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Eli and the Uncles
Say hello and good night to Uncle Hanif, Uncle Rashin, Uncle Nooru . . . and five more uncles, along with their spectacular beards!
Young Eli gets to spend a whole day with his eight adoring uncles—each one bigger and taller than the last, and each with an outsized personality to match, from Aman the dancer to Riz the joke teller. Even better, every one of the uncles sports his own unique set of whiskers! Short or long, curly or straight, bristly or soft, whatever the style or texture, every especially elegant beard is a sight to behold (and a sleepy-time aid for Eli as he says his good-nights one by one). With delightful warmth and whimsy, author Jehan Madhani and award-winning illustrator Rashin Kheiriyeh present a hilarious, hirsute countdown to bedtime that will have young readers and listeners dreaming of woolly beards instead of woolly sheep.
Young Eli gets to spend a whole day with his eight adoring uncles—each one bigger and taller than the last, and each with an outsized personality to match, from Aman the dancer to Riz the joke teller. Even better, every one of the uncles sports his own unique set of whiskers! Short or long, curly or straight, bristly or soft, whatever the style or texture, every especially elegant beard is a sight to behold (and a sleepy-time aid for Eli as he says his good-nights one by one). With delightful warmth and whimsy, author Jehan Madhani and award-winning illustrator Rashin Kheiriyeh present a hilarious, hirsute countdown to bedtime that will have young readers and listeners dreaming of woolly beards instead of woolly sheep.
32 pages, Hardcover
Published November 12, 2024
30 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
January 11, 2025
This is an unusual story where a bunch of uncles (assuming they are all one family) are taking care of young Eli who has been left in the care of the Uncles by his mother. An unusual story of an unusual care group.
The story points out the varied beard styles of the assorted uncles and how they are all different in personality as well as appearance.
The story is repetitive and ends rather abruptly with a sleepy Eli and his Mom driving off at end of day. The story is that of an Arabic culture but can embrace any other culture or people group equally as well.
I received a complimentary copy to facilitate a review. Opinions are mine, alone and are freely given.
The story points out the varied beard styles of the assorted uncles and how they are all different in personality as well as appearance.
The story is repetitive and ends rather abruptly with a sleepy Eli and his Mom driving off at end of day. The story is that of an Arabic culture but can embrace any other culture or people group equally as well.
I received a complimentary copy to facilitate a review. Opinions are mine, alone and are freely given.
May 26, 2025
In this cumulative tale, a boy spends the day with his uncles, all of whom have bodacious beards. When his mom returns to pick him up, kissing his uncles goodnight proves to be quite an introduction to the varieties of facial hair, which are as different as their personalities. What a clever way to introduce the boy to the Sunnah, particularly the Islamic practice of wearing facial hair among men, without getting tangled up in the religious debates over Fard (obligation) and Haram (shaving). Expressive illustrations emphasize the individuality of each uncle under all that hair among this close-knit band of brothers.
March 6, 2025
Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central
Eli's mother drops him off at the house of his eight uncles for the day, and it's quite the adventure. The uncles, each bigger and taller than the last, all have spectacular but very different beards. We meet each one, and get an overview of his special capabilities, from joke telling to cooking to sleeping! They eat dinner together, and all too soon Eli's mother returns. Eli kisses each of the uncles good night, marveling in the difference in their beards, and is soon on his way home in the car to go to sleep.
The text of this is simple, and with different illustrations, would be a much more sedate book. The brightly colored illustrations, however, really amp up the wackiness, with beards taking over many of the pages, and the uncles' activities portrayed in a very silly fashion. The variety in types of bears is rather amazing!
I was a little surprised that the boy was willing to kiss all of his uncles goodnight; I remember always having to greet my grandparents with a kiss, but there's been more talk about bodily autonomy and not forcing children to do this. The boy does it willingly, and children who are from demonstrative families or cultures won't find this odd at all.
Children's picture books tend to focus heavily on grandparents, and there's not a lot of books I have
found about uncles. I had so many uncles (20, with in-laws!) that my mother's cure for hiccups was to ask me what my uncle's middle name was; I could never get them all, and by the time I tried, my hiccups were invariable gone! It's great to see a book featuring this special family bond. Put this on a literary family tree along with LaRocca's Mauntie and Me, Tarpley's Keyana Loves Her Family, Numeroff's What Uncles Do Best, and even Lucido and Demirag's Pasta, Pasta, Lotsa Pasta.
Eli's mother drops him off at the house of his eight uncles for the day, and it's quite the adventure. The uncles, each bigger and taller than the last, all have spectacular but very different beards. We meet each one, and get an overview of his special capabilities, from joke telling to cooking to sleeping! They eat dinner together, and all too soon Eli's mother returns. Eli kisses each of the uncles good night, marveling in the difference in their beards, and is soon on his way home in the car to go to sleep.
The text of this is simple, and with different illustrations, would be a much more sedate book. The brightly colored illustrations, however, really amp up the wackiness, with beards taking over many of the pages, and the uncles' activities portrayed in a very silly fashion. The variety in types of bears is rather amazing!
I was a little surprised that the boy was willing to kiss all of his uncles goodnight; I remember always having to greet my grandparents with a kiss, but there's been more talk about bodily autonomy and not forcing children to do this. The boy does it willingly, and children who are from demonstrative families or cultures won't find this odd at all.
Children's picture books tend to focus heavily on grandparents, and there's not a lot of books I have
found about uncles. I had so many uncles (20, with in-laws!) that my mother's cure for hiccups was to ask me what my uncle's middle name was; I could never get them all, and by the time I tried, my hiccups were invariable gone! It's great to see a book featuring this special family bond. Put this on a literary family tree along with LaRocca's Mauntie and Me, Tarpley's Keyana Loves Her Family, Numeroff's What Uncles Do Best, and even Lucido and Demirag's Pasta, Pasta, Lotsa Pasta.
July 10, 2025
GROSS!!!!!! This book hits the gross button for me. It's a personal thing. It's not the book, it's just me, so you might like the book. It's all about beards. OH nasty. I can't think of anything worse, ok, there's worse, but yuck. At least all the beard guys live together and can love being around beards. Let the beard lovers be together and away from the rest of us. Bleck!
Eli is dropped off with his 8 uncles. Uncles makes it seem like brothers, so I don't know why uncles are living together, but they are each wacky in their own way. We meet them all. I do have to wonder if these are gay men, but there isn't any coding that way. It seems more they are brothers. Maybe they are all mad and this is where they are kept and why they have beards.
The last half of the book is Eli saying goodbye and hugging all the beards and kissing them goodbye. They talk about how each one feels. It's a good thing I read this before breakfast or I would have lost my breakfast on that one. Awful.
Look, I know beards are a part of life, but gross. There's always food in them and they look horrible and just yuck. I don't get it. It's probably why I'm still single, but if a guy had a beard, I would never date him, like no. Anyway.
The artwork is done in watercolor, pencil and acrylic. It goes all into the beards, so it's really gross.
Gah, beard lovers should read this book. Keep it away from me.
Eli is dropped off with his 8 uncles. Uncles makes it seem like brothers, so I don't know why uncles are living together, but they are each wacky in their own way. We meet them all. I do have to wonder if these are gay men, but there isn't any coding that way. It seems more they are brothers. Maybe they are all mad and this is where they are kept and why they have beards.
The last half of the book is Eli saying goodbye and hugging all the beards and kissing them goodbye. They talk about how each one feels. It's a good thing I read this before breakfast or I would have lost my breakfast on that one. Awful.
Look, I know beards are a part of life, but gross. There's always food in them and they look horrible and just yuck. I don't get it. It's probably why I'm still single, but if a guy had a beard, I would never date him, like no. Anyway.
The artwork is done in watercolor, pencil and acrylic. It goes all into the beards, so it's really gross.
Gah, beard lovers should read this book. Keep it away from me.
April 21, 2024
An eclectic group of uncles, eight to be exact, with extremely elegant beards & their nephew Eli get to hang out for the day. Eli introduces us to each uncle & what they do best. As their day winds down & Eli's mom comes to pick him up, Eli says goodnight to each of his uncles & their elegant beards. It's a quirky, weird book that the kids & I absolutely loved. Excited to purchase for our family shelves & our nonprofit's library!
Thank you to Edelweiss & Candlewick Press for an advanced digital copy in exchange for our honest review.
Thank you to Edelweiss & Candlewick Press for an advanced digital copy in exchange for our honest review.
March 6, 2025
Eli is excited to get to spend the day with his 8 uncles who all have their own unique personalities and beards.
Cute whimsical story about a little boy hanging out with his older male relatives. The beards are described in great detail. I have to be honest, all the description of facial hair does nothing for me. However, my son was OBSESSED with facial hair when he was a little boy (and still is now that he can grow his own) so I would imagine this will be popular with kids who are intrigued with facial hair.
Cute whimsical story about a little boy hanging out with his older male relatives. The beards are described in great detail. I have to be honest, all the description of facial hair does nothing for me. However, my son was OBSESSED with facial hair when he was a little boy (and still is now that he can grow his own) so I would imagine this will be popular with kids who are intrigued with facial hair.
May 16, 2025
This is a fun and funny book about a young boy who has eight fun uncles. All of them have a beard with a different twist and each of them has their own personality that Eli loves. The story captures a hilarious visit between Eli and his uncles. It’s a great bedtime book option. Meeting each uncle serves as a countdown that then reverses as Eli begins to drift to sleep. Loved the illustrations and how they captured the descriptions of each uncle.
February 12, 2025
4 stars (I really liked it)
This was kind of weird but I also kind of loved the weirdness. The story focuses on a young boy, named Eli, who is hanging out with his big and tall uncles who all have unique talents and even unqiuer (not a word I know) beards. There are lots of rich descriptions of the beards and I could see this book being using to help model writing techniques for students.
This was kind of weird but I also kind of loved the weirdness. The story focuses on a young boy, named Eli, who is hanging out with his big and tall uncles who all have unique talents and even unqiuer (not a word I know) beards. There are lots of rich descriptions of the beards and I could see this book being using to help model writing techniques for students.
April 8, 2025
A celebration of uncles AND of beards! A boy spends the afternoon with his 8 uncles, all of whom are big and tall and bearded. They all have their talents (or lack thereof) and Eli feels loved by them all. When mom comes at the end of dinner, he hugs them all and dreams of their fluffy, scratchy, wooly beards on the car ride home.
December 28, 2024
Sweet story about a nephew spending the day with his eight uncles and their distinct talents and beards. Given to my nephew along with a barber play set that included a fake beard for kids. Fabulous illustrations.
March 6, 2024
Charming story about uncles and beards.
ARC from Edelweiss.
ARC from Edelweiss.
October 23, 2024
Original, exuberant, hilarious and absolutely beautiful picture book. Highly recommend!
November 27, 2024
These uncles ranging in age with all kinds of different hair make me think of a glorious commune and I am here for it!
December 4, 2024
great book about moustaches!
December 12, 2024
A silly book about Eli and his 8 uncles who all have very distinct beards. Illustrations are bright, bold, and detailed, but childlike. Great story for bedtime for preschoolers.
December 15, 2024
Eli's eight different uncles are unique in their talents as well as the qualities of their (magnificent) beards. A celebration of loving male relatives. And beards.
January 9, 2025
Delightful little story with great illustrations.
January 14, 2025
Not so much a story as a cataloguing of 8 cool uncles and their righteous beards.
Maybe suitable as a bedtime book. Because, again, there is no plot to speak of.
Maybe suitable as a bedtime book. Because, again, there is no plot to speak of.
January 16, 2025
I really like all the different texture words the author uses and the illustrations are really fun.
February 7, 2025
A fun color palette and homage to beards
February 10, 2025
I really liked this! Very cute and sweet and the illustrations are wacky and fun in a way I really love! I love how much attention is paid to all the beards! :p
February 19, 2025
This was kind of a non-story, but I liked it anyway? I've definitely never read anything like it.
Read
September 25, 2025a sweet homage to large families and their relationships
November 16, 2025
Story 4 stars, art 5 stars. There wasn’t much of a story, but there didn’t really need to be one. It was more about normalizing seeing a joyful Arabic family doing normal, everyday things.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews