The Proudest Blue

The Proudest Blue
by  Ibtihaj Muhammad (Author), S. K. Ali Hatem Aly (Illustrator)

Summary
It is the first day of school and the first day of wearing Hijab for Asiya. Asiya's hijab is a beautiful ocean blue, but not everyone thinks it is beautiful or understands whey she wears it. The two sisters in the story learn ways to be strong and be proud of who they as other students say hurtful things about the hijab. 

Personal Reflection
This story would be a great addition to a multicultural library as it presents themes of cultural strength and acceptance. It is natural to be curious about other cultures. This book presents students with empathy as they see the hurt that can be caused by making fun of someone's culture. 

Literary Elements
Imagery is used throughout the pages of the text as the two sisters describe the feeling of the first day of wearing hijab. Personification is used to depict the 'hijab smiling' to support the text of the pride of wearing the hijab. Language throughout the text is age appropriate and suitable for the genre of a realistic fictional children's picture book. 

Illustrations
The most impactful element in the illustrations is the lack detail drawn for the bullies that make fun of the hijab. This aligns with the words in the texts and supports the mean that what the bullies say do not matter and do no define the sisters. The lack of detail would allow instructors to open a discussion for students as to why they think the artist did not give the characters faces. Artists use color-or lack of it- to express character, mood, and emotion (Galda, 2017). The illustrations of the sisters walking to school support the genre of realistic fiction. The cartoon images portray characters and settings that could be seen in real life. 

Activity
Students will use text evidence to provide support for character traits of the two sisters. Character traits in the story are not explicitly stated in the book, so students will infer the traits based on the characters actions and words. Students will demonstrate this knowledge by first listing adjectives that describe the physical appearance of the character and then listing the character traits that cannot physically be seen. This will connect students to the concept of character traits and further understanding of character development within the text. 

More Works by the Author



References

Galda, L., Liang, L. A., & Cullinan, B. E. (2017). Literature and the Child (9th ed., p. 71 ). Cengage Learning


Muhammad, I. (2019). The Proudest Blue: A Story of Hijab and Family. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.


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