Farhana ZiaRessenyes

This perfectly captures the joy children can find in the simplest of things. It's so pure and playful, with a beautiful set of illustrations!

Enjoyable book -- as an adult, I found it a little instructional? didactic? more focused on explaining culture than telling story -- however, I can also see where kids might need that level of context for the story to flow, and the story was interesting. I liked Aliya's gradual growth, and I liked her family's emphasis on how making your own choices within your faith is part of celebrating faith rather than reason for judgement from the outside.

Feathers are appendages that form an outer covering on vertebrates. They provide birds with waterproofing and thermal insulation along with aiding in flight. Feather coloration helps birds communicate and can also provide protection.
Read the recently published picture book for children, then learn more at the website:
LALI’S FEATHER by Farhana Zia tells the charming story of a child who finds a feather and shows her bird friends all its uses. Set in India, this universal story is both inspirational and imaginative.
ALL ABOUT FEATHERS is an interactive learning experience from The Cornell Lab. Users learn about how feathers are built, what feathers do, and the role of feathers through time. Readers even meet a feather scientist.
To learn more, go https://bit.ly/3jeApRN.
ARC courtesy of Peachtree.

This book was delightfully illustrated and sweet. The language used was fun and I enjoyed that it mixed in some Hindi sayings. The illustrations were really gorgeous and helped keep my daughter engaged in the story. We both really loved the illustration of the peacock. The story, one of the importance of something simple that others might not understand, was simple and easy to follow.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Competently written, but so tightly focused on being Muslim in America I wonder if it will fail to interest students.

A wholesome, culturally specific story about Basanta, an impulsive young girl in India who has assorted adventures, conflicts and schemes with her friends and family of the busti where she lives. There is almost too much going on in the busti to keep straight but in the end this is a lively through-the-window view of Indian village life for young readers.

(This review refers to an Advance Reader Copy)

Basanta lives in a small hut in India. Though only 12-years-old, she, and most of her friends, work. Her best friend, Lali, takes care of siblings while her mother works. The handsome Bala is a jack-of-all-trades - begging, gambling, stealing, or performing. Beautiful and wily, Rukmani makes clay pots. Basanta works at the Big House with her mother - cooking, cleaning, and serving the whims of a wealthy family,

"The station tower clock struck seven times. One by one, the residents of my busti ducked out of their huts. Bangles jangled on the women's wrists.. The men puffed on their cheroots and coiled head cloths around their heads.
The line at the water tap was already getting long and Rukmani was at the front of it, filling her pretty clay pots. I ducked my head and walked by quietly I didn't want to be peppered with questions about life at the Big House: "How many fluffy pillows on Little Bibi's bead, hanh? How many ribbons for Little Bibi's hair? How many eggs on Little Bibi's breakfast plate? Come, tell me, na?""

The life is hard, but the bonds of friendship and family within the impoverished busti make life bearable, even enjoyable. Basanta is a good and generally obedient girl, but prone to clever scheming. When she becomes the unlikely possessor of an expensive ring, a plan forms in her mind. In practice, however, it turns out much differently than she expected! Spanning only a few weeks, the story ends on a hopeful note during Divali, The Festival of Lights.

Child of Spring is a sometimes predictable story, but its strength lies in the rich cultural detail of life in Basanta's community, and in the joy the residents find in life's small pleasures.

A Glossary of Indian terms and expressions is included.

An excerpt and more at [http://shelf-employed.blogspot.com/2016/03/child-of-spring-review.html]½

Recommended for cross cultural discussion in schools.

This is a well balanced look at the problems of being a Muslim in a non-Muslim country, of being different and trying to fit in. It is set in the American fifth grade, average age 10 years, and therefore has the more gentle feel of junior school. There is bullying, but it is within controlled limits. Had the book been set in senior school I would have expected it to have a harsher feel and it would have been a more uncomfortable read.

Aliya is from an Indian American Muslim family. They are practicing, but do not wear hijab. On Sundays she goes to Quran school and mixes with other Muslim children. They discuss various aspects of their religion that impact them personally, such as having a boyfriend and whether to wear hijab. During the fasting month of Ramadan, Aliya grapples with pressures to fast for the first time, struggling to do the right thing.
When a new girl joins the school, wearing hijab and comfortable with herself and her religion, Aliya doesn't know how to react to this surprising confidence and is initially wary. As their relationship grows, Marwa voices many of the issues that had bothered Aliya, she stands for school council and compares her hijab with her sneakers - she would no more go outside without hijab than attend a PE lesson without sneakers, a wonderful analogy.

The book raises many issues that would be relevant to children of Muslim origin and to others who feel isolated or are struggling to fit in. It does so in a gentle manner with some clever comparisons. Perfect for youngsters of top junior or low senior age, and as a starting point for discussion within classes about acceptance and understanding of differences.
Recommended.