Yasmin the Builder

Yasmin #1

by Saadia Faruqi, Hatem Aly (Illustrations)

Everyone seems to have a great idea for the makerspace project, everyone except for Yasmin! All the good ideas are taken. Luckily, recess solves everything! Inspiration strikes and Yasmin creates something that brings the whole class together.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Chapter Books, School, Juvenile, Realistic Fiction

21 pages, Hardcover

Published August 1, 2018

About the author

Saadia Faruqi is a Pakistani American author, essayist and interfaith activist. She writes the children’s early reader series “Yasmin” published by Capstone and other books for children, including middle grade novels “A Place At The Table” (HMH/Clarion 2020) co-written with Laura Shovan, and “A Thousand Questions” (Harper Collins 2020). She has also written “Brick Walls: Tales of Hope & Courage from Pakistan” a short story collection for adults and teens. Saadia is editor-in-chief of Blue Minaret, a magazine for Muslim art, poetry and prose, and was featured in Oprah Magazine in 2017 as a woman making a difference in her community. She resides in Houston, TX with her husband and children.

Reviews

[Ro Menendez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yasmin’s difficulty in meeting a building challenge in class, as quickly as her classmates do, was a welcomed point of view to what children and their teachers expect in these situations: immediate ideas, planning and creation. Readers will either see themselves in Yasmin, a child who is capable of brilliance but needs more think time, empathize with the dilemma of witnessing how quickly all the “good” ideas have already been taken, or understand a little better their classmates who are like Yasmin, in the groups they collaborate with. An excellent reminder to all educators to provide differentiation for learning styles. This story serves the classroom Makerspace movement as a discussion ground for how to think, plan, and meet needs.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yasmin brings her class project together, literally.

[Tegan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great story about thinking outside the box.

[Margaret Boling · Rating 5 out of 5]

4/7/2019 ~ One of the stories included in Meet Yasmin. It seems that the publisher took the four stories from Meet Yasmin and broke them up into four different books. It think this makes sense for the age of the reader the stories are intended for. This series will be a perfect addition step up for children who are ready for more than Elephant and Piggie but not yet ready for longer Early Chapter Books like Owl Diaries or Notebook of Doom.

Yasmin is a character with just enough independence, frustration, and then success. I also appreciate that the family is Pakistani-American, but that is not an issue in the book. There are informational pages at the end with some Urdu words and facts about Pakistan.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is possibly the deepest of the Yasmin books. It’s not just the big, flashy buildings that matter in a community— it’s the connections between them. Again, Yasmin is charming in how real her consternation and inspiration feel. Saadia Faruqi has a gift for getting inside the mind of a young child like Beverly Cleary does.

[Carol Tilley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had missed this series existed, but I'm excited to explore other stories about Yasmin.

[Kaileen Avila]

it is in Spanish which can be great for Latinx students.

[Kenna Coffee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful early reader chapter book. The book still contains illustrations that aid the reading however there are a lot more words per page then a traditional picture book. The young girl yasmin is pakastani and at the end of every book there are words in her home language Urdu, as well as facts about Pakastan. The book encrouges the reader to think outside the box and to offer up ideas even if they are not perfect. Perfect for developing readers grades kindergarten through third grade and even for older readers if they struggle and are apprehensive toward reading.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ms. Alex announces that the new project for the class it to build a city. After they spend some time drawing and planning, her classmates start to build. Yasmin can’t decide what she wants to build ... the other students have chosen a castle, a church, houses. What can Yasmin add to the city that hasn’t already been done?

Special sections in the back include Learn Urdu with Yasmin, Fun Facts about Pakistan and Build a castle with Yasmin and Ali.

[Sara Magnafichi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of many books in this series and Yasmin struggles with having to be creative and building a building to add to the class town display. I love how Yasmin always perseveres through her everyday problems and shows kids to think outside the box. Young readers who are in the early chapter book phase will love this one.

[Helena#bookdreamer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Very charming storybook that's fully in spanish. I liked that the story is told in the perspective of the little girl and her quest to find something creative to build for her class assignment. Enjoyed the easy to understand language and flow of the story. Well written.

[Elizabeth Seibel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to thank #netgalley for a copy of #YasminLaConstructora to review. This will be a great addition to my classroom. My students who speak Spanish will enjoy this book and I love the message that it sends. Yasmin is a strong girl full of ideas. It's empowering and shows my girls that they can contribute and can solve problems. Great elementary read.

[Meghan Hunt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love that the story is something that any kid can relate to
I also love that the main character is Pakistani American and that the book contains facts about Pakistani culture. I love how the Yasmin books are organized. I hope this becomes a trend.

[Miss Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A beginning easy reader about a young girl tasked with builidng a part of a city as a school project. Can she add something as good as the rest of the class? Nice evolution of her idea and implementation of it. Elementary and up

[Dina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book that inspires making! I can see teachers, librarians and other individuals who work with students using this book as a jump-off to an engineering activity. It is great to see diverse characters and cultural aspects introduced into books!

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the Yasmin book series! It is such a welcome addition to my library and will be for others as well! I love hat it is also available in other languages, as everyone should be able to read about this sweet little girl.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yasmin struggles with a Makerspace challenge that her teacher sets but after seeing what everyone does, she comes up with a unique idea that compliments what everyone shared.

A wonderful story!

[Papatia Feauxzar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it.

[Kira Nerys · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so cute!

[Cara Byrne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another sweet story in the Yasmin series.

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yasmin the Builder proves to be a perfect title for inspiring a STEAM project! Yasmin's teacher, Ms. Alex proposes the class build a town together, giving them lots of construction materials for their creations. Before allowing the students to begin their projects though, she insists they draw a plan of their idea. This is essential for knowing which materials are needed, she reminds them. Yasmin is flummoxed, and feels she can't come up with an exciting enough project, after noticing the attractive castle and church 2 of her classmates just created. When Ms Alex gives a hint to the class that they might go for a walk later, this is all the fuel Yasmin needs to start building! Her STEAM project turns out to be a big success. She builds sidewalks and bridges to connect all of the buildings the class has created. into one big project. Giving the buildings a connectiveness that pulls them all together. Hatem Aly's illustrations are colorful and whimsical, with a sophisticated cartoonlike flare. In the back of the book, students will learn about Yasmin's culture through examining the glossary in Urdu, a page on brainstorming ideas for collaborative projects, building their own STEAM castle, and mini biographies on the author and illustrator, who champion diversity through this title. Kids will want to read the whole series of spirited Yasmin stories. Perfect for young creative readers.

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yasmin goes to an amazing school where their teacher has given them the project of constructing an entire city. (It's the "Maker Space" project, only written as "makerspace." I hadn't been familiar with that before reading this book, but maybe otber Goodreaders are.)

For Yasmine, during much of the story, this build-a-city project is a source of terrible frustration.

But inspiration dawns by the end, and Yasmin winds up bringing the entire city together. In the process she brings her class together too.

Brilliant creativity!

[Erin *BookDragon_Library* · Rating 4 out of 5]

Early chapter book, about 21 pages of text. Color illustrations and large font. Pakistani American. Muslim. 3 discussion questions at the back and a glossary of Urdu words. The Urdu is not highlighted in the text within the book and some things in the glossary are never actually mentioned in writing within the story. There is also 1 page of facts about Pakistan #ownvoices author - Project in back : Build a castle

[asiya | アセヤ (free palestine) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! What an excellent story line and summary base! I love how these books hold so much more meaning than just a beginner's reading level age, since the symbolism of Yasmin building bridges to connect the other kids' projects really did fit in as interfaith and interconnecting. How poetic! Adding the Church to fit among everything else, was just so great, too. I love the diversity in these books!

[Greg S · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m in love with this series in general, but let me comment on this one specifically.


My son did not request a second reading.

I liked it, but I wasn’t sure where it was going. It has a nice ending that I don’t think my son completely grasped.

Also, he was a little confused by the questions in the back. Maybe it’ll be a better read when he’s six.

But questions in the back are always appreciated by me.
I also like the words and pronunciations in the back!

[Jared White · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute easy reader about Yasmin and her class making a city out of recyclables. The story and illustrations are fairly simple, as they should be in an easy reader, but they are still engaging, with Yasmin having a creative block and then working through it.

At the end of the book, there are some questions, Urdu words, facts about Pakistan, and instructions for a craft project.

[Ellon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love Yasmin! For the first half of this story, it was my favorite so far but then Yasmin is alone in the classroom while the rest of the class is out at recess? NOT OKAY!!!!
I did like that the class was building together and it highlighted STEM a bit.
(Story number three in Meet Yasmin)

[Bethe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yasmin needs a little extra time to come up with an idea to build something for her class construction project. Love her unifying idea. Also love the back matter with info on Yasmin’s Pakistani heritage and instructions for a building project. Spanish translation well done.

[Marie-Pier Dodier · Rating 3 out of 5]

En français : Yasmin aime construire.
Persévérence. Créativité. Construction. Architecture.
Partie réflexion, mots en ourdou, infos sur le Pakistan et modèle de construction à la fin.
3 à 7 lignes par page.

[Sleepninja · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this story to be absolutely adorable. And I loved that the author also includes discussion topics, craft activities, and language/country facts about Pakistan. What I'm confused about, is how on Earth did this series get added to a banned list?