Primary Books

An Early Literacy Reading List featuring Islamic Books by Sister Mariam Ali is also included:


SOME RECOMMENDED RESOURCES

The following list of books is not intended to be comprehensive. They are a sampling of what is available and is well worth using with children and purchasing for use in the classroom/school Dr. Freda Shamma’s guidelines regarding non-Islamic themes were used when selecting books for this booklist.

WORDLESS PICTURE BOOKS: (ROLE PLAY READERS)

These books are excellent for early readiness in that they “read” the pictures to retell the story in their own words.

Select any picturebook. Cover the text, and ask the child to tell you the story by analyzing what they see in the pictures.

BIG BOOKS:

These books are excellent when used to introduce children to a new story. They are large and the child can easily see the pictures and print. They can be placed on an easel and be used to select words, letters, punctuation, main ideas, events, etc. by the students.

Ives, Penny. Five Little Ducks. Swindon, Australia, Child’s Play, 2002.

VanderWeide, Donna. It Must Be a Bird. AIMS Education Foundation, 2004.

PICTURE BOOKS FROM SONGS, CHANTS, FINGERPLAYS: (ROLE PLAY READERS / EMERGENT READERS)

These books mark the transition from known songs, chants, and fingerplays into print. The children already know the words, or can very easily learn the words, and thus can bridge the movement from oral to written text using the pictures as clues for when to turn the pages.

Al-Amin, Hediyah. Owl and the Dawn Prayer. New Delhi, Goodword Kidz, 2004. (fun to repeat the sequence)

Messaoudi, Michele. My Mum is a Wonder. Leicester, Islamic Foundation, 1999. (rhyming words at the end of sentences)

Kezzeiz, Ediba. When I Grow Up. Indianapolis, American Trust Publications. 1991. (2 part repetition)


PATTERN BOOKS (ROLE PLAY READERS / EMERGENT READERS)

These books encourage participation in reading by having predictable wording in sentences or phrases. The children feel empowered to read, and will be successful in read alouds and then can “read them by themselves”.

Abdullah, Noorah Kathryn. What do We Say…(A Guide to Islamic Manners). Leicester. The Islamic Foundation, 1996.

Ghani, Aisha. I Can Pray Anywhere. Leicestershire, UK., The Islamic Foundation, 2004.

Ibrahim, Yasmin. I Can Read the Qur’an Anywhere! Leicestershire, UK., The Islamic Foundation, 2004.

Ibrahim, Yasmin. I Can Wear Hijab Anywhere! Leicestershire, UK., The Islamic Foundation, 2004.

Ed. Philips, Bilal and Abdallah, K. Come and See. Sharjah, UAE., Dar Al Fatah. 1999.

Ed. Philips, Bilal and Abdallah, K. I Like. Sharjah, UAE., Dar Al Fatah. 1999.

Ed. Philips, Bilal and Abdallah, K. We Can Do. Sharjah, UAE., Dar Al Fatah. 1999.

Ed. Philips, Bilal and Abdallah, K. Can You See. Sharjah, UAE., Dar Al Fatah. 1998.

Ed. Philips, Bilal and Abdallah, K. See. Sharjah, UAE., Dar Al Fatah. 1999.

ALPHABET BOOKS (ROLE PLAY READERS / EMERGENT READERS)

Awareness of the alphabet letters is important. Children first become acquainted with the alphabet through the alphabet song, and learn the letters in sequence. These books focus the child on the letters, shapes and names of the individual letters.

Booth (?) Chicka-Chicka Boom-Boom

Ed. Ali, Mariam. Islamic Contributions Alphabet. Brampton, Al-Iman School. 2011.

The Jolly Phonics program is excellent. It teaches the alphabet letters in an order that allows the children to create words quickly after being introduced to only 3 or 4 letters. For every alphabet, there is a story, a sound and an action. It appeals to auditory, visual and kinesetic learners, and leads the children to success in decoding and encoding words.


GREAT PICTUREBOOKS FOR ALL READERS:

Children should be read quality books daily. Picturebooks with advanced vocabulary can be orally introduced to children before the children can independently read them. The books should have things children can identify with, and should leave an impact on the listener. The impact may be humour, emotional connections, surprise, or wonder. Where appropriate, Caldecott Award winning b ooks should also be presented to children for their quality of illustrations.

Addullah, Musa. Allah ar Rahman ar Rahim. Singapore, Muslim Converts’ Association of Singapore, n.d.

(poem form – rhyming words – children may predict)

Brett, Jan. The Hat. New York, Scholastic. 1998. (artistic techniques, sequence clues, characterization)

Concover, S.& Crane, Freda. Ayat Jamilah – Beautiful Signs. Eastern Washington University Press, 2004. (THIS IS A MUST PURCHASE BOOK!)

Dawood, Zaynab. Our Grandma. Leicester, Islamic Foundation, 2006.

Ghazi, Dr. Abidullah. Grandfather’s Orchard. Chicago, IQRA, 1993.

Kezzeia, Ediba. Grandma’s Garden. Indianapolis, American Trust Publications, 1991.

Wasfi, Ehab. The Man and the Lion. Cairo, Safeer, n.d. (directed guided reading.


EASY TO READ BOOKS (EMERGENT READERS)

Children should meet success in their reading. Easy to Read Books are ones that the beginning reader can actually read. A steady diet of these books would not be a good thing in a reading program because of the limitations in vocabulary, and the limited richness of sentence structure, plot and character development.

Ed. Philips, Bilal and Abdallah, K. The Tent. Sharjah, UAE., Dar Al Fatah. 1998.

Alta, C. Allah Created Everything. Seattle, Amica Publishing House, 1994.


NON-FICTION BOOKS (ROLE PLAY READERS / EMERGENT READERS / FLUENT READERS)

Children should be exposed to a wide range of non-fiction as well as fiction. Research has shown than non-readers, or children not interested in books, can often be encouraged thought the use of non-fiction books.

Bailey, Lydia. Animals at Risk. Markham, Scholastic, 1993 (Stewardship of the earth)

Rahman, Vinni. Allah and Me – Learning to Live Allah’s Way. New Delhi, Goodword, 2009

Robinson, Fay. Mighty Spiders. Markham, Scholastic, 1996.

Sherrow, Victoria. Chipmunk at Hollow Tree Lane. Norwalk, Connecticut. Smithsonian’s Background., 1994.

Schartz, David. In the Forest. Cypress, California, Creative Teaching press, Inc., 1997.

Switzer , Merebeth. Chipmunks. – Getting to Know…Nature’s Children. Toronto, Grolier 1985.

Wilson-Max, Ken. Big Blue Engine, Markham, Scholastic, 1995.(Interconnection with others)

Wolves. New York, Golden Books Publishing Company, 1999.

EXTENDING THE LITERACY EXPERIENCE:

The storytelling experience is a rich experience in itself, but it can be made more meaningful by extending it into other areas. The following are some techniques that vary the literary experience and increase interest in the program for both the child and the adult. These techniques vary in the amount of interaction expected from the child, and the amount of hands-on experiences. Some of them are the following:

OTHER WAYS OF PRESENTING THE STORY:

  • Fingerpuppets

  • Hand puppets

  • Felt story board stories

  • Big books’

  • Books with moving parts, foldouts, magnetic parts

  • Toys and puzzles that match the story i.e. Franklin

  • Story book video

  • Story book audio tapes

  • Storybook CDs or , computer programs with the main characters from the stories read – i.e. Dr. Seuss- the Lorax


RESPONSES TO THE STORY:

  • Stories created by the children based on patterns from the story

  • Retelling of stories, made into chart stories, or picture books

  • Children’s own imaginative writing

  • Pictures made by the children based on the stories read, with a sentence about their picture.


REFERENCE:

Hamaguchi, Carla. K-3 Guided Reading. Huntington Beach, California, Creative Teaching Press, 2002.

K-1 Daily Journal Prompts. Greensboro, N.C., Mailbox, 2008

Lloyd, Sue. Jolly Phonics Program. Essex, Jolly Learning Ltd. (This needs to be modified – dogs, pigs, birthday cakes, etc….)


Mariam Ali, ECE, BA, M.Ed.