*Thank you NetGalley and publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review*

This was such an enjoyable read! Once Upon an Eid is such an incredible collection of short stories about the power of Eid. I remember living overseas as a child and getting to celebrate with my Muslim friends, and these stories brought back so many of those warm memories. Each story left me with such a comforting feeling. The variety of own-voices contributors (some of my favorites!) is outstanding, and they each bring a little something different to the collection of short stories. I love the diversity of cultures, backgrounds, families, and experiences that were represented in this book.

Kareem Means Generous really stuck with me - "Anytime you share something you love, it comes right back to you like a boomerang. You never lose it." - I cannot wait to share so many of these stories with my students next year! It will be an amazing addition to our classroom library.

Once Upon an Eid is an anthology of short stories that take place around or during Eid, a religious festival celebrated by Muslims worldwide that marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan. As a non-Muslim person, I was intrigued by this book because I am familiar with some of the authors who have stories in this collection including S.K. Ali who is one of the editors. Like any holiday anthology the 15 stories are all heartwarming, fun and joyful in their own way. Two of my favourites were Like Chest Armor and Huda Al-Marashi’s Not Only an Only. The former was an adorable story about a girl’s first time wearing a hijab with touching upon other things like crushes and fandom in middle school, while the latter was a story about female friendship that I anyone who has been a minority in their school could relate to. I also enjoyed Asmaa Hussein’s Kareem Means Generous because it gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling and I liked that it is set in Toronto, Canada. As Once Upon an Eid is geared towards middle grade and not YA, I’m far from the target audience for this short story collection. However, even I can tell after reading all the stories that Once Upon an Eid is a special book and I love getting a glimpse at how different cultures celebrate Eid. With the countless number of Christmas books out there, it’s nice that Muslims kids are able to have another collection of stories that they could personally relate to.

I love this book. A mix of short stories poetry, graphic stories by 15 different Muslim writers that offer unique, poignant insights into growing up Muslim. This collection is thoughtful and engaging. I highly recommend it and will be handselling it teachers who I know will love this in their classroom.

I really enjoyed this collection of short stories giving a glimpse into the diversity and richness of Muslim life around the world. The characters are engaging and the stories are relatable. This is very good for breaking down barriers and opening up lives.

Once Upon an Eid would make a fantastic addition to any library collection. This collection of stories features warm, authentic characters that would appeal to all backgrounds, regardless of their knowledge of Muslim culture. Once Upon an Eid is a heartwarming book full of own-voices representation that celebrates the diverse cultures within the Muslim community.

I do wish more of the artwork was available before this book was added to NetGalley. There were a lot of placeholders and sketches in the advanced copy.

These "15 stories by Muslim voices" is a perfect addition for our school library. Our middle school students do not have much knowledge of differing perspectives, and these stories of hope and joy resonate with readers who are trying to find their own places in the world.

Thank you NetGalley and ABRAMS Kids/Amulet Books for sharing this collection of eye-opening and inspiring stories of celebration. I have not read many books about Muslim culture and I was curious about Eid and the importance this time is for those that practice the Muslim religion. I am not one to read collections or short stories, I am not sure why, but I did enjoy this one. It was nice to have different celebrations and to read different perspectives. I feel like it gave me a great view of Eid and this religion. I gave it 5 stars and look forward to having a copy in my classroom.

Once Upon an Eid is the definition of an #ownvoices book. 15 Muslim authors collaborated to create a story surrounding the holiday of Eid. It entails many short stories but also a poem and a graphic novel. This holiday for many Muslims floods great emotions and memories. Each author authentically creates a story that surrounds this holiday but each so very different from another, yet similar in the sense that Eid is a treasured time.

This book is different than others because it is an anthology that will provided a multitude of opportunities for Muslim readers to connect with, laugh with, and remember their own memories, but it will also give perspective and understanding to those who are not Muslim of what a special and treasured holiday this is.

These stories were short and sweet, but also gave great depth that I think our readers from all backgrounds will be able to grasp the meaning behind each one. This is a book that I will be eager to share with my Muslim students, our EL students, and in the general population to share about this amazing holiday and culture!

Well , Well , Well , here we have one of my most anticipated releases of the year and thankfully it was a favorite ! Did this year is probably not going to be like the others so I appreciated finding that euphoria that and that feeling of extreme happiness that filled my lungs every eid . I also really loved others perspectives from others muslims who have different ethnicities and different traditions . From being kind , to addressing the quarrels between shiaa and sunna this middle grade book does the job as an initiator and first book that every muslim kid should read in order to understand his backgrounds and to find relatable characters . It also did a great job at picturing the whole aspects of eid though so may different materials ; short stories graphic ones and even prose and poetry . THIS BOOK IS A MUST READ ! I cannot wait to have it on my shelves and to give it to my children because it really stand out as an anthology for me . And a special thank you of every person who worked on this anthology for making my childhood dreams come true : being represented in literature especially in middle grade .
-Perfect , Jamilah Thampkins-Bigelow ☆☆☆,5
-Yusuf and the great big brownie mistake, Aisha saeed ☆☆☆,5
-kareem means "generous" , ☆☆☆☆,5
-Don'Ut break the tradition, S.K.Ali ☆☆☆☆☆
-Just like chest armor , Candice Montgomery ☆☆☆☆
-Gifts , Rukhsana Khan ☆☆☆☆☆
-The feast of sacrifice , Hena khan ☆☆☆,5
-Seraj captures the moon , G.Willow Wilson and sara Alfageeh ☆☆☆☆
-Searching for blue , N.H.Senzai ☆☆☆☆
-Creative fixes , Ashley franklin ☆☆☆☆,5
-Taste , Hanna Alkaf ☆☆,75
-Eid pictures , Jamilah Thampkins-Bigelow ☆☆☆☆
-Not only an only , Huda Al-Marashi ☆☆☆☆☆
-Maya Madinah chooses joy , Ayesha Mattu
☆☆☆
-Eid and Pink bubble gum , insha'Allah , Randa Abdel-Fattah ☆☆☆

This book. This book. If you need to feel Eid, the celebrations and what a day is like, this is a good place to start. I'm going to post a full review on my blog soon In Shaa Allah, but I must say some of the stories in this book are so amazing and they draw you into the holiday spirit oh so well!

I loved so much about this book and what it represents. I hope this can become a tradition in its own right. The stories in this one were all MG of course, but I'd love to see some older takes on Eid too one day. Nonetheless, for what it's worth this was a great place to start. With some very prominent Muslim authors sharing their voices, their takes on the special holidays of Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adha.

If you have kids (Muslim or not) or have ever been one, you cannot go on without some of these stories in this book. I'm so grateful to have gotten the opportunity to read a review copy and I may just buy a few copies as Eid gifts for relatives this year!

If I wasn't excited for Eid before, I am now!

I'll admit that I didn't know much about the Muslim holiday of Eid before reading this anthology. I'm now fast-tracking it into our World Religion syllabus for next year. I think adults, teens, and older middle graders will laugh and sometimes cry with these stories.

Once Upon an Eid is a middle-grade anthology of #ownvoices short stories surrounding the Muslim holiday of Eid. The collection also includes a poem and a comic, as well as illustrations at the beginning of each story (though unfortunately my eARC edition didn't include the illustrations). I was unable to read the comic "Seraj Captures the Moon" due to the formatting of my eARC, so I definitely need to check out a finished copy!

Though some of the stories in this collection do deal with tough topics, the overall vibe is very joyous and celebratory. There seemed to be a good mix of ethnicity and variety of traditions. I believe the majority are set in North America, though I can recall one is set in Greece and another in Australia. I rated each story individually and the averaged total was 3.98 stars. My favorites were "Perfect" by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow, "The Feast of Sacrifice" by Hena Khan, and "Not Only an Only" by Huda Al-Marashi, but I didn't rate any of the stories lower than 3 stars.

Overall, an extremely beautiful, fun, and important anthology for young readers.

First off, I LOVED the concept of this collection and I learnt so much from it. As mentioned in the prologue, Eid is not often visible to those who don't celebrate it, so it was an eye-opening collection of stories, illustrating celebrations from around the world. From religion to morality, coming-of-age issues and kindness, the themes throughout the collection were consistent and well-pitched. There's such a broad range of stories and I enjoyed many of them. Some felt a little too short, some were a lot more memorable than others, but I'd still recommend it.

(I will discuss the collection further in my May Wrap Up on my channel)

Bismillah. For all readers who know Eid joy, and for all who want to share in it.

Have you ever feel like when you read a book you feel the warmth and comforting when you finished reading it? That's how I felt with Once Upon an Eid.

There are 15 stories in total by 15 muslim authors. All short stories are incredibly amazing. Some are fun and some are sad. However, I felt 15 stories are not enough. Am I greedy? Yes, I am.

All the stories contained so much moral values and this book targeted on young readers. I must say it was a brilliant idea to put Perfect by Jamilah Thompkins Bigelow for the opening. I was having fun reading about the story and I imagined myself as Hawa. Because we are almost same lol. Atleast I was like Hawa.

Other stories are so good. I liked every single one of them. The mood and the feeling on the last day of Ramadan are the things that I can relate the most as a muslim. Love the feelings.

I always loved a book when they talked about food. In this case when I read lontong, I kind of feel like craving for it until now. Overall, this book is good for young readers as it contains a lot of morals and lessons. Happy Book Birthday to Once Upon an Eid!

Thank you Netgalley and Amulet Books New York flr the copy of Once Upon an Eid.

A collection of short stories about the celebration of Eid - different sects, different traditions, different family dynamics. I found all the stories engaging, well done, and diverse in presentation.

I really enjoyed this collection of short stories about Eid. I'm neither Muslim nor a middle-grader but I found a lot to enjoy here and learnt a few things too. One of the main things was - as the introduction says - the range of different experiences of Eid - in a wider way than just different family traditions. It is not a monolith - and in the same way that different countries have different Christmas traditions, Muslims from different places and in different parts of the faith have different ways of marking Eid - this has stories from different parts of America as well as Australia, Canada and America.

I liked this a lot and think it would be a great resource for educators - the Muslims in their class would see themselves represented in a way that they often don't and the other kids would learn a lot. I'd read a couple of the authors here before, but would be happy to read more from all of them after reading this.

Aww, such a sweet and cute story!! MashaAllah. It's like I'm turning back into a kid somehow because of the joyous celebration. What a mistake if I didn't request this. And I am so happy that I did.

All in all, this is my new experience of reading multiple stories on Muslims in one book. And as a Muslim in Malaysia, I didn't even know what it's like for another Muslims across the world. I am super excited to learn the Arabi, Pakistani, American, Mandinka Muslim's way and many more including their tradition on that occasion, clothes - Lapa, Kameez, Abaya (in Malaysia we wear either Baju Kurung for woman and Baju Melayu for male and of course simple abaya),and food, not just in my own compartment.


Don't get me started with the mouthwatering foods mentioned in this book, which had me fantasize a lot. I never eat or heard of them, except chicken biryani and brownies (which our house don't unusually bake during the Eid), such as Lontong, Ka'ak, Lentil Stew, Falafel, Hummus, Fried Plantains, Jollof Rice, Gulab Jamun, Bean Pie, and so on. I'll just stop there before I break someone fast.

I don't even know Chaand Raat was another name for Eid ul-Fitr for Muslim in Bangladesh, Pakistan and India until I read this book. New input indeed.

This book didn't fail to make me laugh too. The sujood scene. Also when Hanna Alkaf insert the agak-agak phrase. So now everyone knows what's Malaysian mom was like.

Since what I'm reading is eARC, therefore, the arts are not finalized yet but I bet it would look wonderful. The 15 stories, each incredibly intact with their own unique storyline to spark the joy of Eid celebration was very heartwarming. I'm sure kids can understand the language and it's definitely relatable to the adult, with a simple explanation and words of wisdom of why Muslims fast, what time, the benefit, and do and don't - beautifully communicated by the characters. Overall it's an incredible book. Go ahead and buy a copy.

Mini review:

I received this E-ARC via Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

When I saw this book on Netgalley, I just had to request it. I'm happy to say that I loved it!

I loved all the stories and how each story taught an important lesson! This is the first short story collection that I enjoyed. It was a bit weird to read this during Ramadan and not during Eid. I look forward to reading the final copy after Eid.

I highly recommend!

This book is a collection of delightful (middle-grade level) children’s stories about the Muslim holiday of Eid. The stories come from a variety of cultures within the Muslim faith. While the collection is mostly short stories, there is a poem and a graphic-novel chapter.

The word that comes to mind when reflecting upon these stories is JOYOUS. I loved reading the various cultural customs and traditions associated with the holiday – the prayers, the family traditions, the clothing, the decorations, the festivities, sharing meals. I think children will appreciate the acknowledgment of how difficult it is to get through the long day of fasting and then rejoice when the sun goes down and they can break the fast.

Some of my favorite stories:
"Kareem Means ‘Generous’" by Asmaa Hussein – I loved the lesson of realizing the benefit of being generous with others.
"Don’ut Break Tradition" by S. K. Ali – Maintaining tradition even when the world seems so different. Sad, yet triumphant.
"Creative Fixes" by Ashley Franklin – Makayla is a convert celebrating her first Eid.
"Not Only an Only" by Huda Al-Marashi – This was my favorite! Aya lives in a small rural town and is the only Muslim in her school. Her family is also Shia and are looked down upon by the other Muslims in town who are Sunni. Then one day Hana, a Pakistani Muslim, arrives and Aya is no longer “the only”. She learns from Hana that “We’re all Muslims, and that’s all that matters.”

The stories are fun and wholesome. For non-Muslims, like myself, this book is a window into the Islamic culture. Muslim children will be able to see themselves in these stories and experience the same emotions the children in the stories experience. Perfect for anyone who wants to learn about the holidays of other cultures.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy to review.

Age Range: 8 - 12 years Grade Level: 3 - 7

Once Upon an Eid is a celebration of the joy and magic that is Eid. throughout multiple short stories, we discover Eid through multiple cultures and families. and it was. so. cute. i even felt tears in the corners of my eyes multiple times.

each contributor in this anthology brings something new and special. i felt more love growing inside me after every story, which were all unique in their own way, with a little lesson for the characters and for the people reading them. it reminded me of the purpose of celebrating Eid, the whole happiness surrounding it, and how it all feels.

because this book sets the mood for Eid. with descriptions of food and family gatherings and traditions and more. it even made me a little sad that i probably won’t be participating in that this year.

in conclusion, Once Upon an Eid is an anthology that garantees happiness, a lot of new information for muslim and non-muslims, and maybe a few tears. but you will have a great time reading it.