Inspiring Young Readers

posted on 10 Mar 2026

A Golden Eid by Hiba Noor Khan, illustrated by Singgih Jadmiko

It is pleasing to see another upbeat picture book that focuses on the Islamic festival of Eid al-Fitr that is celebrated by many families. The trick for successful authors and illustrators is to provide some information about religious and cultural practices as context, but to ensure that the story is driven by characters and plot. I was interested to see how a group of six year olds from a range of backgrounds might respond.

We liked the colourful cover that shows a happy looking extended family as they share a meal together. We tried to guess what some of the dishes might be and why the girl at the centre might be waving her spoon: ‘perhaps she is singing and pretending to be a conductor?’

We talked about the title and I was surprised that several children already knew about the festival,despite not celebrating it in their own families. One child suggested that using the word ‘golden’ meant that it must be about something very special.

The story begins with Hafsa, looking through her telescope at the night sky and spotting the sliver of a new moon that heralds the festival. There then follows some information about breaking the fast, reading the Quoran and saying goodbye to Ramadan. All of this needed a bit of explanation helped by two of the children who are practising Muslims. They were very excited to be able to share their own experiences and especially to tell their friends about the presents and beautiful new clothes that were part of the celebration.

As Hafsa helps to prepare delicious party food in the kitchen, we realised that the book included a recipe at the back for her favourite sweet fluffy halwa. Like Hafsa, we gasped when we learnt that this included ‘shimmering gold leaf’ which made it ‘a dish fit for a queen!’

It is traditional to share some food with neighbours and we particularly liked the illustration showing her with her dad carrying a box along the darkened streets. We spent some time looking at the lighted windows and noticing several cats looking out. One girl remembered that there had been lots of cats shown on previous pages and wondered if they also had special food to celebrate?

When they get to the end of the street to visit lonely Mrs Adams, Hafsa is getting a bit fed up. But when she realises that most of the sweet food has gone she runs back home to fetch the precious halwa to give to her. We talked about how thoughtful it was to share her favourite dish, but Hafsa is clearly cross as she tosses a pebble into the lake in the park as her parents try to cheer her up later:

‘Being kind is just like this ripple…it grows and grows until it is everywhere’

When they gather together with family, friends and neighbours the following day – the feast is impressively huge and includes six different types of halwa! We licked out lips as we read about all the ingredients that we would need to get to make our own version. We also decided to make some colourful Eid bunting as described on the final pages.

I strongly recommend this enjoyable picture book published by Walker Books just in time for this year’s festival, which is expected to take place on either 19th or 20th March. It should be available to buy from your local independent bookshop who will order it for you if not already on their shelves. 

 

Karen Argent
March 2026