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Albert Camus

Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.

Saturday, March 8, 2014

Review: My Friend Suhana: A Story of Friendship and Cerebral Palsy by Shaila M. Abdullah, Aanyah Abdullah

REVIEW:

My friend Suhana is like no other girl I know.

Clearly, I don't have any kind of experience in reviewing books for small children, but I do have the experience obtained by raising two. I know what draws them to books and I know that the message and the way in which it's given, both visually and textually, are very important. Having in view that the images and the text (written in a way that small children can understand and without aggressive propaganda) work harmoniously together, I think that the story of Suhanna will capture the attention of the children.

Regarding the message, it will bring you, as an adult, if not to dash away a tear, then at least to compassion. If it won't, it means that somewhere in your past your parents omitted to read to you a book like Suhanna.

So, if you have small children, with Suhana's story you can open their hearts and teach them something important: how to be human and what it means to be a friend.

To Suhana, I gift all the PINK flowers.

Description:
A simple tale of love and friendship to warm your heart. Award-winning author and designer Shaila Abdullah teams up with her 10-year-old daughter Aanyah to bring you this heartwarming tale of a little girl who forms a close bond with a child with cerebral palsy.

About the author(s)
Shaila Abdullah is an author and designer based in Austin, Texas. She is the author of two award-winning books: Saffron Dreams and Beyond the Cayenne Wall. The author has received several awards for her work including the Golden Quill Award, Norumbega Jury Prize for Outstanding Fiction, Patras Bukhari Award for English Language, Reader Views Award, Written Art Award, and a grant from Hobson Foundation. 

My Friend Suhana is Shaila’s first children’s book. In her free time, Shaila loves to run around with her children–Aanyah and Aaliyana. Aanyah Abdullah is a creative and compassionate 10-year-old, who is drawn to children born with physical and mental disabilities. When she was in second grade, Aanyah along with her mother Shaila, started volunteering out at a local community center where they helped assist special needs children. Later Aanyah wrote an essay about her friendship with a girl in the class who had cerebral palsy. That essay is the inspiration behind My Friend Suhana. Aanyah dreams of establishing a special school for children with disabilities one day. She is known to always stand up for what is right and is-–in her parents’ and teachers’ eyes––a perfect role model for her baby sister.


Prize: $25 Amazon Gift Card or PayPal cash (winner’s choice) Contest ends: April 2, 11:59 pm, 2014 Open: Internationally How to enter: Please enter using the Rafflecopter widget below. Terms and Conditions: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. A winner will be randomly drawn through the Rafflecopter widget and will be contacted by email within 48 hours after the giveaway ends. The winner will then have 72 hours to respond. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, a new draw will take place for a new winner. Odds of winning will vary depending on the number of eligible entries received. This contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook. This giveaway is sponsored by the author, Shaila Abdullah & Loving Healing Press and is hosted and managed by Renee from Mother Daughter Book Reviews. If you have any additional questions – feel free to send and email to Renee(at)MotherDaughterBookReviews(dot)com. a Rafflecopter giveaway

1 comment:

Renee C. said...

Thanks so much for joining us in the My Friend Suhana Blog Tour and for sharing the book with your followers. There really are so few books like this out there - really teaching compassion.