- Born in 1976
- Her parents came from Pakistan in the United States
- Throughout Asma's childhood, she had the opportunity to travel a lot, especially to Pakistan
- She has lived in Ohio her whole life
- She got her undergraduate and medical school degrees from The Ohio State University and The Ohio State University College of Medicine in Columbus, Ohio
- Asma decided to write about her Muslim-American experience because she had difficulty finding books like these to read to her kids
"...Just because one has the legal right to say something doesn't mean it should be said or it is the right thing to say. In a free society, we can publish speech that humiliates, slanders, and incites hate. But should we? Freedom of speech should not be used as a license to spread hatred..."
"I want kids to be inspired to be true to themselves and to learn to accept and cherish their own identity, instead of being afraid of what others might think about them."
Awards for My Name is Bilal
- 2006 Paterson Prize for Books for Young People, Grades 4-6
- Best Children's Books of the Year (Bank Street College of Education
- 2008 Skipping Stones Honor Award
- 2008 Middle East Outreach Council Book Award Honorable Mention
- 2008 Best Children's Book of the Year (Bank Street College of Education)
- 2009 Storytelling World Resource Awards Honor Book
Awards for Party in Ramadan
- 2009 Parent's Choice Award
Notable Works
Bibliography Resources:
Dr. Asma Mobin-Uddin
Reflection:
A Party in Ramadan (2009)
Genre: FictionA Party in Ramadan (2009)
Setting: mainly in Leena's home
Summary: Ramadan is coming up and Leena is very excited about it. However, she is too young to fast each day during the holy month so she decides to fast on a Friday that her aunt will be visiting. Leena runs into a dilemma. She receives an invitation from one of her classmate's to a party which happens to fall on that same Friday. Leena really doesn't want to miss the party but she doesn't want to miss fasting either. Leena ends up deciding to go to the party and not drink or eat. Later on, she'll join her family for iftar. However, once she is at the party, she sees all her friends enjoying cake and lemonade which makes her tummy start to growl. Read the rest of the story to find out if she caves in and eats the food or if she continues to fast.
Personal Response: I really enjoyed the book. I thought it was interesting to learn more about Ramadan and thought that the dilemma in the story could be true to one of my future students. I think it is a well written and illustrated book and would be good to have in my future classroom library.
My Name is Bilal
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Setting: Bilal's School and his home
Summary: Bilal and his sister Ayesha move to a new town. When they are at the new school, Bilal sees a group of boys that are teasing his sister about her headscarf. However, Bilal doesn't do anything about it because he is worried about being picked on. When he arrives in his own classroom, he notices that some of the bullies are in his classroom. The teacher introduces him as Bilal to the class but Bilal says, no my name middle name is Al and my first name is Bill. His teacher talked to Bilal after class and asks why he lied about his name. Bilal says he is embarrased by his name so the teacher, Mr. Ali gives Bilal a book to read to learn more about his name. Eventually, Bilal takes pride in his identity and isn't worried about what people think of his name.
Personal Response: I enjoyed this book. I feel like this could be read to students who have different names and are nervous about being accepted and they could relate to how Bilal felt in the story. It could also be used in a classroom to show acceptance of people whom don't have common American names that we think of.
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