Is it Ramadan, Curious George? International Muslims read children’s books depicting Islam

Beck, Scott; Bodur, Yasar; Salhi, Youssef

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/130620 Copy

Description

Title

Is it Ramadan, Curious George? International Muslims read children’s books depicting Islam

Author(s)

• Beck, Scott
• Bodur, Yasar
• Salhi, Youssef

Issue Date

2025-05-06

Keyword(s)

• Islam
• Muslim
• Reader Response
• International
• Children’s Picture Storybooks
• Stereotypes
• Counter-Narratives

Abstract

This study examines mixed methods data from thirty-five Muslim teachers from twenty countries regarding ten popular children’s books depicting Islam and Muslim cultures and communities. The reader-participants had a keen eye for stereotypes and praised anti-bias counter-narratives. Authorial authenticity was found to be especially valuable as non-Muslims generally created the most criticized books. Finally, since there are different interpretations of Islam and cultural diversity among Muslims, no single book was found complete and beyond critique. As with all children’s books, these books need to be read in complementary groups with attention to addressing and compensating for the weaknesses of each book.

Series/Report Name or Number

Research on Diversity in Youth Literature, volume 6 issue 2

Type of Resource

text

Genre of Resource

Articles

Language

eng

Handle URL

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/130620

DOI

10.21900/j.rydl.v6i2.1461

Copyright and License Information

• Copyright 2025 Scott Beck, Yasar Bodur, Youssef Salhi
• This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0).

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