I was not sure what to expect from Salat in Secret. I figured it would be more of a story about a boy who is picked on, teased, even harassed, when he prays, so he then hides doing it. Instead, we start out in Jamilah Thompkins-Biegelow’s story with the narrator, Mouhammad, hiding his praying. He is now seven, and old enough to have his own Salat rug for prayers. But he wonders how people might react to him, as he has seen how the community looks at his father. And of course, there are current events and sentiments to think of. But every time he tries to find the time to observe this act of his faith, he finds some reason why he should not, as he is “caught” at school, or the people around his father praying on the street look mean. Of course, our young hero learns that being himself is the only way to truly be happy.
The illustrator Hatem Aly (of The Proudest Blue fame), created beautiful illustrations to accompany this story. The fun part about them is that they are lighter and breezy, though I would not say they are cartoony, but they are whimsical and have a cartoon element that makes them accessible and tones down the seriousness of things. Yet they do not take away from the importance of the act or the action of the story.
I like the colors, and the details are solid, but not overwhelming. Things are straight forward, and not only show a story about fear, but also of a culture, and religion many might not be familiar with. Education and fun, most ages about four/five up to around 7-8 would be fine with it. Read via an online reader copy, it is currently available.
