Not Now, Noor!

Product Information

Just as Noor is ready to give up on her hijab quest, her Ammu arrives home and knows just the thing to say.

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. 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.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? You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. Big fan of what this book does: show a sweet and funny little girl lovingly interacting with her family and asking big questions. Imagine Me Stories is an award winning monthly subscription box that aims to inspire all children by providing quality black children's literature and empowering black history activities. 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.

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. Full of curiousity, Noor sets out to find her answer, but her family are all busy and have no time to answer this important question. 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. When Noor finally gets to her mom it is she who answers with poetic lyricism, "We are Muslim women, my Noor, Unapologetic and true. The book is beautifully illustrated, the size is great to be shared, the text funny, the voice playful,the joy contagious but the answer for me, just missed the mark, not by a lot, but by enough that I think an adult would need to supplement the overall takeaway message.The book articulates that we are Muslim and that hijab defines us, which I love, it just seems that while the rest of the book is incredibly direct and funny, the answer is fuzzy and lyrical. This is such an important book to help children to understand more about other cultures and beliefs and it is great to see picture books representing everybody in our community. Using a vibrant colour palette of reds, yellows and purples, the beautiful artwork is full of emotion and movement. 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. Nabila Adani lives in Jakarta Indonesia and enjoys illustrating different cultures around the world.

Farhana is a Birmingham based primary school teacher turned author with a passion for empowering diverse voices through story-telling.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 illustrations are cute, the character designs are great, and I'm really excited for kids to be able to feel represented by the media they consume. 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.