I picked this up as an early childhood educator who spends lots of time reading children’s books. Interesting to know the stories behind some familiar children’s stories. Some were surprising and darker than I thought. Would recommend to other ECEs and anyone who is curious about the major themes and stories behind some children’s books.

So many emotions while reading this book. The religious Arab mindset of the older generation in the book reminded me of Orthodox Judaism. While I understand wanting to preserve one’s culture and ethnicity, I think that can be done while allowing women to have equal rights and opportunities as men. If the woman wants to live her life as a stay-at-home mom then that’s her choice, nobody should decide for someone else. The domestic violence scenes were also hard fo read and why many of the characters blamed the victim/found excuses for the abuse, which made me angry but also seemed realistic.