Vendor
	Mohrbooks Literary Agency Maren Wiederhold
Categories
Children’s picture books

BEHIND MY DOORS

Hena Kahn Nabila Adani

The Story of the World's Oldest Library

Come learn about the oldest operating library in existence that was originally founded by a Muslim woman in 859!

Merhaba! Welcome! Meet Al-Qarawiyyin Library--the oldest library in the world. Do you want to see what magical treasures are behind its doors? You'll find special reading rooms where young and old gathered to discuss, debate, and discover the world. And, most important, the collection of books that hold knowledge more valuable than any jewels! Open its doors, unlock its story, and discover an adventure that only a library can share. Told from the unique perspective of the library, award-winning author Hena Khan, along with luminous illustrations by Nabila Adani, bring to readers Behind My Doors, a charming ode to the magical wonders of each and every library. Hena Khan is the author of many award-winning children's books, including Under My Hijab, Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns, Amina's Voice, and the Zara's Rules series. She lives near Washington, DC, with her family. Please visit her online at henakhan.com and follow her at @henakhanbooks. Nabila Adani is an illustrator who briefly worked as a product designer before moving to the United States to study children's book illustration. She now enjoys illustrating different cultures from around the world for children. She lives in Jakarta, Indonesia. You can see more of her work at nabilaadani.wixsite.com/graphics.

Available products
Book Published 2024-05-05 by Lee & Low Books

Comments

Adani's digital illustrations highlight beautiful architectural details... Khan's first-person prose imbues the subject with both intimacy and a sense of majesty; readers will come away awed at the role of libraries as repositories of knowledge.

The library's role in the history of scholarship is well established, and readers will have no trouble extending the thought that its purpose as a place 'to sit, think, and dream big' encompasses all of its descendants.

Turkish: Ketebe ; Audio Enhanced Library Edition: Vox

A library serves as the first-person narrator of this nonfiction picture book, beckoning the reader to hear the tale of its founding, glory days, disrepair, and restoration. From a humble start ("I began as a small corner for books") within a Moroccan mosque founded in 859 CE by Fatima al Fihri, the library becomes a grand part of Al-Qarawiyyin University, a place of tranquility, reflection, and learning. Though the knowledge held within its walls is a constant, amid changing kingdoms and threat from a great fire, the library falls into disuse. Passing by the library as a child, Aziza Chaouni, who holds a familial connection to the library, later returns as an adult architect. Her team restores and preserves the library and its materials for generations of learners to come... An author's note, a glossary, and references are included in the back matter. A lovingly told ode to libraries, Islamic intellectual history, storytelling, and the role of women in Muslim history.