Aliya’s Secret: A Story of Ramadan

Reviewed by Paul Buckley

December 1, 2024

By Farida Zaman. Owlkids Books, 2023. 36 pages. $18.95/hardcover. Recommended for ages 4–7.

Do you know what Ramadan is? Perhaps you have heard it’s a special time for Muslims.

Before I read this book, all I knew was that Ramadan is a month of fasting—no food or drink from sunrise to sunset—but exactly why and what that means to a believer was a little bit hazy. In this book, I met a young Muslim girl who also wonders why.

On the day before Ramadan, Aliya asks her father, “Why do you fast during Ramadan?” He answers, “It helps me understand how people feel when they’re hungry. . . . It reminds me to be thankful for the things I have.”

Aliya desperately wants to join her parents in their daily fast, but she is told she is too young. Not satisfied with that answer, she secretly tries, but finds she can’t even make it through the first day. She succeeds in hiding her secret from her friends throughout the school day, but she is too young and her stomach is too needy. Late in the afternoon, while helping her mother prepare Iftar, the meal eaten after sunset to break the fast each day, she unthinkingly takes a bite of baklava. “OH, NOOOO!” Aliya cries. “I ate—and I wasn’t supposed to!”

Her secret revealed, she (and the reader) is kindly guided to see there are other ways to observe the holiest month of the Muslim year—ways better suited for a child.

This is a gentle book. It teaches subtly, without being clunky or didactic. We are blessed to have Aliya’s parents as our teachers. In addition to the story, an author’s note and glossary are provided for those who want additional information.

In addition to writing the story, Farida Zaman illustrated the book with colorful pictures in an unpretentious style that opens up Aliya’s world to us. Her home is a blend of the familiar, highlighted with the elements that evoke Muslim culture. The scenes at her school introduce friends from a variety of backgrounds and with details that will make it familiar to young readers, such as the unicorn on Aliya’s lunchbox.

Aliya’s Secret is a delight. It will create an opportunity for an adult to initiate conversation on a significant aspect of Muslim belief—either one-on-one or in a group. I highly recommend this book. You will enjoy it.

Paul Buckley has written numerous articles and books on Quaker history, faith, and practice. He worships with Clear Creek Meeting in Richmond, Ind., and travels in the ministry urging spiritual renewal among Friends. His most recent publication is the Pendle Hill pamphlet Quaker Testimony: What We Witness to the World.