We love our books in this household. My daughter calls herself a “book piggy” and my son is showing the same tendency. They both routinely bring me books to read and both really prefer to be read to during meals. And when we FaceTime or Skype with family, they always request books. My mom goes to the library weekly to get new kid books to read over the ipad!
So it is no surprise that I use books to teach about new subjects or prepare them for new experiences. We’ve been reading a lot of books that take place in Egypt or are about Islam or have characters who are Muslim. Here is the first round of favorite books. All links are affiliate links, which doesn’t cost you anything but Amazon pays me a small portion if you buy through them.
Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns: A Muslim Book About Colors
Lovely, lyrical rhyming book that combines colors with various objects or beliefs in Islam. For example, red relates to the color of the rug the girl’s father uses to pray while facing towards Mecca. Beautiful illustrations.
Follows a little girl in Mauritania who desperately wants to wear a malafa (the local version of a female Muslim scarf/body covering) like her mother and big sister and learns about the reason why they wear it along the way. Lovely message about Islam.
The Tiny Traveler: Egypt: A Book of Shapes
A simple board book for the smaller set, each page has a picture of something Egyptian and a related shape. For example, they show the pyramid and talk about the sides being triangles.
Skippyjon Jones in Mummy Trouble
We love all Skippyjon Jones books about a cat who thinks he’s a Chihuahua and goes on all sorts of imaginary adventures in his closet. This one takes him to Ancient Egypt and the land of the mummies. Very silly and not very factual, but it introduces things like pyramids, mummies, and the Sphinx in a fun way.
Rhyming, lyrical, repetitive book about a trip down the Nile and the different sites they’ll see. Introduces different places and famous sites, like the Valley of the Kings and Cairo, without going in depth. Colorful pictures and a nice map at the end.
Bill and Pete Go Down the Nile
Join a crocodile and his toothbrush bird friend as they take a school field trip down the Nile and save the day when a crook tries to steal a famous museum artifact. Very silly, but cute story that my daughter loves.
Nonfiction book all about Mummies and not just the ones in Egypt. Learn about the mummy making process, where in the world mummies exist, and who are the most famous mummies.
Another great DK Eyewitness book, this time all about pyramids around the world. While the focus is on the pyramids of Egypt, they also discuss Aztec and Mayan pyramids.
Carrie Reed Travels 