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Publishing giant Simon & Schuster will now release Muslim-themed children's books

Publishing giant Simon & Schuster will now release Muslim-themed children's books

Salaam Reads, which has acquired 4 books for 2017, is likely to fuel the discussion about diversity in children’s books
25 Feb, 2016

As a child, Pakistani-American Zareen Jaffery saw a dearth of Muslim characters in mainstream children’s literature.

Talking to the New York Times, she says, "I remember looking at books to try to figure out, ‘What does it mean to be American? Am I doing this right? The truth is, I didn’t see myself reflected in books back then.”

And things haven't changed much since she was young. However, what has changed is that Zareen now has the power to do something about it as an executive editor of Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers and she's doing just that.

Zareen is the head of a new children's imprint called Salaam Reads, which will focus on publishing books featuring Muslim characters and their stories and will release nine or more books a year, ranging from picture books to middle grade and young adult titles.

The 37-year-old felt the lack of relatable Muslim characters even more when she began reading books with her young nieces and nephews: “It was hard not to notice that none of those books really reflected their experience,” she told the Times.

The creation of the imprint is likely to fuel the discussion about diversity in the publishing world and comes at a time when American Muslims are starting to feel isolated and targeted. It must be noted that the books won’t emphasize Islamic ideology or doctrines but will chronicle the experience of being a Muslim.

So far, Salaam Reads has acquired four books that will come out in 2017, including 'Salam Alaikum,' a picture book based on a song by the British teen pop singer Harris J. Others planned for release are 'Musa, Moises, Mo and Kevin,' a picture book about four kindergarten friends who learn from each other's holiday traditions; 'The Gauntlet of Blood and Sand' by Karuna Riazi, about a 12-year-old Bangladeshi-American who sets out to save her brother from a supernatural board game, and 'Yo Soy Muslim,' a picture book by the poet Mark Gonzales.

As support for the decision poured in on social media Jaffery took to Twitter to thank everyone for standing behind the initiative.

Comments

Thoroughthinker Feb 25, 2016 03:41pm
Good initiative! But, Muslim characters in storybooks for children were ever there. Look at the stories of Aladdin and his magic lamp. Then there is an omnipresent character of Alibaba, to start with. Besides, the famous "One Thousand and One Nights" or Arabian Nights and their Muslim characters in stories, cannot be ever overlooked.
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John Feb 25, 2016 03:48pm
When you choose to live in US why do you have to carry Pakistan with you?
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Neutral Observer Feb 25, 2016 04:01pm
@Thoroughthinker - great point.
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jadoo Feb 25, 2016 04:20pm
@John John, she carries Pakistan with her just as Irish or Italians carry their stories including St Patrick's day and Santa Barbara.
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Zubaida khan Feb 25, 2016 04:30pm
@John why not ask the same question to the Irish, Italians, latinos, Chinese, Polish, Dutch, Germans, and whole mess of people?
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Tamilselvan Feb 25, 2016 04:39pm
@John what's wrong with it? Trump carries German heritage , Marco and Ted Cruz carry their Cuban roots. Mr. Obama carries his Keneyan root, African Americans, Chinese, Japanese, Hispanics, and everyone else carry it. The first generation will carry and there is there anything wrong with it?
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GHRaza Feb 25, 2016 06:05pm
@Zubaida khan, all those groups can be proud of their countries of origin.
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Aamer Feb 25, 2016 06:32pm
@John Hi John, people are different Chinese, Japanese, Maxican or Indian they all have their own customs and cultures, but its not about taking sides or provng one nation is better than the other but its about building bridges between different nations and cultures.
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Truth Feb 25, 2016 07:47pm
@John - you chose best of both world!
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Lahori Feb 25, 2016 08:10pm
@Thoroughthinker True but those characters were just a caricature of real world majority of Muslims.
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Shaan Johri Feb 25, 2016 10:28pm
We really need the voice. My wife and I have a children's book published through another publisher, but Simon and Schuster would be an amazing publisher to be with. Like to our book is: www.thesnackcart.com
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Shaan Johri Feb 25, 2016 10:33pm
@John from the perspective of a Pakistani-American... On one hand, it is very important to remember your roots, being Pakistani, Italian, Jewish or African American. On the other hand, due to politics domestic and foreign, it is equally important to not hide under a mask, but show our fellow Americans that Pakistani-Americans, Muslim-Americans and minorities in general have a deep and diverse culture that is to be celebrated, not feared. If we cannot do this, then we are going backwards in time, and not progressing. I don't want my children to live in a stigmatized culture, so we must share who we are now. That is part of the melting pot, and the assimilation into American culture... being accepted for who we are.
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Mustafa Feb 26, 2016 12:05am
@John Why are against Pakistan or any pluralistic approach?
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bechari-awam Feb 26, 2016 12:52am
@John Please visit California sometime and you will see what US heritage means. I have yet to find a major city or road name that is not Spanish ;)
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Noble Feb 26, 2016 02:45am
@John why not....Cubans carry cuba, Mexican carry Maxico with them. Russians carry Russia.
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Feb 26, 2016 04:04am
@John I'm going to assume that you're of European descent....why wouldn't she be allowed to carry her culture with her as you carry yours? white people here get pretty defensive about being 80% British, 3% German, 11% Scandinavian, etc. as they struggle to hold onto what little ethnic background they have left. European holidays (from the irish for example) are cared about here a great deal and last time I checked the U.S. is not Ireland. It'd be great if you tried to look at things with a more open mind rather than having white-washed double standards.
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John Feb 26, 2016 05:36am
@bechari-awam That's because California was a part of Mexico before it became part of US, probably you did not know that. Starting from missions to all the San xxx towns and El Camino Real were constructed by Spanish. The irish, Germans etc. do not display their heritage every day.
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John Feb 26, 2016 12:50pm
@bechari-awam Please educate yourself - today's California was part of Mexico before it became part of US. All San xxx cities and Missions were set up by the Spanish. What you call Hyw 101 was called El Camino Real.
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