Told from Omar's point of view, the playful text is bolstered with illustrations throughout that show off his creativity and imagination. When Omar and Daniel are thrown together into a scary situation, the boys learn more about each other and realize that maybe they don't have to be enemies. Daniel even goes as far as saying that all Muslims will be kicked out of the country. But Omar and Charlie become the target of a bully, Daniel, who seems to dislike Omar for no other reason than he is Muslim.

Luckily for Omar, he has a great teacher and makes a new friend, Charlie, right away. Omar is nervous because he thinks he will stand out as the new kid and because he is Muslim. Gr 3-6-When Omar's family moves to a new house, that means the 10-year-old must start the year at a new school. (Feb.) Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission. Yet the dominant tone of wildly imaginative Omar's free-association narrative, laced with expressive hand lettering and Mafaridik's playfully exaggerated line art, remains chipper and uplifting. You better go back to your country before we kick you all out' (Daniel adjusts his attitude and Omar learns the genesis of Daniel's bitterness).

Mian also credibly integrates Omar's hurtful experiences with prejudice, as when Daniel tells the boy that 'the worst thing about you' is 'You're Muslim. His narrative incidentally relays-with readers and with his new friend, Charlie-the prayers his family says daily fasting, feasting, and other rituals of Ramadan and his scientist mother's commitment to wearing hijab. as The Muslims, Mian's middle grade debut features some stock elements: after his family moves, Omar fears he won't make friends at his new school and that his teacher will be a space alien, is vexed that he's targeted by bully Daniel, and gets frustrated that his teenage sister has become a 'snitch.' In Omar's daily life and close-knit Muslim family, religion plays a focal role. By Grade + Interest - K to 1st By Grade + Interest - 2nd to 3rd By Grade + Interest - 4th to 5th

Accidental Trouble Magnet by Zanib Mian