Rukhsanna GuidrozCritiques

Wow, so beautiful! I love the quite, introspectiveness of this book as young Leila encounters things, people, and moments around her family and their house that make up her heritage and who she is. There is focus on the emotional, physical, and intellectual parts of Leila that showcase her as an individual, and I think it's an excellent thing for young readers to see. Plus, the art is absolutely luscious and filled with lovely patterns and colors.

Samira's family are Rohinga, traditionally Muslim from the the country of Burma, now under persecution. She fled with them to Bangladesh, where they live just outside the refugee camps and she sells eggs on the beach as they try to make ends meet. She wants more than her role and gender provide, and starts surfing with the other vendor girls and learning to read in secret. Really well done novel in verse -- dives deeply into many types of conflict while allowing Samira's spirit to shine.

In the begging of the book Leila is not able to find much that she likes about herself. Her grandma helps her discover how amazing she is. She does not focus on physical characteristics and instead on her personality and culture. I would say that this is good for middle elementary levels, could create a writing prompt about what each student likes about themselves.

RGG: Perhaps this would be less wonderful if it didn't address the little covered current events of the Rohingya's persecution in Myanmar and refugee status in Bangladesh. Reading Interest: 9-13.

RGG: Perhaps this would be less wonderful if it didn't address the little covered current events of the Rohingya's persecution in Myanmar and refugee status in Bangladesh. Reading Interest: 9-13.

Loved this. The illustrations, the palette, the message. Just lovely.

Samira and her family are Rohingya refugees from Burma, eking out a living outside a refugee camp in Bangladesh. Her grandparents drowned on the sea crossing and the family is uncertain about the fate of relatives and friends back home. Samira helps her family by selling egg snacks on the beach to tourists. There she meets and befriends a small group of girls also plying their wares on the beach but who also enjoy surfing when they have access to boards. When a surfing contest and cash prize is announced, Samira sees this as a way to help support her family. But first she must learn to surf. As far as I know this is a first in children's literature about the recent history and plight of the Rohingya people. A unique addition to the genre of immigration stories and still timely as the situation is ongoing. Samira's voice is engaging and hopeful, but also well aware of her outsider status. The one lacking piece for me was her journey to learn surfing--I didn't get a true sense of her growth.

A young girl who isn't sure she likes what she sees when she looks in the mirror, Leila gets some much-needed affirmation during her weekly visit at her Naani's house, as her extended family all get together for food and music. Wearing a saffron scarf of Naani's, she suddenly sees her own beauty, and through the love and praise of her family, who compliment her curries, realizes that she has talent...

A sweet and heartwarming story of family love and self-worth from author Rukhsanna Guidroz is paired with gorgeous artwork from illustrator Dinara Mirtalipova in Leila in Saffron. This is the second title I have read from Simon & Schuster's new "Salaam Reads" imprint, intended to highlight and represent the lives of America's Muslim children, and it is definitely an inducement to read more. I don't know that the story here is all that memorable, although it is certainly engaging, but the artwork is so lovely - colorful, vibrant, beautifully-designed - that I added an extra star to my rating. I would certainly seek out more work from Mirtalipova! Recommended to anyone who appreciates beautiful picture-book art, as well as to those seeking children's stories with a Pakistani-American cultural background and/or a message of self worth and affirmation.

A good book for younger readers, toddlers especially. I liked having the glossary/pronunciation guide in the back, and fairly good illustrations. Nice introduction to the idea of monsoons for American children, and a great ending.½

Mina is stuck indoors while the monsoon rains pour down. She misses playing soccer and impatiently waits despite trying to do indoor activities. Mina feels that her mother just doesn't understand her frustrations until her mother surprises her with the new information. After many days of waiting Mina is able to go outside and play her favorite sport.½

I'm excited to give this sweet book to my toddler nephew - it's cute, colorful, and fun, and I'm happy it tells the story of a girl who loves sports, who belongs to culture outside of his own, and offers fun opportunities to learn bits of a new language. I'm not sure the book is a classic for the ages, but it will be a fun part of his collection that I'm sure will make it into rotation.

Mina vs. the Monsoon is a charming picture book for 4-8 year olds by Rukhsanna Guidroz. I received it as an ER book. A monsoon in Mina's South Asian village makes it rain and rain and rain, and she wants to play soccer with her beloved soccer ball (football). Her mother won't let her out; Mina thinks "she has never felt the explosion of happiness when you score a goal." But her mother understands better than Mina realizes. Mina tries all sorts of funny ploys to stop the rain; in searching for help in the house, she finds out something unexpected about her mother. When the clouds finally go away, she and her mother venture out together.

It features some Hindu/Urdu phrases with a glossary in the back. An athletic girl in a part of the world we're not that familiar with, who just wants the rain to stop, and who learns she has more in common with her mother than she knew. Sweet.

The illustrations by Debasmita Dasgupta are lively and fit the story well.

Was so excited to get this book to share with my niece and nephew! Loved that it was about a girl who loves sports, and that her mother loves sports, too! Also really enjoyed the Hindi words and allusions to Indian food and culture lightly placed throughout - a really great way for those kiddos to learn more about their culture and see themselves in a book!

In this lively picture book, all Mina wants to do is play soccer, but an impending monsoon ruins her plans. Her mom doesn't understand her, and all her efforts to magic away the monsoon fail. Told with colorful illustrations and interspersed with Urdu and Hindi words (with a glossary in the back, as well as context clues in the text), this story both entertains and teaches about Indian culture.

A lovely story about a young girl who is stuck inside during monsoon season in India. She entertains herself by exploring cultural traditions while longing to play soccer. The book neatly weaves Urdu and Hindi words within the story exposing readers to the cultural nuances. A nice guide appears at the end of the book with definitions and pronunciations. For readers learning about Indian culture, there is much to discuss and further research. The author says in her note that playing a sport helps young, rural Indian women challenge the idea that a girl's place in the world is at home. The ending of Mina vs. the Monsoon certainly promotes this idea while also celebrating the family traditions in the home. The bright colors and bright-eyed characters make the illustrations pop. The peacocks, especially, define the artist's unique style.

I was excited to read this book with my elementary age child because it is by an author of color, featuring a girl of color doing something she loves - sports (gender-busting on sports). The girl in the story wants to play soccer but the rain is forcing her to stay inside. The story is about the girl figuring out what to do while she waits out the rain, and as this happens Indian culture, food, and language are shared with the reader. As I read this aloud with my kid we talked about feelings since the girl says she is sad about not being able to play soccer, weather (what is a monsoon), and food (what is a samosa -- so delicious). It also shows some great family bonding moments and ends with a happy note. Overall a great book to share and have as part of a library or classroom collection.

Mentioned in this blog post: https://fakequity.com/2019/02/22/reading-for-pride-justice-a-birthday-project/

Mina Vs. the Monsoon is an simple book about a girl who wants to play soccer. She is upset because the rain and her mother are keeping her indoors. The story line is so so. The book begins with a thunderstorm and "Ammi" saying Mina will catch a cold if she plays in the rain. Mina goes off to try different things to get rid of the rain. The plot falls apart when she finds her mother's soccer jersey from when she was a girl. Why did she not just tell her daughter up front that she could identify with her? The illustrations in this book are very nice, but for me the story fell flat. I would check this book out of the library to give my young children a feel for India. The paragraph in the back of the book stating what it hopes to accomplish is also a bit disconcerting. I understand that arranged marriages with young girls may still be a problem in some parts of India, but I think the sentence stating "challenges the idea that a girl's place in the world is at home." could be modified to state that it challenges the idea that the only place for a girl is in the home. As a stay at home mom who loves nurturing and teaching her children I find that so many of these books promoting "girl power" downplay the very important job of caring for children. While this job can be done by both men and women, it still must be done and to say it isn't worth pursuing does a disservice to many girls who will ultimately grow into women staying at home caring for children. There doesn't need to be guilt attached to that choice, as if these girls have shorted themselves. For that reason, I don't recommend this book for anything more than a simple cultural look into a different country.

The story of Mina vs. the Monsoon is about a young girl in India who would rather be outside playing soccer than inside waiting for the rains to stop. Although her mom tries to tempt her with baking, she has her mind set on thinking up ways to get the rain to go away.
The illustrations are very vivid and colorful which will be appealing to the younger audience. Both Urdu and Hindi words are used throughout the book with a short glossary at the end.
I also appreciate the explanation that many organizations set up soccer games for girls to help combat child marriages by building self confidence and helps them stay in school.
I received a complimentary copy through the Librarything Early Reviewers.

--received as part of Librarything's Early Review program--

This is a sweet story; I enjoyed it and will pass it on to my niblings. The illustrations... well... those are some weird eyes, but otherwise they work well with the story.

Mina and the Monsoon is a fabulous book to use when studying Asia, India or empowering girls. The illustrations are delightful and the addition of Indian vocabulary enhances the story of a young Indian girl who loves soccer beyond all else. We get the added bonus of Mina discovering her own mother's love of soccer and seeing how they share this love at the end of the story is heart warming. This book gets five stars from me for the educational value of the cultural vocabulary, the beautiful illustrations, the empowerment of girls and women and the love and understanding between a young girl and her mother.