"Yo Soy Muslim"

Yo Soy Muslim

By Mark Gonzales

Diverse Perspectives Book Blog

Illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini

Published by Salaam Reads / Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers 

Text copyright by Mark Gonzales

Pictures copyright by Mehrdokht Amini

32 pages

Genre: Multicultural Children's Picture Book

This endearing multicultural book depicts the relationship between an encouraging father and his daughter. The father, who is a Muslim Latino, is trying to instill pride and honor in his daughter about their heritage and their culture. Through his heart touching letter to his daughter, he describes the pride one should have of their multicultural identity. This book is a great story to share with all readers to describe what makes us each unique and allow children who share this culture to feel pride and acceptance. It shows the different perspectives that people groups have regarding their heritage and culture. Additionally, it shows how important it is to understand the different lifestyles and prides cultures from around the world have. 

The illustrations in this book are both captivating and detailed. The illustrator Amini uses a variety of simple techniques to create detailed images that correlate with the story. Through the use of colored pencils and chalk, the illustrator creates Gonzales's story in such a visual way that captivates and inspires readers to better relate to the story. 

Standard: Social Studies

Grade: 6th

12 ) Evaluate significant political issues and policies of presidential administrations since World War II.

•  Explaining how conflict in the Middle East impacted life in the United States since World War II

In the classroom setting, I would use this book in an older age group, such as 4th-6th grades. I would use this book to describe the different viewpoints of people from multicultural backgrounds who live in the United States. Students would be able to see what life is like for other people groups, especially those in currently highly talked about groups such as Muslims and Latinos. Students would be paired after the read aloud to share the way the book made them feel through a think, pair, share. Then, they would be asked to write a letter to their own future children sharing the pride they have in their own cultures. They could compare their letter to the letter from this book and see the cultural differences firsthand.