Description
Longing to wear a colorful malafa cloth like the women in her Muslim community in Mauritania, young Lalla learns how the garment honors her faith and cultural traditions before her mother invites her to try on a beautiful blue cloth and join her in prayers. By the award-winning author of For You Are a Kenyan Child.
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"Poetic language, attractive illustrations and a positive message about Islam, without any didacticism: a wonderful combination," declares Kirkus Reviews in a starred review.Lalla lives in the Muslim country of Mauritania, and more than anything, she wants to wear a malafa, the colorful cloth Mauritanian women, like her mama and big sister, wear to cover their heads and clothes in public. But it is not until Lalla realizes that a malafa is not just worn to show a woman's beauty and mystery or to honor tradition—a malafa for faith—that Lalla's mother agrees to slip a long cloth as blue as the ink in the Koran over Lalla's head, under her arm, and round and round her body. Then together, they pray. An author's note and glossary are included in the back of the book.
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