Halal Hot Dogs

This new release from a Palestinian-American is absolutely amazing!!Musa is a little boy excited that it’s finally his turn to pick the post-jummah treat for the family! After hilarious (and quite frankly somewhat gross😅) choices by the rest of the family members, he knows what he wants- halal hotdogs from a street vendor across the Masjid.After sitting somewhat patiently during the Khutbah, he rushes out to stand in line. He grabs the bag to go, but when it is opened at home, the inside of the bag isn’t what he wanted! (To the disappointment of his sassy little sister Maryam). But not all is lost, as he still manages to find a solution in the end!I loved this book soooo much! From the illustrations of yummy food everywhere, to the mischievous cute nature of this little boy, to the little girl with attitude I am sure is present in each family with girls (I have three😅), to the wonderful Seedi representative of every amazing Arab grandfather doting on his grandkids!The story is full of Islamic representation and terms like Halal, Masjid, Jummah, Khutbah, Salat, hijabs, and a special “Salam” (Arabic for peace, the greeting of Muslims) sauce! There is even a special glossary at the end and an explanation of what “Halal” food means!💚💚One of my favorite things about the book was the Palestinian touches everywhere on the pages! The term for grandfather (Seedi), the Keffiyeh shown in the title and proudly worn, the thobes the Mom and Maryam wear, the special Debke the family does (a traditional Palestinian dance), and all the yummy Palestinian food! This is so wonderful to see, especially in a traditional book, as it shows the beauty of Palestinian heritage and works against the dehuminization of Palestinians unfortunately present in the media!This book is so wonderful and relatable to children of all backgrounds and it helps both Muslim and Palestinian children feel seen in books!!💚A portion of proceeds from each book is donated to UNRWA USA- which helps Palestinian refugees!

Very cute story, and my 3 year old enjoys it! :) I think a Palestinian child would really love to see their culture displayed in this book. This book does show parts of a Muslim lifestyle, such as going to the masjid and eating halal and the mother wearing a hijab. However, those aren’t the main focus of the book, I’d say the focus is more on family and culture. The illustrations are great and the quality of the book is very nice. It’s written very well and I would recommend!

My 5 year old and 7 year old LOVE this book. It’s their new favorite bedtime story. The book is so fun to read and talks about my kids’s favorite things to eat, mulukhia, Kufte kabobs, and hot dogs. My kids felt like professional detectives when they solved the mystery of how Musa got the wrong order 😁

I got this book for my classroom library because students from all backgrounds should see themselves and their culture represented in their classroom. Also, students from different backgrounds can read and learn to see the world through the eyes of others, which can be very powerful. This is a really cute story that all students can relate to as we've all had things we've been excited for go wrong, but there's still ways to make it right.

What a mouth watering delight! Follow along with Musa and his family as he tries to get to his favorite treat-halal hot dogs with Salam sauce! A fun, humorous story that introduces readers to the beauty in family traditions, an array of delicious foods, and back matter that expands upon the text. I love the personalized author's note and glossary of Arabic terms and words. Singh's illustrations are a lively complement to this "chewy, juicy, hot dog goodness" of a read! The story left me wanting to visit Brooklyn and stop at one of the halal food carts! Yum!

I love this picture book that not only delivers an exploration of cultural Muslim foods, but also shares in the special relationships and roles that members of an extended family share. The excitement that Musa feels for his chance at being in charge of the family dinner jumps off the page, and the humor is so relatable. This book left me wanting to go out and find my own halal hot dogs to bring home! I imagine young readers will be inspired to find their own culinary adventures after reading about Musa's favorite food. I highly recommend sharing this book with young readers!

This book is absolutely amazing! It was a multilayered bound of awesomeness. Finally a book that portrays Muslim Americans and Palestinians the right way. I honestly enjoyed reading it as an adult and I know my 11 month old is too young to understand everything but he listened to every page. I especially loved how it showed the mother wearing hijab when they were out and at home she had it off. So many people have asked me “do you wear that thing to sleep?” This book really hit a lot of points but did it so well!

I adore the fact the book is very diverse and talks about different foods that you find around the city of NYC. And using words that are from the characters point of view and not saying Grandfather but using Seedi and so on. It's special.It's a great way for my 4 year old to learn about halal and what we enjoy as a family during the days of Jummah. Because I want to incorporate the special meaning behind jummah and that we are supposed to be "festive" during those days as Allah swt has given us this every Friday as our holiday. Alhumdulillah.