What This Book Is About
Friday is doughnut day at Adam's house. This Friday is different: the family is fasting for Ramadan and will not eat or drink until sunset. Adam decides he will fast too, and the doughnut has to wait.
The whole book is about how hard that waiting is. It is an early chapter book by Randa Abdel-Fattah, illustrated by Amani Haydar, published by Pan Macmillan Australia in 2022 as part of the Our Stories series, which celebrates multicultural Australia and which Abdel-Fattah also edits.
Available at Popular bookstores, Kinokuniya, and the Singapore National Library.
Why We Recommend This Book
For A1-level readers (Grade 2), this book is a thoughtful choice for three reasons.
First, it shows Ramadan from inside a family that is keeping it, through one very ordinary want: a doughnut. For children at international schools like UWCSEA, where classmates come from dozens of backgrounds and some of them are fasting, that is a far better introduction than an explanation.
Second, Adam chooses to fast. Nobody makes him. A seven-year-old can follow that decision and talk about why someone would want to do a hard thing on purpose.
Third, it is a short illustrated chapter book, accessible at A1, and the one small question it hangs everything on (can he hold out until sunset?) is enough to keep an early reader going to the end.
Reading Level Guide
Still building foundations. Start with picture books and read-alouds to build vocabulary first.
Perfect difficulty. Challenging enough to grow, accessible enough to enjoy.
A comfortable, confidence-building read. Great for fluency practice or a relaxing weekend book.
Other UWC Recommended Books for This Grade
Not sure if this book is right for your child? Take our free English assessment to find their CEFR level, then choose books that match.