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Great Ramadan reads
Growing up Muslim in the Pacific Northwest isn’t always easy. This year Ramadan will begin March 10 and will end around April 9. It can be a challenging time for Muslim families in Seattle with kids taking high-stakes tests and competing in sports championships while fasting. Parents often have to negotiate with schools for better support of their fasting children.
Whether you are Muslim and looking for books to help your child celebrate Ramadan at home, or you belong to another faith and want your child to better understand their neighbors, we’ve rounded up a list of Ramadan-related books for all ages with the help of Seattle Public Library’s children’s librarians.
Click the arrow above the image, or the link below to find book at the right reading level for your children:
Picture books
“In My Mosque” by M. O. Yuksel
The theme of this lovely picture book is no matter who you are or where you are from, everyone is welcome at the mosque. Readers will learn about all the rituals and wonders of the mosque as the author celebrate the many traditions. The book also includes a glossary and more information about many historical and significant mosques around the world.
“Ramadan” by Hannah Eliot
This beautiful board book about Ramadan is the first in the new board book series, Celebrate the World. With beautiful illustrations this books helps even the littles readers (or listeners) learn that Ramadan is a time to reflect, to be thankful and help others.
“It’s Ramadan, Curious George” by H. A. Rey and Hena Khan
Everyone’s favorite little curious friend is celebrating Ramadan with his friend Kareem and his family. George helps Kareem with his first fast, watches for the crescent moon and joins in the Eid festivities to mark the end of his very first Ramadan. This book is a great introduction to Ramadan with a sweet story about friendship.
“Ramadan” by Julie Murray
Part of a children’s book series on holidays, Julie Murray’s “Ramadan” simply presents the basics of Ramadan with text on one side of the page and illustrations on the other. Look for a code in the back of your copy that will unlock access to crafts, videos and games online.
“Lailah’s Lunchbox: A Ramadan Story” by Reem Faruqi
In this modern classic, Lailah has recently moved from Abu Dhabi to Georgia. She’s excited about her first year participating in the fast. But she’s afraid of how her new classmates will react, until a helpful librarian shows her how to explain Ramadan in a way they can understand.
“Rashad’s Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr” by Lisa Bullard
Talking about Ramadan without talking about Eid is almost like talking about Lent without Easter. In “Rashad’s Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr,” Rashad is too young to fast, but Ramadan is also about prayer and kindness. Rashad tries hard to be good for the entire month of Ramadan. In the end, he gets to play and feast in celebration of Eid al-Fitr.
“Under the Ramadan Moon” by Sylvia Whitman
“Under the Ramadan Moon” is not quite a book in verse, but its lyrical language paired with soft pastel illustrations tells a gentle story about a modern family’s celebration of the month-long holiday. A lengthy note at the back of the book provides more information about the holiday, but be aware that some reviewers found a number of the details in this section to be inaccurate.
Up next: Middle-grade books
Middle-grade books
“A Ramadan to Remember” by Marzieh A. Ali
It’s Zain’s favorite time of year— Ramadan! But after moving to a new neighborhood with no mosque or Islamic school, will Zain be able to find new friend to celebrate with? This book introduces readers to the importance of Ramadan traditions from decorating, to fasting, to volunteering in the community.
“Once Upon an Eid: Stories of Hope and Joy by 15 Muslim Voices” edited by S. K. Ali and Aisha Saeed
This collection of 15 stories from Muslim voices focus on Eid and is a celebration of joy. Eid marks the end of Ramadan and the short stories in this collection celebrates the many ways families across the country and overseas prepare for the celebration.
“Sadiq and the Ramadan Gift” by Siman Nuurali
Sadiq, a third-grader who is a friend to all, is the main character in a series of books. In this story, Sadiq and his friends decide to raise money to build a new school for children in Somalia. The friends find themselves in conflict over how they should proceed. Can they find a way to work together?
“Ramadan: The Holy Month of Fasting” by Ausma Zehanat Khan
Roughly one in four humans on this planet is Muslim, so there are inevitably variations in practice. Khan’s chapter book addresses the different ways Muslims honor Ramadan, featuring the experiences of children from different countries, as well as those of one famous woman — Olympic sabre fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad. And while most books focus on the fast, this one also discusses the importance of (and recipes for) the Iftar meal that breaks the fast each sundown.
“The Garden of My Imaan” by Farhana Zia
Muslim-American Aliya isn’t quite sure where her faith fits into her life, or where she fits in at school. The arrival of a transfer student who shares Aliya’s faith, but not her culture, pushes Aliya to start figuring out how the pieces of her life fit together. In the tradition of “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret,” Zia provides insight into life as an adolescent Muslim while acknowledging the vast diversity of American Islam.
“A Long Pitch Home” by Natalie Dias Lorenzi
While this book does not deal specifically with Ramadan, it does focus on one young boy’s struggle to navigate and reconcile the differences between his birth culture in Pakistan and his new life in America. Bilal’s father has to stay behind while the rest of his family joins relatives in the United States, where there isn’t even a cricket team to join. Instead, Bilal joins the baseball team and begins to make friends.
“Muhammad” by Demi
Books by the artist Demi straddle the line between picture book and art book. Although the text is simple enough for younger readers, the gorgeous artwork will appeal equally to adults. One of her many biographies of historic figures, “Muhammad” depicts events in the life of the prophet while adhering to the Islamic tradition of using gold leaf instead of images of his face. You can’t understand Ramadan without knowing about the life of Muhammad. This book is a beautiful place to start.
Up next: Young adult books
Young adult books
“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
Further reading
If these books have sparked your child’s interest, Seattle Public Library children’s librarians have put together longer Ramadan reading lists just for ParentMap readers. Check out their suggestions for Young Readers, Middle-Grade Readers, and Young Adults. Still looking for more? The local mom behind the website A Crafty Arab maintains a complete list of every Ramadan-related children’s book she finds.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published in 2021, and updated in February 2024.
