A very belated reply to Sister Tasmiya who must have given up on me!

Total number of books owned: About 250 maybe?

Last book bought: Sheikh `Aaidh ibn Abdullah al-Qarni’s “Don’t Be Sad” … wait… it was a gift! I can’t remember the last book I bought so I’ll leave it as it is … har har…

Last book read: I read two books at a time … yes, I do this often… heh… Both are by John Holt and they were given to me by a sister who contacted me through my blog ;) (She is truly a blessing – I’ll blog about this later in shaa Allah.) Anyway, the books are: “How Children Learn” and “How Children Fail”. They are truly eye-openers and have strengthened my conviction to homeschool (AND to improve my teaching methods).

Five books that mean a lot to me: The Qur’an is of course the most important. Since that is a given, I’ll talk about some other books instead. It is really hard to say which books I prize above others because each book I’ve read has enriched me in so many different ways, but here goes…

In no particular order…

1. Ash-Shifa by Qadi Iyad, translated by Aisha Bewley – I’ve read several biographies on the Prophet and, in general, love them all. Maybe tomorrow I’ll list another one of these books as my fave, flighty one that I am, but for now, I love this book to bits. It is not a chronological narration of the Rasulullah’s life. The book is divided into sections like: Allah’s praise of him; the miracles Allah manifested at his hands; the necessity to love him and so on. I love details so I refer to this book a lot!

2. As-Sirah An-Nabawiyyah by Ibn Kathir, translated by Trevor Le Gassick – I am not sure how many books there are in this series but I have only 4. Loads more details so I love digging in!

3. Patience and Gratitude – an abridged translation of `Uddat as-Sabirin wa Dhakhirat ash-Shakirin by Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah – This came at a time when I really needed to learn to have sabr and tawakkul.

4. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee – I read this book when I was 11. I used to stay at my aunt’s house and would help myself to my cousin’s books. She was studying Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book in her literature class then. I loved it so much I would read it over and over again each time I visited. She gave the book to me years later – it is old and ratty and has her notes scribbled all over the pages but I can’t bring myself to buy myself a new copy.

The story is told by tom-boy Jean Louise “Scout” Finch and set in small and sleepy Maycomb, Alabama where “the day was 24 hours long, but it seemed longer”. It is the early 1930s at the height of the Depression. It is such a rich book dealing with prejudice, courage, innocence, cruelty, hypocrisy and love with simplicity and depth. When Atticus Finch’s Negro client was pronounced guilty for a crime he didn’t commit and the Black spectators in the courtroom rose to their feet as he made his way out of the courtroom, Reverend Sykes said, “Stand up, Miss Jean Louise… Your father is passing.” I cry each time I read this part!

5. Weeping from the fear of Allah by Husayn al-‘Awaayishah – A sister I know told her 3-year-old daughter the story of Bilal radhiallahu `anhu. When she came to the part where the Prophet passed away and spoke of how the grief-stricken Bilal did not want to say the adhan anymore, the child cried. She wept again when she related how the Muslims wept when Bilal did deliver the adhan in Jesusalem. It occured to me then that I don’t weep enough … so I am going to recommend this book by Sheikh Husayn al-‘Awaayishah and re-read it myself.

OK let me see if a couple of people are game to be tagged. I am going to tag the folks at Precious Ways, TrioMommy and Umm Junayd… come on now, don’t let me down!

I found this book while book hunting in Singapore last March… Bear was a wee month-old baby and was fussing up a bit at the bookstore so I almost missed this treasure.

Beautifully written by Alice McLerran and illustrated by Eric Carle, The Mountain That Loved A Bird is a beautiful tale that made my daughter cry buckets! This book is good for kids 10 and above but if your preschooler enjoys a long story, then this is a keeper.

In this story, a lonely stone mountain lives in the middle of a desert. It is barren and thus, has never had company nor experienced anything beyond heat and cold. It has not much to see either – only the movement of the sun, the course of the moon and the stars when the skies were clear.

A small bird named Joy stops by one day. The mountain feels her sharp claws and her soft feathers and, overcome with amazement, asks her to stay. Unfortunately, Joy cannot comply – there is nothing that can sustain her there. However, she promises to make annual visits in spring and to name her daughter Joy, who in turn will name a daughter Joy and so on so that the mountain will always have a friend visiting once a year.

Ninety-nine springs come and go. Each time the separations become harder to endure. One day, unable to tolerate the loneliness, the mountain’s heart breaks. His tears are a stream which slowly but surely transform it and the land surrounding. Joy brings a seed and over time, the tears become tears of hope and happiness. Eventually, Joy brings not a seed, but a twig. Instead of her usual farewells, she tells the mountain that she has come to stay.

Eric Carle’s signature collages are simply superb! You will find that the pictures become wonderfully vibrant as the story progresses. There are other versions of this book that you can check out on the author’s site.

I am presently trying to develop a unit study on this book in collaboration with a few other homeschooling mums. Make du`aa that I complete it in shaa Allah, OK?

Offhand I can think of a few lesson ideas:

• friendship & loyalty
• keeping promises
• hope
• birds
• mountains
• climates
• water, streams etc.
• seeds
• colours

You can also read Eric Carle’s The Tiny Seed as an accompaniment.

Ms Muffet and I have a few all-time favourite books. Some are downright funny and others are just so touching they give you the warm fuzzies! Here are some books about the deep and tender relationship between parent and child that I would recommend.

Guess How Much I Love You ~ Good for babies and pre-schoolers
by Sam McBratney (illustrated by Anita Jeram)
I really love the heartwarming message and the beautiful pen-and-wash artwork. In this story, Little Nutbrown Hare prepares for bed and searches for the right words and descriptions to convey how much he loves his father. He says, for example, “This much!” stretching his arms as widely as he can and “I love you as high as I can hop!” However, Big Nutbrown Hare seems to outdo him at every turn! Finally, the little one says that he loves him “right up to the moon”. It seems he has won the competition of affection but once the young one is asleep, the father kisses him goodnight and says, “I love you right up to the moon and back.”

Love IS hard to measure but it is nice to try anyway!

The Runaway Bunny ~ Good for babies and pre-schoolers
by Margaret Wise Brown (illustrated by Clement Hurd)
Margaret Wise Brown is one of Ms Muffet’s favourites. My daughter was thrilled to be reminded of her other books – the bunny is very much like the characters in Goodnight Moon and My World. The picture of the mother fishing for her child in this book is the very same one on the wall of the room in Goodnight Moon.

In this delightful story, a young bunny toys with the idea of running away. To this, his loving mother says, “If you run away, I will run after you. For you are my little bunny.” What follows is an imaginary game. The little one thinks up of all sorts of scenarios – he becomes a fish in a stream, a crocus in a hidden garden and a trapeze artist, among others. His mother, not to be outdone, always thinks of the perfect solution to get him back. Finally, reassured of his mother’s enduring love, the bunny decides he should just stay and be her little bunny.

Anything For You ~ Good for babies and pre-schoolers
by John Wallace
Another lovely tale about unconditional love, with sweet illustrations and warm colours. Little Charlie has tried to be a helpful bear but has inadvertently made an even bigger mess of the garden, home and himself! (I am sure most parents can relate to this!) Asked to go into the tub, he declares to his mum, “I’d do anything for you!” He goes on to give many more examples of how he can prove his love such as climbing to a really tall tree and so on. So when his mum tells him to snuggle into bed and close his eyes to sleep, he holds to his promise and does so without a fuss. His mother kisses him and says that she too would do “anything” for him.