Book Description
for Yasmin the Zookeeper by Saadia Faruqi and Hatem Aly
From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
Two chapter books for newly independent readers introduce Pakistani American Yasmin. Each volume is comprised of four stories divided into several chapters each. In Meet Yasmin, Yasmin explores her neighborhood with Baba, Mami, and a map ("Yasmin the Explorer"); agonizes over what to create for an art contest ("Yasmin the Painter"); devises a unique contribution to her class collaborative building project ("Yasmin the Builder"); and turns an accidentally torn kameez into the opportunity for a fashion show with Nani ("Yasmin the Fashionista"). In Yasmin in Charge, she rises to the challenge of keeping her classmates on task ("Yasmin the Teacher"); makes a tasty dish for the family party after a rough start ("Yasmin the Chef "); has a close encounter with the monkeys on a trip to the zoo ("Yasmin the Zookeeper"); and dons a hijab as cape to be a superhero in search of big saves but excelling at small acts of kindness ("Yasmin the Superhero"). Yasmin is irrepressible, even when briefly disappointed or overwhelmed by a challenge, in stories full of energy and humor and grounded in myriad cultural details in both the narrative and the full- color art showing racially and culturally diverse secondary characters, as well as Yasmin's grandfather, Nana, using a wheelchair. Each of the eight stories across the two volumes have also been released as individual books for advanced beginning readers, and are available in both English and Spanish editions. (Ages 4—8)
CCBC Choices 2020. © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2020. Used with permission.