mosques

A Ramadan Night by Nadine Presley – Book Recommendation

| Tasha
Cover image for A Ramadan Night by Nadine Presley, illustrated by Asma Enayeh. Features a boy wearing a prayer hat with his eyes closed in front of a sky of stars and a large crescent moon.

A Ramadan Night by Nadine Presley, illustrated by Asma Enayeh

  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster
  • Publication Date: January 27, 2026
  • Reviewed from copy provided by publisher
  • ISBN: 9781665969338

Join a boy and his father at the beginning of Ramadan as they explore the sensory parts that make up a Ramadan night. The two of them walk to the mosque together in Damascus. They see the lights of the moon and stars above them. Their steps join those of many others as they walk hand in hand. The mosque is filled with laughter and warmth as they ready themselves for prayer. They bow under the mosaic ceiling and the scent of the mosque meets Sami’s nose. The evening ends with food to fill their empty bellies. Then they return home and Sami knows he’s found what makes a Ramadan night special.

Presley uses all the senses to evoke a night in Syria. Readers will feel part of the setting as the streets are explored, the mosque visited and community built. Her writing is rich and descriptive. She lets the elements in the setting tell their story with poetic language. Eneyeh’s illustrations are simple and bold. They share the beauty of Damascus and the community built around Ramadan. Both author and illustrator have lived in Syria and based the book on their memory of Ramadan in the city.

An inviting and richly told story of Ramadan. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

In My Mosque by M. O. Yuksel

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In My Mosque by M. O. Yuksel, illustrated by Hatem Aly (9780062978707)

Join children as they welcome you to their mosque. They show you how they worship, how their communities act, and demonstrate that everyone is welcome to enter and attend. A diverse range of children show how they take off their shoes when they enter, how the elders greet the children, how they help to set up the prayer rugs. In some communities the muezzin’s call brings them to prayer while in others the imam shares stories of living as one. Throughout, the focus is on a shared community, of loving and caring for one another, of helping the larger community. Clear connections are also drawn to other faiths and how similar Muslim beliefs are.

Yuksel writes with a joyous tone, welcoming children to explore and ask questions about the Muslim faith. The book combines straight forward explanations with imagery that really show how the children feel about their mosques. The imagery is lovely: “aunties’ hijabs sway like a sea of flowers as we move through our prayers” and “we line our shows in rows, like colorful beads.” All of the metaphors are approachable, offering a deeper understanding.

Aly’s illustrations are bright and friendly. They show a diverse array of children attending the mosques, including children of a wide age range. The backgrounds of the images are also filled with children and their families. Aly does a great job of including a wide array of mosques from around the world, transitioning between them in a way that makes it clear they are different spaces and countries.

A welcoming and warm look at mosques and the Muslim faith. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by HarperCollins.