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My Own Special Way
Hamda has just become big enough to start wearing her veil like her older sisters. Each sister chips in with her own suggestions based on what worked for her. But it is up to Hamda to work out her own unique way to wear the veil making it a part of her active and happy life.
64 pages, Paperback
Published March 1, 2012
2 people are currently reading
24 people want to read
About the author
Vivian French
591 books142 followersVivian June Isoult French MBE was born in 1945 and educated at Exeter University.
Vivian French was best known in school for being extremely skinny and for talking a lot. At school she developed an attachment to words and later became an actor, then a storyteller, and finally a writer of children's books. She is the author of more than two hundred books. Ms. French lives in Edinburgh, Scotland, and has four grown daughters.
Vivian French was best known in school for being extremely skinny and for talking a lot. At school she developed an attachment to words and later became an actor, then a storyteller, and finally a writer of children's books. She is the author of more than two hundred books. Ms. French lives in Edinburgh, Scotland, and has four grown daughters.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 7, 2014
This is one of my best books to write. It took me one day to write it and that was it. Maybe because it represented my family's daily life and the story is actually about me and my sisters. Simple as that! I was so honoured to do the Booksigning of this book during BOLOGNA CHILDREN'S BOOK FAIR 2012
March 23, 2014
تتمحور القصة حول أصغر بنت في عائلة كلها بنات، فكوني أصغر أخواتي وبيني وبين التي تكبرني ٤ سنوات ، جعلني أدرك أن القصة تمس واقعا حياً، فهي باختصار تقلد أخواتها في ارتداء الحجاب -فهذا ما اعتقدت أنه معيار السن هنا.
اللطيف أنها لم تجبر عليه، بل كانت في كل المواقف تفكر وتختار! فمحور أن تجد أسلوبها الخاص في ارتداء الحجاب واختيار الألوان واقع رأيته بين البنات المحجبات في لندن، فكل له اختياره وطريقته الخاصة "الجميلة!"
الجو الأسري كان مليئاً بالحب والحنان والبر.
القصة على بساطتها كانت رائعة، أعطيتها ٤/٥ لأن الرسم لم يكن موفقا جدا.
اللطيف أنها لم تجبر عليه، بل كانت في كل المواقف تفكر وتختار! فمحور أن تجد أسلوبها الخاص في ارتداء الحجاب واختيار الألوان واقع رأيته بين البنات المحجبات في لندن، فكل له اختياره وطريقته الخاصة "الجميلة!"
الجو الأسري كان مليئاً بالحب والحنان والبر.
القصة على بساطتها كانت رائعة، أعطيتها ٤/٥ لأن الرسم لم يكن موفقا جدا.
May 29, 2024
Cute. Hamda looks up to her big sisters and they teach her, take care of her, and support her ideas
Early reader chapter book
Early reader chapter book
December 13, 2012
I read your book with my Daughter and i rely like it..
Read
April 5, 2022The main character Hamda has 4 older sisters that do not let her hangout because she is too little. She finally realizes to be big she has to wear a veil like her sisters. She struggles to get it to stay on like her sisters. Her mother tells her she has to find her own special way and she does. Then she is big just like her sisters. This is a transitional book. It has chapters although they are very short. There are still some pictures, but there are a lot more words than there are in a regular picture book. This is a good book for a developed reader that needs longer stories to start reading. I would recommend this book to my readers.
August 31, 2017
Really cute, and I loved the supportive family here.
January 25, 2021
Open Library. Sweet but utterly unmemorable.
April 27, 2015
This book was a very interesting read for both positive and negative reasons. It tells the story of a little girl called Hamda who feels left out amongst her older sisters. She feels that this is because she doesn’t cover her hair, and so sets out to do so. I think it is a good topic to tackle in that there are girls of a primary school age who could identify with the main character. However, I am not sure I agree with the message that Hamda is only a “big girl” when she chooses to cover her hair. I do not think that children should learn that that something a person wears should determine how seriously they should be taken. While I see an advantage in the fact that it does relate to children in London, particularly East London due to the ethnic minority setup, I would not use it with my class as it could skew perceptions and lead to negative influences.
October 12, 2016
giving this 5 stars because i got so lucky with it. it's about a little muslim girl who decides she wants to wear the veil and then has to figure out how to wear it.
why did i get so lucky? because this was my 5-year old daughter's first introduction to the veil, and it was perfect. none of the women in the story come across as passive or ashamed, and it is presented very matter-of-factly. the little girl is very relatable -- rambunctious and clever. and the best part is that my daughter chose the book herself and she really liked the story.
it is so nice to have an easy introduction to an aspect of another culture that is normalizing instead of "othering".
why did i get so lucky? because this was my 5-year old daughter's first introduction to the veil, and it was perfect. none of the women in the story come across as passive or ashamed, and it is presented very matter-of-factly. the little girl is very relatable -- rambunctious and clever. and the best part is that my daughter chose the book herself and she really liked the story.
it is so nice to have an easy introduction to an aspect of another culture that is normalizing instead of "othering".
October 14, 2014
استمتعت ابنتي كثيرا بقراءة القصه الجميل في هذه القصه حمده ان بعمر ابنتي
طريق سرد القصه والالوان تناسب جميع الثقافات والاعمار
جزاكي الله عنا خيرالجزاء
لو تترجمو القصه للفرنسيه والبنغلاديشيه والاردو والفارسي والتركيه
وشكرا
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July 7, 2017This is a gentle little family story about Hamda growing up and finding her place. It just so happens that for Hamada and her family, that means wearing hijab. It’s also a story about ingenuity. Hamada has to find a way that works for her to put the hijab on and keep it on.
Hamda is a funny and determined little girl who wants to be a “big girl”. She’s the youngest in the family and is finally tired of being told she’s too little to join her sisters in their activities. I think as parents and teachers we all know a couple of those. After a little pep talk with her mother, Hamda realizes part of becoming a big girl is deciding to wear the veil. And here is where this book gets very important for American audiences. This is not something Hamda is being forced to wear nor are her sisters, but it is a really big deal for the family. They are exceedingly proud that Hamda has recognized the step that choosing to wear hijab is and feels ready.
Except putting the scarf on and keeping it on as Hamda frolics turns out to be much harder than Hamda thought it would be. Each sister shows her how she wraps the scarf, but none of their ways work for Hamda. When Hamda goes down to say goodbye to her father before he heads out to the mosque she notices his cufflinks and this gives her an idea for her problem. It’s a bit Goldilocks, a bit Rosie Revere (or any of those inspired girl books).
The one thing I can’t decide about is the fact that religion is not mentioned in relation to the hijab. I suspect this is because the book was originally published in Arabic for a Muslim and/or Arab audience that would have assumed the characters were Muslim or at least understood where the tradition comes from. I don’t think it will be confusing for American children unfamiliar with Islamic practices, but I do think it will be important to point out that they are Muslim so the connection is made with average families and Islam. I found it rather refreshing that they weren’t overly or overtly religious. Not all Muslims are, just as not all Christian are, so I think it’s only fair to show them being Muslim in a range of ways just as Christians are in children’s books.
From a purely reading level perspective this is a worthwhile book to have on the shelf . It is certainly an easy reader in that it has large font, repetitive text, and is fairly short. But it has chapters and a story that carries across those chapters, so in a lot of ways if feels like a beginning chapter book instead of an easy reader.
A few words about the illustrations. They are, as you can see from the cover, quite adorable. Each page has at least one spot illustration and quite a few illustrations spread across the bottom of two pages or are full bleed across the spreads. It’s just another way that the book helps those emerging readers. Hamda is absolutely adorable with her secret smile and curly hair. She looks a bit mischievous, actually. Her mother has some wild red hair and her sisters are all lovely girls, but Hamda steals the show. The pictures are all in a more pastel palette, but they manage to be bright and inviting. Try not to laugh when Hamda tries (and fails) to copy her fashionable sister Jamila (which means beautiful in Arabic). The result of her tying scarfs together looks striking on Jamila and just plain funny on Hamda. I tested the book out on my daughter and she loved the story (we read it several times over the following days), but I think she really clicked with the illustrations and Hamda.
I don’t think this is technically a small press publication, but it was originally put out in Arabic (in the Emirates) and was then translated and brought over to the UK market (as far as I can tell), so I fudged it. :) I cannot recommend My Own Special Way enough for all library and classroom collections that have easy readers and early chapter books. It’s a gentle little family story that shows a side of Islam and Arabs we don’t normally see. It’s also a perfect transitional book for kids moving from easy readers into chapters or for those kids that want to look like they’re a big kid reading a chapter book.
Hamda is a funny and determined little girl who wants to be a “big girl”. She’s the youngest in the family and is finally tired of being told she’s too little to join her sisters in their activities. I think as parents and teachers we all know a couple of those. After a little pep talk with her mother, Hamda realizes part of becoming a big girl is deciding to wear the veil. And here is where this book gets very important for American audiences. This is not something Hamda is being forced to wear nor are her sisters, but it is a really big deal for the family. They are exceedingly proud that Hamda has recognized the step that choosing to wear hijab is and feels ready.
Except putting the scarf on and keeping it on as Hamda frolics turns out to be much harder than Hamda thought it would be. Each sister shows her how she wraps the scarf, but none of their ways work for Hamda. When Hamda goes down to say goodbye to her father before he heads out to the mosque she notices his cufflinks and this gives her an idea for her problem. It’s a bit Goldilocks, a bit Rosie Revere (or any of those inspired girl books).
The one thing I can’t decide about is the fact that religion is not mentioned in relation to the hijab. I suspect this is because the book was originally published in Arabic for a Muslim and/or Arab audience that would have assumed the characters were Muslim or at least understood where the tradition comes from. I don’t think it will be confusing for American children unfamiliar with Islamic practices, but I do think it will be important to point out that they are Muslim so the connection is made with average families and Islam. I found it rather refreshing that they weren’t overly or overtly religious. Not all Muslims are, just as not all Christian are, so I think it’s only fair to show them being Muslim in a range of ways just as Christians are in children’s books.
From a purely reading level perspective this is a worthwhile book to have on the shelf . It is certainly an easy reader in that it has large font, repetitive text, and is fairly short. But it has chapters and a story that carries across those chapters, so in a lot of ways if feels like a beginning chapter book instead of an easy reader.
A few words about the illustrations. They are, as you can see from the cover, quite adorable. Each page has at least one spot illustration and quite a few illustrations spread across the bottom of two pages or are full bleed across the spreads. It’s just another way that the book helps those emerging readers. Hamda is absolutely adorable with her secret smile and curly hair. She looks a bit mischievous, actually. Her mother has some wild red hair and her sisters are all lovely girls, but Hamda steals the show. The pictures are all in a more pastel palette, but they manage to be bright and inviting. Try not to laugh when Hamda tries (and fails) to copy her fashionable sister Jamila (which means beautiful in Arabic). The result of her tying scarfs together looks striking on Jamila and just plain funny on Hamda. I tested the book out on my daughter and she loved the story (we read it several times over the following days), but I think she really clicked with the illustrations and Hamda.
I don’t think this is technically a small press publication, but it was originally put out in Arabic (in the Emirates) and was then translated and brought over to the UK market (as far as I can tell), so I fudged it. :) I cannot recommend My Own Special Way enough for all library and classroom collections that have easy readers and early chapter books. It’s a gentle little family story that shows a side of Islam and Arabs we don’t normally see. It’s also a perfect transitional book for kids moving from easy readers into chapters or for those kids that want to look like they’re a big kid reading a chapter book.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews