Illinois Authors

G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers 2025

Meet Amina Banana! She’s a determined and clever third grader, and star of a new chapter book series with a STEM twist. Perfect for readers of The Questioneers and Junie B. Jones!Amina loves bananas, science, and all things yellow! Her family recently arrived from Syria to Indiana, and she's starting at a brand-new school in a brand-new country. She’s excited but also nervous, especially about making friends! But she develops the perfect formula to get everything just right:Speak English + wear a perfect outfit + be a good student + eat American food = Make American Friends!When the first few days are harder than Amina imagined, she’s left worrying: why doesn't her formula add up?

G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers 2025

Meet Amina Banana! This clever third grader is back in book two of this new chapter book series, determined to win her school’s spelling bee. Perfect for readers of The Questioneers and Junie B. Jones!Amina Banana's third grade class is abuzz with excitement for the upcoming spelling bee. But spelling in English is tough for Amina. Still, she’s going to prove to her classmates that even if English is an additional language for her, she can take home the gold medal.If only the formula for winning wasn't so complicated!Make more duaa + study spelling words every day until the spelling bee + write down each word ten times so my hand memorizes it + spell each word out loud ten times + don’t get distracted by anything else! + don’t share your secrets with anyone = WINNER!Amina is determined to win, but with a formula that long, how will Amina be able to study, keep up with tasks at home and stay true to her friends – who are also her biggest competition at the bee?

Ruqaya's Bookshelf 2021

Since Ibrahim's little brother Musa was born, Ibrahim hasn't been feeling very special anymore. At Musa's Aqeeqah, he learns that Heaven is at his mom's feet, so he decides he wants heaven to be at his feet, too! Maybe if he copies what his mom does, he will finally be special again, just like her. Can Ibrahim do everything Mama does or are her shoes too big to fill?

G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers 2024

Seventh grade begins, and Kareem’s already fumbled it. His best friend moved away, he messed up his tryout for the football team, and because of his heritage, he was voluntold to show the new kid—a Syrian refugee with a thick and embarrassing accent—around school. Just when Kareem thinks his middle school life has imploded, the hotshot QB promises to get Kareem another tryout for the squad. There’s a catch: to secure that chance, Kareem must do something he knows is wrong. Then, like a surprise blitz, Kareem’s mom returns to Syria to help her family but can’t make it back home. If Kareem could throw a penalty flag on the fouls of his school and home life, it would be for unnecessary roughness. Kareem is stuck between. Between countries. Between friends, between football, between parents—and between right and wrong. It’s up to him to step up, find his confidence, and navigate the beauty and hope found somewhere in the middle.

Ruqaya's Bookshelf 2021

A POWERFUL STORY ABOUT FINDING FRIENDS WHERE YOU DIDN'T EXPECT! Amira used to love eating cheese pizza and playing baseball with her friends. But at her new school, she sits all alone and can't even have her cheese pizza slice because of Olivia! After hitting a home-run during gym, Amira finally gets noticed by the popular crowd. She's so excited to have friends that she doesn't pay attention to Olivia's tears...or Elena's narrowed eyes.

Ruqaya's Bookshelf 2020

An empowering story of persistence and believing in yourself!Samar has recently moved to America from Syria, and everything is new. Even the jump rope games at recess are unfamiliar. It doesn't help that Jenna, the class bully, keeps making fun of Samar's accent.Samar decides to enter the school spelling bee to prove once and for all that she's smarter than everyone thinks! But learning the words turns out harder than she thought. Can Samar be persistent and compete in the school spelling bee?

Holiday House 2025

A retelling of the Gift of the Magi, set against the backdrop of the Umayyad Masjid of Damascus, in this picture book from a National Book Award finalist.With Baba gone, Yasmine doesn’t have enough money to buy Mama’s Eid gift and can’t think of anything she wants for herself when Mama asks. While Mama’s haggling with the baker, she gets an idea. And after exchanging gifts with her mom in the Masjid, Yasmine realizes that true Eid joy comes from being together.Set in the famous Souq al-Hamidiyeh and the Umayyad Masjid of Damascus, this heartfelt story offers a Muslim background to one of the best-loved stories of all time.