M. O. Yuksel is the award-winning author of In My Mosque, One Wish: Fatima al-Fihri and the World’s Oldest University, and Ramadan Kareem. Of Uzbek heritage, she was born in Türkiye and immigrated to the United States when she was seven. She spent most of her childhood in New York City. Ramadan is her favorite time of year. Visit her online at moyuksel.com.Mariam Quraishi is an illustrator and designer living in New York. A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, Mariam favors traditional media, namely watercolor and gouache, for her work. In her free time, she can be found painting the beautiful champa trees and motia flowers from her hometown of Karachi. Whether the chai stains you find in her work are intentional or accidental, she’ll never tell! To see her latest creations, please visit www.mariamquraishi.com.

Advocating for persistence and education, this picture book adroitly demonstrates how al-Fihri’s Muslim faith inspired her community care. — Publishers WeeklyAn inspiring profile of a tenacious trailblazer that highlights the power of knowledge. Quraishi’s transporting gouache-and-watercolor illustrations furnish a nuanced portrayal of the early medieval Arab world. — Kirkus ReviewsIn a text rich with imagery, Yuksel (In My Mosque) tells the true story of Fatima al-Fihri, whose one wish was to build a school for all. The illustrations develop their own visual language. A welcome story that emphasizes the intellectual foundations of Islamic North Africa and the importance of charitable work that plants seeds for subsequent generations. — Horn Book MagazineThis is a well-crafted picture book biography, especially given that so little is known of al-Fihri’s early years. The focus on her legacy, as well as the back matter with time lines and translations, is a strong pull for readers. Who could not love a book about a girl whose first spoken word was “read”? Add this biography to any collection looking to be well rounded when it comes to women’s history. — School Library Journal (starred review)

M. O. Yuksel is the award-winning author of In My Mosque, One Wish: Fatima al-Fihri and the World’s Oldest University, and Ramadan Kareem. Of Uzbek heritage, she was born in Türkiye and immigrated to the United States when she was seven. She spent most of her childhood in New York City. Ramadan is her favorite time of year. Visit her online at moyuksel.com.Mariam Quraishi is an illustrator and designer living in New York. A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, Mariam favors traditional media, namely watercolor and gouache, for her work. In her free time, she can be found painting the beautiful champa trees and motia flowers from her hometown of Karachi. Whether the chai stains you find in her work are intentional or accidental, she’ll never tell! To see her latest creations, please visit www.mariamquraishi.com.

Advocating for persistence and education, this picture book adroitly demonstrates how al-Fihri’s Muslim faith inspired her community care. — Publishers WeeklyAn inspiring profile of a tenacious trailblazer that highlights the power of knowledge. Quraishi’s transporting gouache-and-watercolor illustrations furnish a nuanced portrayal of the early medieval Arab world. — Kirkus ReviewsIn a text rich with imagery, Yuksel (In My Mosque) tells the true story of Fatima al-Fihri, whose one wish was to build a school for all. The illustrations develop their own visual language. A welcome story that emphasizes the intellectual foundations of Islamic North Africa and the importance of charitable work that plants seeds for subsequent generations. — Horn Book MagazineThis is a well-crafted picture book biography, especially given that so little is known of al-Fihri’s early years. The focus on her legacy, as well as the back matter with time lines and translations, is a strong pull for readers. Who could not love a book about a girl whose first spoken word was “read”? Add this biography to any collection looking to be well rounded when it comes to women’s history. — School Library Journal (starred review)

M. O. Yuksel is the award-winning author of In My Mosque, One Wish: Fatima al-Fihri and the World’s Oldest University, and Ramadan Kareem. Of Uzbek heritage, she was born in Türkiye and immigrated to the United States when she was seven. She spent most of her childhood in New York City. Ramadan is her favorite time of year. Visit her online at moyuksel.com.Mariam Quraishi is an illustrator and designer living in New York. A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, Mariam favors traditional media, namely watercolor and gouache, for her work. In her free time, she can be found painting the beautiful champa trees and motia flowers from her hometown of Karachi. Whether the chai stains you find in her work are intentional or accidental, she’ll never tell! To see her latest creations, please visit www.mariamquraishi.com.

Advocating for persistence and education, this picture book adroitly demonstrates how al-Fihri’s Muslim faith inspired her community care. — Publishers WeeklyAn inspiring profile of a tenacious trailblazer that highlights the power of knowledge. Quraishi’s transporting gouache-and-watercolor illustrations furnish a nuanced portrayal of the early medieval Arab world. — Kirkus ReviewsIn a text rich with imagery, Yuksel (In My Mosque) tells the true story of Fatima al-Fihri, whose one wish was to build a school for all. The illustrations develop their own visual language. A welcome story that emphasizes the intellectual foundations of Islamic North Africa and the importance of charitable work that plants seeds for subsequent generations. — Horn Book MagazineThis is a well-crafted picture book biography, especially given that so little is known of al-Fihri’s early years. The focus on her legacy, as well as the back matter with time lines and translations, is a strong pull for readers. Who could not love a book about a girl whose first spoken word was “read”? Add this biography to any collection looking to be well rounded when it comes to women’s history. — School Library Journal (starred review)