Great Ramadan Reads for Kids of All Ages

“Salaam, with Love” by Sara Sharaf Beg 

Being crammed in a small apartment with family she hasn’t seen in years was not how Dua imaged her trip to New York. But, this is exactly how she finds herself spending the holy month of Ramadan. In this contemporary coming of age story, Dua finds herself struggling to find her place in her family, and how to deal with her feelings for the cute drummer in a Muslim band. 

“No god but God: The Origins and Evolution of Islam” by Reza Aslan

Reza Aslan is an internationally acclaimed scholar of comparative religion. In this YA adaptation of his book of the same title for adults, Aslan covers the religion’s origins, history, rituals and traditions. This is not a book of faith, but a scholarly work that will provide youths of all faiths a deeper understanding of Islam.

“All-American Muslim Girl” by Nadine Jolie Courtney

In this semi-autobiographical novel, Courtney examines Islamophobia, white privilege, identity and erasure through the experiences of a white-passing, mixed-race Muslim teen. When she becomes aware of the Islamaphobia in her own town, Allie must choose between her comfortable anonymity and standing up for her faith. While this novel does not specifically address Ramadan, it is all about the hard choices young people must face to live as Muslims in a Christian-dominant culture.

“Bestest. Ramadan. Ever.” by Medeia Sharif

This #OwnVoices book takes a humorous look at Ramadan through the irreverent eyes of adolescent Almira Abdul, whose perspective is a Muslim-American corollary to Louise Rennison’s English teen Georgia Nicolson. Even more than fasting, Almira is dismayed that Ramadan means a month of no dating. What if her best friend — or worse, the new Muslim girl with less strict parents — catches her crush’s eye before Eid? How will she navigate generational and cultural conflicts when she’s so hungry?

“The Taqwacores” by Michael Muhammad Knight

This stereotype-busting novel may not represent the kind of behavior parents encourage during Ramadan — or ever — but there are as many ways to be Muslim as there are to be human, and for some people that includes punk rock. Billed as “‘The Catcher in the Rye’ for young Muslims,” “The Taqwacores” was, in true punk fashion, originally self-published. Its characters are as nonconformist and antiestablishment as their nonreligious peers, but like true punks everywhere, they are deeply concerned with questions of spirituality.  

“Arab in America” by Toufic El Rassi

This groundbreaking graphic novel illustrates the prejudice and discrimination El Rassi faced growing up Muslim in America and the way this treatment got worse after 9/11. He also provides context on Middle Eastern history and the influence of popular media on perceptions of Islam and Arabic people.

Up next: Further reading