Night of the Moon

The children's story Night of the Moon by Hena Khan is of the best children's stories I have read because it educated me about a Muslim holiday I knew nothing about. I believe the author was aware that many of the readers were not educated about the Muslim holidays, so she thoughtfully included a glossary of Muslim words in the back. The story introduced me to the holiday Ramadan and the phases of the moons that are apart of the holiday. The story explained that during the month of Ramadan adults fast during the day, and can only eat at sundown. I learned that the reasons for fasting were God, and self-discipline. Though I am not Muslim, nor celebrate Ramadan, the story reminded me of the holiday Yum Kippur from the Judaism religion. This holiday my family celebrates has many similarities to Ramadan. During Yum Kippur all adults are supposed to fast from sundown to sundown. The meaning behind fasting is to repent for forgiveness from God for all your sins you had that year. Both of the religions are taking part of a fasting to show some form of self-strength to God. At the end of both of the holidays there is a large feast celebrated with family. This book was overall interesting to me because it explains a holiday from a religion that many Americans may not practice, yet many people can probably relate to it in some unique way.