Ilyas & Duck: Spectacular Salah by Omar S. Khawaja illustrated by Mattia Cerato
It has been a minute since we have had a new Ilyas & Duck book to read and share with our kids, and this one focusing on prayer is informative, fun, and was well worth the wait. It is also long, 48 pages long to be exact. There is a lot of information and works best for ages six or seven and up. The clever rhyme and engaging illustrations tell about wudu, the times of the five daily prayers, Surah Al Fatiha, facing the Kabah, having the right intention, connecting with Allah, and not being distracted. I love the framing that salah is not just an obligation, but is an opportunity to talk to Allah swt and should be spectacular. The author reads his books aloud a lot to kids, so if you have ever seen one of his readings, I highly recommend channeling the voices and energy, to hold the audiences attention if using the book at story time. If reading at bedtime, or if handing to an independent reader, take the opportunity to discuss the points, check understanding, and reflect upon what Duck is learning. As always the banter between Duck and Ilyas keeps the kids laughing, the story moving, and the information flowing, alhumdulillah.
The book starts with two verses from the Quran and the hashtag #freepalestine, before entering the world of Ilyas and Duck one summer afternoon,. An alarm goes off and Ilyas heads off to make wudu and pray. Duck couldn’t get up though, he prayed earlier, so he thought he was done. Ilyas explains that there are five prayers in the day, and Duck is seriously worried that Fajr, Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib, and Isha are going to cut in to his game time, snack time, and movie time.
When Ilyas tells Duck that prayers don’t take long and it is when you speak to Allah swt, Duck in his enthusiastic way is determined to make each and every prayer spectacular. He drafts a plan, learns the steps and what to say, finds the direction, makes his intention, says Allahu Akbar and starts training.
He is praying all over the Earth whenever the time comes, but then he learns he can do more and goes to visit the Professor. He learns about connection and closeness to Allah. He also learns about using his heart and staying focused, before rushing back to tell Ilyas all that he has learned.
The book covers a lot of ground, and gets kids excited to pray. I like that the information is a mix of highly detailed specifics, general knowledge, and humor. The way the salah times are described and the emphasis on connecting with Allah swt and making your prayers heartfelt is not often seen in books for this age group, and I think it gives the book a wider lasting appeal. My 8 year old did point out after reading it independently and laughing, that if Duck prayed Fajr didn’t he know a little bit about prayer already? Also, given the length of the book, a line clarifying that infact not all places on Earth are ok to pray upon, would have been nice.
I hope this book signals more books in the series are heading our way. I notice that the illustrator is not the same, but the pictures are similar enough I doubt most kids will notice. The book is widely available and can be purchased from Amazon here or from Crescent Moon here.
