review and Giveaway 2013-04-01T22:59:51-04:00 woodturtle

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

This post was originally posted at wood turtle’s blog.

Two years ago, Mohsina Nosarka contacted me asking for feedback on an Islamic book series she was in the process of writing and illustrating. As I’m always on the lookout for new and exciting children’s Islamic literature, I gladly obliged. And since our initial contact, I’m thrilled to announce that she’s become a published author!

Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, Mohsina relocated to Lusaka, Zambia after she got married. When she’s not writing, she cares for her two beautiful little girls and is the principal of an Islamic Preschool and Early Learning Centre. Mohsina has been truly generous and sent us copies of her new series. One for my daughters Eryn and Ivy to test drive and one to share with all of you!

There are four books in the series — and each one is really, a cute little gem.

The four book covers.

Toddler Tales is a collection of several popular fictional stories and morals rewritten to appeal to Muslim children. Our favourites, Angels in the Garden is a lovely tale about two sisters looking for angels that care for trees and flowers and Mariam the Mouse teaches children the importance of work and future planning over laziness.

Eryn loves Simple Stories of the Prophets. This book contains retellings of some of the lesser “well known” Prophets, such as Yoonus, Saalih, Hud, and sets the stories around their miracles or attributes. The story of Adam and Hawaa’ is retold ingeniously as, When Allaah Gave a Time-out. What I love about this book is that I’m always trying to remember the stories of the Prophets, and instead of spending time researching, it’s all laid out on one page for me to read. The simple prose also allows me to expand on ideas, add details, and the concepts are easy for a young child to grasp.

Let’s Talk to Allaah teaches children how to make dua’a. In English. Which I love! Each dua’a is titled with one of the 99-names of Allah and is written “diary style” — like a child jotting down their thoughts and feelings in a conversational way, encouraging children to simply start talking to God about their fears, questions, hopes and dreams.

Toddler Tarbiyat is the cutest, as it’s written with lyrical rhymes — and is all about encouraging good behaviour, like cleaning up, not interrupting and going to the potty.

Eryn and Ivy.

These books are amazingly colourful and are illustrated with whimsical, imaginative doodles that follow the Islamic tradition of not drawing pictures of the Prophets or animate objects. This hasn’t phased Eryn in the slightest — who is used to a whole slew of media influences She loves staring at the pictures of castles floating in the sky, a golden submarine whale, exploding birthday cake cannons, and when she wants to “see” Mariam the Mouse, Eryn just pretends the mouse is hiding in the grass.

What I really enjoy though, is that they’re written with a humble approach to religion. Unlike other books I’ve looked at, I don’t have to wade through theological concepts, or roll my eyes at gender stereotyping. Each story has a Golden Rule type of quality — like emphasizing cleanliness, goodness, or generosity — something that is quintessentially Muslim.

Each book is dedicated to someone special in Mohsina’s life — so I thought I would ask her a few questions to learn more about her fantastically busy life and how she became an author:

Describe a typical day for you.

A typical day would begin by sending the girls to school and hubby to work. I finish the usual household chores and then go to school. The girls go to maddressa in the afternoons and I try to hit the gym, do the grocery shopping or run any errands. Evenings are spent monitoring the girl’s homework and cooking. After dinner the girls go to bed — bringing me to my favourite time of the day — when I get to relax with my hubby. The girls stay with my wonderful mother-in-law on the weekend, which gives me time to work on the books.

Just another day in the life of a mom!

What inspired you to write Islamic children’s books?

Our pre-school is non-profit and when we started we had no money for resources like story books. So I began writing these stories to amuse the children. The kids loved the stories which gave me the idea to publish them. But no children’s book is complete without pictures. Luckily for me, I have an amazing hubby who patiently taught me how to use Adobe illustrator — and that’s how it all began.

Who has helped you or inspires you to write?

Reading other authors’ books inspire me. I read stories and try to figure out ways to explain it to Muslim children. And my daughters inspire me to write. It amazes me how children can be happy for no reason, play imaginary games all day and still have the energy to shower you with hugs and kisses! As adults, we can learn a lot from them.

The person who has helped me the most is definitely my husband. He patiently taught me and answered all my questions on how to do the illustrations, he encouraged me throughout the process and gave me constructive criticism. Without a doubt, these books would not be what they are without his influence.

Having said this, all thanks must go to The Almighty. I feel so honoured that God chose to use me as a means to make children happy. I just pray that He accepts this little effort of ours and blesses us in this world and the next.

Can you tell me a little about how you became published?

I had approached three different publishers with samples of the books. Although two did respond, I was still not sure about the market for Islamic children’s books, and so I researched it online. That was where I came across an article written by you on Islamic children’s books.

I sent you some samples thinking that it was a good way to see if the books were any good. After the encouraging response that I received from my family and you, I became determined to see the project through. We went with the established and well known South African Jamiat-ul-ulama, which was an easy decision considering that I am “Proudly South African!”

It took 5 years from when I wrote the first book to when I finally held the printed copies in my hands!

Where can my readers find and purchase your books? Are they available online?

You can buy them online from www.azharacademy.com

They are also available in various stores in South Africa and Zambia. You can email me for more details on this.

If you want a chance to win one of these books in a giveaway, go to the original post on wood turtle and leave a comment!

Previous Post

April 2, 2013

The Subtleties of Being Caught in the Crossfire

Next Post

April 5, 2013 Friday Links | April 5, 2013

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Advertisements Art/Theater Books/Magazines Cinema Comics/Cartoons Culture/Society Events Fashion Film Friday Links Merchandise/Commodities MMW Announcements MMW Highlights Music/Radio News Photography Politics Profile Ramadan 2012 Ramadan 2013 Ramadan 2014 Ramadan 2015 Roundtable Satire Social Media Sports Technology/Science Television Uncategorized Video Web

Select a Month November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

In what city did the disciples first preach to Gentiles and were first called Christians?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Jerusalem Corinth Antioch Ephesus