Marya Khan and the Incredible Henna Party

Marya Khan and the Incredible Henna Party

Saadia Faruqi

Abrams, October 2022

144 pages

Grades 2-4

Realistic Fiction

Marya Khan series #1

Every year Pakistani-American Marya spends her birthday by inviting her best friend Hana over and enjoying pizza. This is fine, but she longs for something different and special. To further complicate these feelings  Marya's next door neighbor and frendemy, Alexa, has a birthday two days before her big day. Alexa always has over-the-top parties and this year is no exception. Marya decides that she should have a splashy birthday as well. She tells the kids at school that she will be having a henna party and they are all invited, only her parents aren't on-board with the idea. With work and three kids, mom and dad have their hands full. They do not agree to the splashy party and Marya's attempts to win them over with good deeds backfires. Finally the day of Alexa's party arrives and Marya reluctantly goes next door for the big event. To her surprise Alexa isn't having as much as one would anticipate. Maybe all that glitters is not gold? Meanwhile, Marya's family has a surprise for her, showing their love and appreciation. The birthday turns out to not be a bust after all and Marya has made a new friend in the bargain.

Faruqi, of Yasmin fame, offers a new series opener for kids outgrowing the Yasmin books and ready for something new. Much in the vein of Ivy and Bean and Junie B, Marya makes hilarious sense of her world within a Muslim framework. Serving a community with a growing Muslim population, I appreciate new books coming out to address their needs. This new series features Muslim characters without making religion or culture the main focal point of the story. All kids will relate to Marya's troubles and enjoy her attempts of securing a splashy birthday celebration and finally getting the leg-up on privileged Alexa. Both Marya and the reader learn a lesson about Alexa and may become kinder friends for it. Emerging chapter readers will feel right at home with this new series and relate to Marya, all while laughing as she gets it wrong. Plentiful illustrations will help to make this book an easy sell and attract readers. A fun new series with a sparkly protagonist that is sure to find a readership within the target audience.