Anisa's International Day, Reem Faruqi (Book Review)

Summary: Anisa’s International Day

In Anisa’s International Day, third grader Anisa is excited about her class’s international day. She’s going to ask her mom to bring samosas for the class and share her Pakistani culture with everyone. But before she gets to reveal her plans, another classmate snags the samosa spot. As a creative, Anisa is desperate to be unique. With her aunt getting married soon, she decides that mehndi is the perfect activity to introduce. But first, she’ll need to resolve a friendship misunderstanding.

The Good

This is a cute young middle grade book/chapter book. The plot is very simple and it has illustrations that younger kids will enjoy. I ended up listening on audio because I just needed less screen time and the audiobook was excellent.

Besides the international day arc, Anisa jumps to false conclusions about a friend and even ends up spreading a false rumor about that friend. She eventually resolves the issue, apologizes and takes an action to express how sorry she is.

Like the kids in Just Right Jillian, Anisa and her class learn something new in this story. Their teacher explains the concept of taking surveys and how those can be used to make decisions, which I thought was a fun way to include teaching points into a story. Finally, I loved all the represented cultures and how much fun everyone had with the mehndi.

Overall: Anisa’s International Day

Anisa’s International Day is a delightful, heartwarming, and culturally expressive young middle grade book. Featuring a likable, relatable young protagonist, this illustrated chapter book centers on themes of family, sisterhood, friendship, and the love and pride of Pakistani culture. I recommend this one to younger readers who love books like Just Harriet and Ways to Make Sunshine.