Night of the Moon
Presented by Taylor Eads EDEL 411 Section D
Khan, H. (2008). Night of the Moon. San Francisco: Chronicle Books.
Information About the Book
Author: Hena Khan
Illustrator: Julie Paschkis
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Topic/Theme: Holiday, Religion and Thankfulness
Awards:
- A Parent's Choice Approved Book
- 2009 Booklist Top 10 Religion Book for Youth
About the Author
Henna Khan is a Pakistani-American who was born and raised in Maryland. She is a children's author who enjoys sharing and writing about her culture and religion. Henna is also fairly obsessed with Spain, pottery, food, flamenco and good coffee. She also enjoys spending her time writing and editing for international organizations that work to improve the health and lives of people around the world.
Website: http://www.henakhan.com/
About the Illustrator
Julie Paschkis was born in 1957 outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her parents always encouraged her to read, draw and play outside. Julie also attended Germantown Friends School, Ringerike Folkehogskole in Norway, Cornell University and the School for American Craftsmen at RIT where she received her BFA. She is a painter and also the illustrator of numerous books since 1993. She currently lives in Seattle with her husband.
Website: http://www.juliepaschkis.com/
Hena Khan
This is a picture of the author, Hena Khan.
Illustration from the book
This is one of the many illustrations from the book. Julie Paschkis, the illustrator, was inspired by the beautiful and colorful patterns in Islamic tiles when creating the illustrations for this book.
Julie Paschkis
This is a picture of the illustrator, Julie Paschkis.
Criteria for High Quality Multicultural Literature
- Language should reflect distinctive vocabulary, style, and patterns of speech of the cultural group. This book is a great representation of the Muslim culture. It is full of vocabulary from the Arabic language. There is even a glossary at the back of the book that lists the vocabulary words along with their definitions.
- Themes should be consistent with the values, beliefs, customs, traditions, and conflicts of the specific cultural group. The subject of the book is Ramadan, a Muslim holiday that occurs every year. Throughout the book, the main character, Yasmeen, describes each event of Ramadan and the importance that the event has during Ramadan. The accurate description of Ramadan is consistent with the values, beliefs, customs and traditions of the Muslim culture.
- Physical characteristics of a people of a diverse culture should replicate natural appearance and avoid stereotypes. The illustrations included in the book are very realistic. Each character wears clothing that is indicative of many Muslim individuals. However, the skin color depicted in the illustrations is not the same which is a great portrayal of the Muslim culture because individuals in the culture come from all over the world, not just one specific area. By having the characters be different skin colors, the book is avoiding the stereotype that all Muslim people look the same way.
Night of the Moon Lesson Idea
Grade Level: Kindergarten
CCSS RL.K.3 With prompting and support, identify characters, settings, and major events in a story.
The students will be able to identify the characters, settings and major events in Night of the Moon: A Muslim Holiday Story.
Lesson Procedure
- The lesson will begin with the teacher showing the class a picture of the moon. The teacher will ask the class if they have ever stargazed and seen the different phases of the moon. The teacher will show students the many different phases of the moon.
- The teacher will share with the students that as the story is read, they will notice all of the different phases of the moon and how they are related to the different phases of Ramadan. The teacher will explain that Ramadan is a holiday that the Muslim culture celebrates.
- The teacher will read the story aloud, pausing as the students note the different phases of the moon and how they are related to the different phases of Ramadan. What are the names of the phases of the moon? Why does a new month begin when the moon is in its first phase? What happens during Ramadan?
- Upon completion of the story, the teacher will put up pictures of the main characters in the story. Students will be asked to name which character is which. The teacher will also put up pictures of each phase of Ramadan and each phase of the moon and students will be asked to match the phase of the moon with the phase of Ramadan.
Night of the Moon by Taylorjo2011