| The basic ideas, customs, and attitudes of this holiday are introduced to young children with most of the appropriate vocabulary and pronunciation guides. Photographs show a nice cultural variety of Muslims, from Arabic to Indian and Indonesian. The book says that at the end of Ramadan, "Muslims have a three-day celebration." Since that celebration is a major part of the holiday and easy to pronounce (EED), its omission is a significant flaw. Another cause for concern is the photograph accompanying the suggestion that all-day fasting is to difficult for some people. Among all the beautiful variety of Muslims world-wide, the picture of apparently African-American children eating cotton candy implies that they are the ones who cannot "keep a promise" to fast. But even with these flaws, this may be the best introduction currently available. |