Muslim Children's Books: What the Database Shows

37 books in the ParentsPick database have confirmed Islamic content — hijab, Ramadan, Muslim identity, Islamic faith practices, and stories centering Muslim characters and communities.

Every title below has been analyzed across all nine content categories. Other flagged themes are noted alongside the Islamic content. The goal is the same as it is for every list on this site: full information so you can make your own decision.

---

Picture Books and Early Readers (Ages 4–10)

The Proudest Blue: A Story of Hijab and Family Ages 4–8. Islamic themes: confirmed present. Violence and racial themes also flagged. Written by Olympic fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad — a Muslim girl named Faizah watches her older sister wear hijab to school for the first time. The violence and racial themes reflect bullying and taunting the sister faces at school.

---

Middle Grade (Ages 8–12)

Nine, Ten: A September 11 Story Ages 10–14. Islamic themes: confirmed present. Scary content and racial themes also flagged. Four children from different parts of the country in the days before September 11, 2001 — one of them a Muslim girl trying not to draw attention to her faith. The scary content reflects the 9/11 events themselves. One of the more thoughtfully crafted middle-grade portrayals of Muslim American identity.

Other Words for Home Ages 10–14. Islamic themes: confirmed present. Violence and racial themes also flagged. A verse novel following Jude, a young Muslim girl who flees Syria with her mother and navigates life as a refugee in the United States. The violence flag reflects the conflict that drives the family from their home. A Newbery Honor book.

Wishtree Ages 8–12. Islamic themes: confirmed present. Violence and racial themes also flagged. Katherine Applegate's novel narrated by a neighborhood oak tree witnesses a Muslim family move in and face hate. The database notes the Islamic content is depicted with care and the book addresses religious bigotry in a gentle, age-appropriate way.

Habibi Ages 12+. Islamic themes: confirmed present. Violence and racial themes also flagged. A half-Muslim, half-Christian girl navigates identity and friendship in a culturally diverse setting. The database describes the book as centering religious identity across cultural divides. The violence flag reflects conflict in the narrative.

---

Young Adult (Ages 13+)

Does My Head Look Big in This? Ages 13+. Islamic themes: confirmed present (high confidence). Violence, sexual content, racial themes, and gender roles also flagged. An Australian-Palestinian Muslim teen decides to wear the hijab full-time. The database notes the book directly addresses misconceptions about Islam and the meaning of the hijab to the protagonist. Multiple flagged themes reflect the social pressures and conflicts the decision creates.

Hollow Fires Ages 14+. Islamic themes: confirmed present. Violence, scary content, profanity, and racial themes also flagged. A Muslim teen named Jawad Ali becomes the target of racially motivated hate after a classmate goes missing. The Islamic identity is central — the book explicitly addresses Islamophobia and racism. Multiple flagged themes reflect the threat and tension throughout.

Internment Ages 14+. Islamic themes: confirmed present. Violence, sexual content, scary content, profanity, racial themes, and LGBTQ themes all flagged. A near-future dystopian novel in which Muslim Americans are rounded up and sent to internment camps — drawing a direct parallel to the Japanese American internment of WWII. Among the more mature entries in the database with the most flagged themes.

All My Rage Ages 15+. Islamic themes: confirmed present. Violence, sexual content, scary content, racial themes, LGBTQ themes, and gender roles also flagged. Two Pakistani-American Muslim teens in a California desert town navigate family, faith, substance abuse, and survival. A Printz Award winner. Among the most mature YA books in this pool — nearly every major theme is flagged at high confidence.

---

What the 37 Covers

The Muslim pool is smaller than the Christian or LGBTQ pools in the database, but the books that are present tend to have Islam as a meaningful part of the story rather than incidental background detail.

A notable pattern: several of the most prominent Muslim-centered YA novels carry multiple additional flags alongside the Islamic content. Parents using these books to explore Islamic themes with older teens should review the full content breakdown for each title.

The ParentsPick app gives you the full nine-category breakdown for any of the 9,496 books in the database — search by title or scan the ISBN.

---

ParentsPick analyzes 9,496 children's and young adult books across 9 content themes. Data reflects high-confidence database analysis.