Her teacher responds by assigning a class project that teaches the value of being bilingual: a quilt with all the students' names in Arabic. On her first day of school, a classmate, Molly, teases her about her native language. 2020.'' - Abi Berwager Schreier, Romper, A full cast of narrators brings life to this audiobook, making listeners feel like we are in the kitchen with Kanzi's Egyptian family or in her third-grade classroom at school. You can grab this story about acceptance in Feb. And an added bonus to this story? There's a glossary of Arabic words and a 'presentation of Arabic letters with their phonetic English equivalents,' teaching children about another culture while reading a fun story. 'In the end, Kanzi's most treasured reminder of her old home provides a pathway for acceptance in her new one,' the Goodreads description notes. After Kanzi writes a poem about said quilt, her teacher at school sees it and wants to create a paper collage quilt featuring the student's names in Arabic. The Arabic Quilt: An Immigrant Story is about Kanzi, a little girl who wraps herself in the quilt her teita (grandma) gave her.

', 'This beautifully illustrated book comes at a time when it's really important to learn about immigrants, their cultures, and how to be accepting. Once, after seeing me dressed in hijab, my daughter got asked, 'Why does your mom wear that?' 'Does she have hair?' It is so hard for children to just want to belong and find their place, without their classmates making it harder. Even though my kids are not immigrants to the U.S., and neither am I, this scene has played out before with my own children at their school. She recently immigrated with her family from Egypt and doesn't want any extra attention on her than is necessary.Whether you are a new immigrant or several generations removed, this story will especially be felt by families where the parents: speak a different language, dress in traditional clothes or send ethnic food for lunch. The Arabic Quilt is an endearing story of little Kanzi's first day of 3rd grade in the U.S. They should generally just be called books, because it's stories like these that deserve a larger audience than only the market it's being targeted to. The term 'children's book' is misleading. This story will boost immigrant children's morale and teach others to be more open-minded., ' Is it possible that a kid's book can make a grown person cry? Yes, most definitely, because I did while reading Aya Khalil's debut picture book The Arabic Quilt- An Immigrant Story.

SLJ Starred Review - A timely, heartwarming story with expressive, vibrant illustrations that complement the text.

The Arabic Quilt by Aya Khalil