Not Now, Noor!

Product Information

Perhaps the trend has me more frustrated than this book on its own warrants, it really is sweet and I don't regret purchasing it and having it sent from the UK. is a celebration of Muslim women and gently approaches the religious reasons for wearing a hijab in a light-hearted way for children. This instructive board book opens with the simple statement that many religious people wear head coverings to show their love of God. Faizah sees her sister as a princess wearing her beautiful blue hijab, but not everyone at school sees it this way. She originally studied Industrial Product Design in Bandung Institute of Technology earning her degree in 2013 yet found her way into illustration later in life.

The next page shows Noor's bustling family and she compares how her Ammu's hijab is not the same as her Nanu's or Dadu's or Aunt's or even her sister's, but she doesn't know why any of them wear it. It seems to be a common approach lately, and I wish that more picture books about hijab would clearly articulate that the commandment to cover is in the Quran.

Telling the story of young Noor, who is desperate to find out why the female members of her family wear hijabs, this is a read which will delight young readers. A flowery sentiment, but little Noor and the reader never got the answer as to why Muslim women wear hijab, and I think that it is unfortunate. Farina Islam and Nabila Adani’s picture book is a bright, cheerful and slightly cheeky look at what the hijab is and why some Muslim women wear it. This 32 page book is incredibly adorable and silly, and yet so vague in the answer that is the whole premise of the book, that it really has me wondering why we are so afraid (in children's books and possibly in our daily lives) to say that we wear hijab because Allah swt commands it?

Noor loves her mum, and all the other hijabi women in her family, but wonders why do they wear headscarves? Just as Noor is ready to give up on her quest, her Ammu arrives home and knows just the thing to say. For those who are Muslim, it shows authentic representation of hijabis and for those who are not, it answers the types of questions that naturally curious children will have such as whether hair coverings are worn to hide big ears or secret snack stashes to feast upon at a later time. Inspired by the experiences of Olympic medallist Ibtihaj Muhammad, this is a beautiful and powerful story about the bond shared between siblings and being proud of yourself and your beliefs. Throughout the book, those for whom a hijab is unfamiliar are gently corrected in their misassumptions with the result that the book is one that will educate them without their knowing – they will simply enjoy the story and the beautiful pictures throughout.It allows for a serious conversation about hijab to occur after, and it intentionally pushes the humor, which I definitely think we need more of in Muslim centered books. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. Bright, colourful and highly engaging, this is a book I could not wait to share with both my class and in my little lunchtime Story Club, where it proved a huge hit this week.

The book starts with Noor identifying what her Ammu's hijab is and isn't, how she wears it and how she doesn't. Each time the rationale gets more outrageous: hide the eyes on the back of your head, prevent you from getting nits, etc.It is by no means wrong, it just at the end presents what hijab means, the benefits of wearing it, and one's personal feelings toward it, while skirting the answer the girl keeps asking of why? Yes I know there is a family tree on the inside cover, but at story time, it is cumbersome to flip back and forth.

Just as Noor is ready to give up on her hijab quest, her Ammu arrives home and knows just the thing to say.She briefly worked as product designer in Japan and Indonesia before moving to the United States to study children's book illustration. The illustrations throughout this story are so colourful and vibrant and bring Noor and her family to life through the pages. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Farhana is a Birmingham based primary school teacher turned author with a passion for empowering diverse voices through story-telling. Noor’s imaginative thoughts on why her relatives may wear hijab made me smile and I really liked the fact that when she finally gets an answer, her mum stresses how it is Noor’s choice to wear hijab but that it does go to her mum’s identity as a Muslim and she is unapologetic about that.