This heart-warming yet funny tale is a celebration of Muslim women, curious children, and family love. Using a vibrant colour palette of reds, yellows and purples, the beautiful artwork is full of emotion and movement. Farhana is a Birmingham based primary school teacher turned author with a passion for empowering diverse voices through story-telling. The illustrations throughout this story are so colourful and vibrant and bring Noor and her family to life through the pages. For those who are Muslim, it shows authentic representation of hijabis and for those who are not, it answers the types of questions that naturally curious children will have such as whether hair coverings are worn to hide big ears or secret snack stashes to feast upon at a later time.

Perhaps the trend has me more frustrated than this book on its own warrants, it really is sweet and I don't regret purchasing it and having it sent from the UK.Just as Noor is ready to give up on her hijab quest, her Ammu arrives home and knows just the thing to say. Yes I know there is a family tree on the inside cover, but at story time, it is cumbersome to flip back and forth. Born and raised in Newcastle Upon Tyne and currently residing in Birmingham, Farhana Islam is a Primary School Teacher with a passion for telling stories and empowering diverse voices. The book is beautifully illustrated, the size is great to be shared, the text funny, the voice playful,the joy contagious but the answer for me, just missed the mark, not by a lot, but by enough that I think an adult would need to supplement the overall takeaway message. Noor’s imaginative thoughts on why her relatives may wear hijab made me smile and I really liked the fact that when she finally gets an answer, her mum stresses how it is Noor’s choice to wear hijab but that it does go to her mum’s identity as a Muslim and she is unapologetic about that.

It seems to be a common approach lately, and I wish that more picture books about hijab would clearly articulate that the commandment to cover is in the Quran. Full of curiousity, Noor sets out to find her answer, but her family are all busy and have no time to answer this important question. Farina Islam and Nabila Adani’s picture book is a bright, cheerful and slightly cheeky look at what the hijab is and why some Muslim women wear it. Faizah sees her sister as a princess wearing her beautiful blue hijab, but not everyone at school sees it this way.Nabila Adani lives in Jakarta Indonesia and enjoys illustrating different cultures around the world. is a celebration of Muslim women and gently approaches the religious reasons for wearing a hijab in a light-hearted way for children. The biggest question on her mind is why her Ammu (mum) and the other women in her family wear a hijab (headscarf). The illustrations are cute, the character designs are great, and I'm really excited for kids to be able to feel represented by the media they consume.

She originally studied Industrial Product Design in Bandung Institute of Technology earning her degree in 2013 yet found her way into illustration later in life.

She briefly worked as product designer in Japan and Indonesia before moving to the United States to study children's book illustration. The book articulates that we are Muslim and that hijab defines us, which I love, it just seems that while the rest of the book is incredibly direct and funny, the answer is fuzzy and lyrical. Throughout the book, those for whom a hijab is unfamiliar are gently corrected in their misassumptions with the result that the book is one that will educate them without their knowing – they will simply enjoy the story and the beautiful pictures throughout.

Noor loves her mum, and all the other hijabi women in her family, but wonders why do they wear headscarves?Just as Noor is ready to give up on her quest, her Ammu arrives home and knows just the thing to say. The book starts with Noor identifying what her Ammu's hijab is and isn't, how she wears it and how she doesn't. I appreciate that they are in the dining room at home and thus not wearing a scarf, Nanu is because Dada is in the picture, authenticity which I love seeing, but children need a little more hand holding to see which person the text is talking about. Telling the story of young Noor, who is desperate to find out why the female members of her family wear hijabs, this is a read which will delight young readers. This is such an important book to help children to understand more about other cultures and beliefs and it is great to see picture books representing everybody in our community.