Noor Al Owais here.

This book talks all about 25 amazing women from the Middle East, with some women that are from the past, and some are from current times.

Amazing Women Of The Middle East: 25 Stories To Inspire Girls Everywhere

Author: Wafa Tarnowska (Lebanon/UK/Australia) Illustrators: Christelle Halal (Lebanon), Hoda Hadadi (Iran), Sahar Haghgoo (Iran/UK), Estelí Meza (Mexico), Margarida Esteves (UK) Published by: Pikku Publishing (2022)  ISBN: 9781838365165

The countries these women come from are Egypt, Iraq, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Syria, Iran, Turkey, Lebanon. I learnt so much about these women, and what they did, and what cultures they grew up in. I read about queens, empresses, artists, translators, storytellers, poets, writers, activists, army captains, feminists, painters, sculptors, singers, jewelers, architects, engineer and astronauts, shura council members, actresses and film makers, lawyers, scientists, economists and mathematicians, pilots, human rights activist, ice skater.

One of the personalities I read about is about someone who does the same sport that I love, which is ice skating.

I read about Zahra Lari from the United Arab Emirates, and I instantly got inspired by her life story. From when she was little, she knew she wanted to compete in ice skating, and she started practicing to become a professional skater. I liked her quote:

“Train hard, stay focused, love it and give it your all. It’s never too late to believe in yourself and accomplish your goals.”

… because it’s very inspiring and I think it’s a quote that you can apply for everything you would like to do, not just ice skating.

There are two other quotes that I liked and would like to share, like Somayya Jabarti’s from Saudi Arabia:

“After you go forward, you can’t step backwards.”

I liked this quote because it tells you that once you get better at something, you need to work hard to keep improving. Amal Clooney’s quote is also another favorite:

“Giving up is not an option!”

I like it because it makes me feel both brave and proud, because if I don’t give up, I will need to be brave to get where I want.

The illustrations in the book were beautiful and colorful, and I liked seeing how the characters were portrayed. My favorite illustrations are of  Zahra Lari. I liked the color choices of the illustrations, and that it also showed a flower which means Zahra in Arabic. The second illustration I liked was the one showing Fairuz, the singer. I loved the illustrations because it is so detailed and even shows the make up on her face and I liked the lines and details drawn on her dress.

If you enjoy reading about real people, or strong women then I am sure you will enjoy two other books that I read that explore different personalities. They are Amazing Muslims Who Changed The World by Burhana Islam and 13 Amazing Women Of Arabia by Dana Al Blooshi. Both books are available in English & Arabic.

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For #WorldKidLit Wednesdays throughout the month of March, we have Emirati kid reviewers share their thoughts about the books that they read. In case you missed it, we had Abdulla Al Owais share his thoughts on a picturebook entitled Two Great Leaders and Noor Al Owais shared her favourite Maitha Al Khayat picturebooks here.

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About the Guest Contributor for #UAEReads:

Noor Al Owais is from Sharjah, the UAE and is a 5^th grader at Ajman Academy. She likes to read, bake and cook. She loves figure skating and taekwondo and creating slime.

She also likes spends spending time playing outside, gardening and imagining all sorts of things.

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About the Guest Editor/Curator for March 2024 [#UAEReads]:

Myra Garces-Bacsal has served as a teacher educator for 15 years and has led several research projects on reading and social emotional learning, diverse picturebooks and teacher practices, psychology of high creatives and exceptional people, culturally responsive and inclusive education. She is a quintessential lover and creator of booklists (see her Social and Emotional Learning bookshelf here and other publications below). Myra serves as the Assistant Dean for Research and Graduate Studies with the College of Education, UAE University. She is a self-proclaimed nerd who lives and breathes books and enjoys organizing events and festivals where fellow nerds converge and attempt to joyfully change the world.

Publications on booklists:

Garces-Bacsal, R. M., Alhosani, N. M., Elhoweris, H., Tupas, R. (2023). A diverse social and emotional learning booklist for gifted learners and advanced readers. Roeper Review, 45(1), 25-36. https://doi.org/10.1080/02783193.2022.2145397

Garces-Bacsal, R. M., Alhosani, N. M., Elhoweris, H., Al Ghufli, H. T., AlOwais, N. M., Baja, E. S., & Tupas, R. (2022). Using diverse picturebooks for inclusive practices and transformative pedagogies. In M. Efstratopoulou (Ed.), Rethinking Inclusion and Transformation in Special Education (pp. 72-92). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-6684-4680-5.ch005

Garces-Bacsal, R. M. (2021). Of grit and gumption, sass and verve: What gifted students can learn from multicultural picture book biographies. In S. R. Smith’s Handbook of giftedness and talent development in Australasian Pacific (pp. 431-453). Singapore: Springer International Handbooks of Education. https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-981-13-3041-4_18

Garces-Bacsal, R. M. (2020). Diverse books for diverse children: Building an early childhood diverse booklist for social and emotional learning. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 22(1), 66-95. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468798420901856