About the Book: This book by Eric Carle uses repetition to engage children. This story also teaches basic body parts from head to toe. Children love imitating animal sounds and actions. This book teaches them to listen and follow directions. This book also allows parents to discuss with their children that all parts of the body have a specific function/purpose and are a blessing from Allah.

Skills Practiced: Fine motor skills, communication, confidence, self-image, and appreciation for Allah’s blessings

Key Messages and Religious Formation:

• This book celebrates how wonderfully our bodies are made. It provides an opportunity to parets to tell children that all parts of the body have a specific function/purpose and are a blessing from Allah.  This can connect to the idea of gratitude for the body as a gift from  Allah.  

About the Book: This book focuses on the theme of “Allah the Creator.” The story describes various aspects of Allah’s creation, such as the lifecycle of a plant, and the importance of water and sunlight in the growth of living things. This book introduces children to the importance of caring for the environment.

Skills Practiced: Children hear rhymes and lyrics. They make connections with  Allah’s creation, blessings of Allah, self and nature, self as part of the world, bounty of nature, and  the purpose of everything in nature. They are  introduced to new vocabulary. They learn about the life cycle of a plant.  Their  visual sensory  skills  are enhanced as they explore the  beautiful illustrations.

Key Messages and Religious Formation:

• This  book beautifully connects the child with nature. This is important because your child has a relationship with nature/the environment. The earlier we foster this relationship, the better the chances of building character and learning about having good relationships with people and nature, as they are all Allah’s creation. This will also build an understanding of Allah’s attributes as kind, merciful, etc.

• How can you encourage participation of responsibility towards this relationship? e.g.watering a plant, gratitude, not wasting, recycling, helping family and community, etc..

• Celebrate this learning and bonding between your and your child with a hug as you prepare to transition to activities.

About the Book: Even babies can be kind, and for the youngest of children, Jane Cowen- Fletcher’s endearing artwork makes the possibilities ever so appealing. What are some easy ways to be kind? Greet to your friend. Be nice to your puppy. If you see someone fall down, maybe you can help him/her up! How about sharing your cookies or crackers or giving a tired someone a ride in your little wagon? From taking turns to saying you’re sorry, to trying not to be angry, to giving a big hug, these simplest of gestures rendered in Jane Cowen-Fletcher’s adorable style show that being kind feels so good that even a baby will want to try it.

Skills Practiced: Children understand how others feel, learn gentle and caring behaviors, and recognize opportunities to assist. They also begin to learn the concept of sharing and taking turns.

Key Messages and Religious Formation:

• There are many ways to show kindness: taking turns, saying sorry, sharing toys, giving a hug, forgiving. There are many examples from Prophet Muhammad’s life from which we can learn about kindness and empathy. The example of the Prophet continues in our present Imam who works tirelessly to improve the quality of life of the Jamat.

• At this age, children learn from observing their environment and the people around them. Parents can set an example by talking kindly and displaying kindness not only to their children but everyone they interact with.

About the Book: This board book is playful and imaginative focusing on unconditional love. The drawings and delightful verse remind children that their moms and dads, aunts and uncles, grandparents and close friends love them no matter how busy they are or where they live.

Skills Practiced: Children will learn  bonding and trust in relationships with their families  all the time, near, far, day, night. They will experience feelings and different expressions of love

Key Messages and Religious Formation:

• This fosters a lifelong connection and love for the Imam. 

• As your child sees you express your  love for the Imam, they slowly internalize that the Imam will always love them even when he is not physically there. 

• They learn that they  can love the Imam all the time as well, just like their parents.   

• You  can connect this with the love of the Imam. The Imam’s love is always with us no matter where we are. We reciprocate this love by loving the Imam all the time.

About the Book: Well-chosen words and beautiful images celebrate the birth of a baby. The birth of the baby causes celebration throughout creation, dancing polar bears, glowing moon, shining stars, whispering wind against a blue enchanting sky. This book brings together the relationship of the child as a gift to be celebrated, at the same time, making connections to the child’s existence with relationship to nature and all the beautiful creations from Allah.

Skills Practiced: Language development, visual exposure to nature, curiosity, auditory attention, text recognition, anticipating storytelling, bonding, love and trust with the parent.

Key Messages and Religious Formation:

• This book introduces the wonders of Allah in nature to your child. It also emphasizes the connection of the child with nature. Looking and reflecting upon nature will serve as an artistic inspiration for your child. Encourage your child to look at wonders all around us - up in the sky and down on the ground. Allah’s creation is all around us. Just like us, there is nature, which is beautiful to look at and engage with.

About the Book: Panda, Sheep, and Owl may be different, but that's what makes playing together so much fun. Whether they're pretending to create ice-cream masterpieces or bravely confronting puddles, these three best friends know just how to make everyday things extraordinary. They learn the ethic of sharing, when two of the three friends have something and decide to share with the third.

Skills Practiced: Language development, visual exposure to nature, curiosity, auditory attention, text recognition, anticipating storytelling, bonding, love and trust with the parent. Develop trusting relationships, self-concept, and love for Prophet Muhammad and Ali

Key Messages and Religious Formation:

• This book offers a great connection in order to experience the relationship shared between Hazrat Ali and Nabi Muhammad. Allude to that relationship as you read. Tell the children that not only were Ali and Muhammad first cousins, they were also great friends and supporters of each other. Just like Harun and Musa, who were brothers but they also shared a deeper bond of friendship. Explain to the children that friendships can be created with anyone you feel a connection with, parents, siblings, classmates etc.

• Discuss what good friends do. They love and help each other, they stick with each other through happy times and difficult times. Just like Muhammad and Ali. They were close friends

About the Book: This is a traditional lift-the-flap book that children will love to read over and over again. Spot didn't eat his dinner so his mother searches for him around the house. She finds different animals and asks them if they have seen her pup. She continues with her search until a tortoise tells her where to look for Spot

Skills Practiced: Children learn the concept of search. They learn new vocabulary words such as in, out, over, under, etc. Fine motor skills, bonding and trust, and vocabulary. As the child learns to anticipate the next part of the story, it  builds curiosity. The concept of Object permanence is being reinforced. 

Key Messages and Religious Formation:

• As the child sees his mother looking for the dog in the story, and also helps her to find him, it builds trust in their relationship. 

• The child internalizes that the parent will always look after him. This trust extends to other relationships in the child’s life as well. Trustworthy relationships with parents and children translate and extend into trust in Hazar Imam and Allah as well.

• Playing hide and seek games and reading the book, reinforces the object permanence as well as prepares the child for the future quest of experiencing the presence of Allah even if we do not see him.

About the Book: In this delightful novelty peep book, small children are invited to look through the holes on every other page to answer the repeating refrain, 'Who's coming to see how my garden grows?' The energetic, rhyming text introduces all sorts of creatures that are busy foraging and frolicking in the garden. 

Skills Practiced: Children hear rhyming text and enhance their vocabulary by learning the names of several creatures and vegetation that grows in the  garden. They learn to focus and build their visual discrimination skills.

Key Messages and Religious Formation:

• This book focuses on the theme, “Allah the Creator.” The story describes various aspects of Allah’s creation, such as animals and plants, and the importance of how unique each one is. 

• This book may also be used by parents to introduce children to the importance of caring for the environment.