Yesterday’s events in Paris at the offices of Charlie Hebdo were terrible (the word seems rather pathetic as I type it), and today’s post is my (somewhat insignificant but personally important) way of standing up for freedom of expression.
Rather than responding with derisive ridicule I feel that a response where we make efforts to better understand those we portray as enemies and those we simply don’t know would be much more constructive. Although humour has a place in helping us deal with the shock and horror of it all, laughing in the faces of those who acted yesterday isn’t going to stop this sort of thing happening again. Building understanding and reaching out might.
To that end, here’s a list of books for children and teenagers which might help spread understanding of what life can be like for Muslims living in the west. I haven’t read them all, but where possible I’ve indicated the (approximate) target age group. If you’ve further suggestions to make please leave them in the comments to this post.
Big Red Lollipop by Rukhsana Khan (3+)
My Own Special Way by Mithaa Alkhayyat, retold by Vivian French, translated by Fatima Sharafeddini (5+)
The Perfect Flower Girl by Taghred Chandab and Binny Talib (5+)
Mohammed’s Journey: A Refugee Diary by Anthony Robinson and Annemarie Young, illustrated by June Allen (7+)
Dahling if you Luv Me Would You Please Please Smile? by Rukhsana Khan (10+)
An Act of Love by Alan Gibbons (10+)
Mixing It by Rosemary Hayes (10+)
Head over Heart by Colette Victor (10+)
Dear Blue Sky by Mary Sullivan
Mind set written by Joanna Kenrick, illustrated by Julia Page (12+)
My Sister lives on the Mantelpiece by Annabel Pitcher (12+)
Drawing a veil by Lari Don (12+)
She Wore Red Trainers by Na’ima B. Robert (teenage)
Does My Head Look Big in This? by Randa Abdel-Fattah (teenage)
Persepolis (especially book 2) by Marjane Satrapi (15+)
With the rise of Pegida in Germany, and the continued anti-immigration, anti-Muslim commentary that fills much political “debate” around the world it seems more urgent than ever to me that we find ways of talking about multicultural life, its richness and challenges. I’d also like to see more exploration why people commit acts of terror in books for children and young people. Over Christmas I read Palestine by Joe Sacco, a graphic novel aimed at adults about life in Palestine. It was utterly depressing but essential reading, and I wish more of this sort of thing, which looks at injustice, conflict (and the West’s role in this) were available for children and young people.
As several of those murdered yesterday were cartoonists, lots of illustrators have responded how they know best. Here are some cartoons created by children’s illustrators:
Response from Chris Riddell. “I am Charlie”.
Art Spiegelman and Oliver Jeffers hold the eyes of Cabu, one of the cartoonists murdered in Paris.
Tomi Ungerer’s response. “There’s no freedom without press freedom”
Response from Stephanie Blake. “Mum, who’s Charlie Hebdo? It’s Freedom, Simon.”
Response from Benjamin Lacombe: “One can cut off heads, but not ideas”
A response by @TheMagnusShaw rather than Charles M. Schulz, but referencing of course Charlie Brown, “I am Charlie”.
A response from Albert Uderzo (shared by Wolfgang Luef)
My thanks go to Farah Mendlesohn, Rukshana Khan, Anabel Marsh, Marion, Melanie McGilloway, Melinda Ingram, Janice Morris and Alexandra Strick for their suggestions. I’m left thinking today especially of my French bookish friends Melanie and Sophie, and the families of everyone involved in yesterday’s events.
Patricia Dunn, author of Rebels by Accident, selected her family’s five favorite books with the help of her husband Allan Tepper. They are a beautiful collection of diverse characters and plots.
The Reporters are STARS!!!!!
The librarians are STARS!!!! (Thankyou Ann and Sabine, Joanne from Wyvern)
The Head of Teaching learning is a STAR!!!! (Thankyou Sean Corcoran)
The Headmaster is a STAR!!!! (Thankyou Dr David Mulford)
The parents who looked after us are STARS!!! (Thankyou Wendy)
My fabulous minder. I’d have got lost without him. (Thankyou Ewan.)
Loved speaking to the boys, the passion for making a better world, engaging conversations and of course catching up with fantastic Australian authors who I call my friends – all of us committed to reaching young people through literature.
Randa Abdel-Fattah, Deborah Abela, Felcie Arena, Michael Gerald Bauer, Charlie the Educator, Andrew Daddo, Kirsty Eager, Nick Earls, Archimede Fusillo. Scot Gardner, Gus Gordon, Neil Grant, Richard Harland, Barry Heard, Simon Higgins, linda Jaivin, Barry jonsberg, Valana Khoza. Will Kostakis, john Larkin, Benjamin Law, Jeni Mawter, Mandy Ord, Michael Parker, Oliver Phommavanh, Mochael Pryor, Richard Tulloch, Arnold Zable and others.
Thrilled as an author ambassador for Room to Read, that this Festival supports Room to read and bringing literacy to the children of the developing world.
All moving, unpacking and getting settled in is hereby interrupted for the Summer Blog Blast hosted by Colleen at Chasing Ray. All posts for the Tour are being linked back to Chasing Ray so be sure to check there everyday to start you summer with interviews with some of your favorite YA authors!
My first interview this week is with Randa Abdel-Fattah. Randa is the author of Does my head look big in this? Where the streets and a name and Ten things I hate about me. Randa lives and works in Australia. Let me introduce you to this amazing woman!
What’s your favorite place?
I’m a Gemini and therefore I’m fickle and ‘my favourite’ questions are always so hard to answer. But I’ll have a go 
and say that in my Top 5 favourite places is a wonderful tree house in my mother’s home in Cairo, Egypt. It has views of a fruit market, several foreign embassies, beautiful tree-lined streets and the minaret of a mosque two streets away. Gorgeous!
What book(s) are you currently reading?
I’m re-reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night, one of the most brilliant novels I’ve ever read.
As a child, what did you do for fun?
Obsessively played with Barbies, tormented my little sister, converted cardboard boxes into mansions for my Barbie collection, read anything I could get my hands on, watched Disney classics, rollerbladed, basketball.
Your writing has gained international success! In what countries are your books selling best? From which country(ies) are teens most likely to contact you?
First and foremost, the USA. Next would be the UK.
I am so impressed by your unflinching sense of self. Where did you get that?
My sense of self isn’t always unflinching. There are days when I feel confused about my life goals and choices. But the one constant is my identity as a Muslim woman. It centres me and grounds me- spiritually and emotionally. It’s only now that I’m a parent that I’m starting to really appreciate the way my parents raised me to be proud of my heritage and identity; to be aware of my responsibilities and rights; and to embrace all the opportunities that come my way with hard work and passion. Their own lives as migrants and, in the case of my Palestinian father, as an exile, undoubtedly drove them to instil a strong sense of identity in my sister and I.
I hate to admit that you were born the same year I graduated from college! A generation younger than me, a different ethnicity and thousands of miles away, I would like to think that you would have experienced less racism, had better opportunities and read more books with characters that look like you. From your writings, that doesn’t seem to be the case. What about the next generation of Muslim girls in Australia? Do they have more opportunities? More books with characters like them?
There is an exciting generational shift among Australian Muslims who are not just reacting to the negative discourse that surrounds Muslims in an increasingly Islamophobic world, but who are also creating, and defining themselves on their own terms, through the arts, comedy, writing, theatre, film, music, politics. It’s exciting to see this happening and to be a part of it.
I read your memoir “Living in a Material World”. While reading about how Muslim women are viewed for wearing the hijab, I couldn’t help but think of my Black sisters here in America, -here in 2012 no less!- who fa
.jpeg?picon=3306)
a thoughtful response. Thank you.
Thank you John. It feels completely inadequate, but I felt I had to respond somehow.
Thank you for those list of books. I will explore.