Yusuf and Yusra’s Spooky Dilemma by A. Dawood illustrated by Fatimah Farooqi

This 54 page early chapter book about a Muslim kid being tempted by Halloween somehow didn’t really center Islam much, it didn’t explain the origins of Halloween, and it meant well, but I didn’t get the messaging, it actually felt othering.  Young Yusra lies to her parents, gets a costume, attends a school Halloween party, and then once caught goes out to lunch and taken to a museum with her brother and friend Fatima. At the museum the vibrant room is the “From Around the World” exhibit, and the depressing room is “The World Around Me.” the dichotomy is stereotypical and presumptuous without sufficient insight.  The book’s concluding lesson being, don’t give in to peer pressure and feel like you have to celebrate something that isn’t right, “think of all the millions of Muslims in the world not celebrating.”  Wait? What? That is the exact same thing- do or not do something because other people are doing or not doing it! Literary wise there were numerous paragraphs and pages I had to reread to know who was talking, the side characters were underdeveloped as they would get mad and storm off and then be chatting shortly after, and at the end, Umar completely ceased to exist.  Having already reviewed the other title in the series Merry Dilemma, I’m going to allow myself a little forgiveness in comparing the two books, as I would imagine many consumers will buy both, and I found the messaging and presentation in the Christmas book, a lot stronger in facilitating conversation and reflecting Muslim kids’ stresses, than this Halloween book was able to do.  The discussion of Isa (A.S.) and the messaging of what Christmas means and why it is problematic for Muslims was more clear and allowed me to overlook some of the literary inconsistencies and weaknesses; I’m glad I read it first.  If you read this with your kids plan to supplement and discuss because the book does not leave you feeling like you really know why Yusra, or Muslims, don’t celebrate Halloween.

SYNOPSIS:

Halloween is here and Cedarcrest Elementary is throwing a huge party.  Yusuf isn’t going, he knows Halloween isn’t for him as a Muslim.  Family friends, Fatima and Umar, aren’t going either.  But Yusra’s best friend Amanda is really excited, and Yusra thinks she can just help Amanda celebrate, it is just for fun any way right? It isn’t like she is celebrating, she will just be there.  She tells her parents she can’t miss school, her dad buys her a costume, not for Halloween, just for dress-up, and now she is at the school party with glitter and candy and a whole lot of guilt.

WHY I LIKE IT:

I like that the parents try and meet the kids where they are.  I think a lot of Muslim parents buy candy and costumes on clearance the day after Halloween so their kids can still have treats without partaking in trick or treating and enjoy imaginative play after the holiday.  The book having the costume being purchased before the holiday, thus is a relatable occurrence.  Yusra wanting to go is also believable.  But, the parent’s letting it play out to their fourth grade daughter actually lying about a quiz and going to school is a bit of a stretch.

I struggled with the lack of explaining why Muslims don’t celebrate Halloween and what the origins of Halloween are.  It said I don’t do it because I’m Muslim, I don’t celebrate because my parents told me not to, and thank you for explaining it aunty- but in fact, there was no explanation.

The writing wasn’t great.  At one point it says, “Let’s go to the frozen food section we need milk and cereal.”  There were multiple places I didn’t know if Yusra or Yusuf were talking, they sound the same age and I don’t think they are twins, but maybe they are, they are family friends with a brother sister: Umar and Fatima at their school, but Fatima is not in Yusra’s class either, the school vibes feel more junior high than elementary. Back to Fatima though, she gets mad when Yusra doesn’t take a firm “Muslim’s don’t celebrate Halloween position” with Amanda and she walks off being labeled a party pooper, but after school everything seems fine. The plan is all four Muslim kids will hang out instead of going to school for the party, but Umar is not with Yusuf and Fatima when they bust Yusra, or at the museum, so where did he go?

The messaging hinges on Yusra’s guilt.  I don’t know that the book explores it enough, doesn’t have her struggling with it a lot, so it comes across that it is more the getting caught that caused the realization.  She remembers Allah swt when caught, she apologizes to her mom, which is good, but not celebrating Halloween then seems more a family expectation not a religious no-no.  Ultimately the book felt a bit like a missed opportunity to explain the origins of Halloween and let the child decide what to do based on their understanding of Islam and the holiday.

FLAGS:

Lying, going to a Halloween party.

TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:

I have a few teenagers and a 3rd grader and a toddler, I don’t think this book will do much to foster communication and deepen their understanding about Muslims and Halloween.  For my oldest three when they were in early elementary, we would listen to a NoorArt CD Qu’an for Little Muslims it had a track about Halloween that seemed to work when they were young: you can listen to it here.

If you think this book will work for your needsthough, you can order it here.