Muslim Family Blog | Ruqaya's Bookshelf

Writing books for children isn’t about portraying angel-like protagonists who never make mistakes. Not only would those characters be boring, but...

Rukhsana Khan’s book, Elephant’s Makeover, is all about making friends, bullying, and accepting the way you were created! Elephant makes an unlikel...

Lela Goldsmith, author of Bibi’s Blessing and Not too Little to Make a Difference, grew up in Lamu an island off the coast of Kenya. The island is ...

Both kids and adults alike often ask me where my ideas for stories come from.Usually an idea goes through a lots of revisions in my own head befor...

Today we are joined by Hajera Khaja editor for Ruqaya’s Bookshelf with us. She is also a teacher at the Sarah Selecky Writing School and mother of ...

Today we are chatting with one of our readers, ten-year-old Aisha. She is an aspiring writer and the second child of a family of five children (soon to be six). Her favourite book is Stuck in the Middle by Sumayyah Hussein.

In Ali and the Eid Goat, Ali visits Pakistan with his family and gets a chance to become good friends with an Eid Goat. Ali meets his cousins and experiences Pakistan, from the warm people and culture to the striking poverty so many people face. This story is an enlightening insider's view of Pakistan (but with Ali along for the ride, we know it’s going to be fun!). 

Come with me on a virtual journey to the island of Lamu in Kenya, where Lela Goldsmith, the author of Bibi’s Blessing and Not Too Little to Make a Difference, grew up.

The island is just off the coast of Kenya and has beautiful traditional architecture with Portuguese, Indian, and Arabian influence. The region has long been on the oceanic trade route between Africa and the Arabian Peninsula and beyond.

October is Islamic Heritage Month here in Canada and in celebration of our Islamic Heritage, we invite you all to share our collection of Muslim literature with your local schools and libraries. Reach out to us at info@ruqayasbookshelf.com for special discounted bundle rates!

Do you know that censorship and shadow-banning by major social media platforms limit the reach of most of the Palestinian content? Even content tha...

Our author Sarah Musa has loved writing since she was a child. She would visit the library weekly to restock and read 300 page books cover-to-cover...

Back to school season is upon us!

Most of us are lucky to be able to go to school. But did you know that in some places around the world, school isn’t so easily accessible?

In Kenya, where our author Lela Goldsmith is from, school isn’t free and can be too expensive for some families. Lela’s own mother lived this reality.

Lela’s latest book, called Not Too Little to Make a Difference, is inspired by Lela’s mother, Sofia.