Introducing the ‘Bilal Book Series’: The Muslim version of ‘Bob Books’ for teaching phonics
Most parents and educators of young children have either heard of, used, are using, or at some point will use the ‘Bob Book Series’ to teach and practice phonics with a child learning how to read. In our own home, we have used the boxed sets categorized by phonics rules for extra practice for our kids, and frequently to introduce a difficult rule (why must there be so many exceptions in the English language?!).
Bilal Series Book One:
‘Bilal On A Friday’
During one such ‘Bob Book’ reading session with our youngest son, the thought of a Muslim version of ‘Bob Book Series’ popped up in my head (rather an inspiration from Allah for which I am immensely grateful), and refused to leave.
The more the idea simmered, the more energy it garnered, and when it came to a boiling point, the ‘Bilal Book Series’ was born, with the Help and Will of Allah alone.
The highest standard of quality for a resource is its minimum requirement. The true potential of a resource depends on how well it can be maximized.
In light of this philosophy, ‘Bilal Books’ are more than phonics instruction resources.
Book Layout
Within the 40 pages of each book, parents and educators can expect to find:
The Story
Each story is purposefully centered around Islamic concepts, with illustrations that reflect the ideals of our faith (such as modesty, cleanliness, charitable acts, Salah, etc). One phonics rule is introduced per book, with plenty of words throughout the story for sufficient practice of that rule.
Sticker Activity
Following the story is a Sticker Activity Workbook (2 pages of stickers accompany the book). that tests the child’s mastery of phonics rules and independent reading skills. The repeated exposure to the world of the book (i.e Bilal’s room, etc) helps build familiarity, which in turn lends a feeling of comfort that is so integral to maximizing the potential of a given resource.
Arabic
The Arabic section of the book makes use of the child’s familiarity with the objects and characters in the book to introduce basic grammar rules, reinforce letters, sounds and harakat, and teach new vocabulary.
Math
Math is the last section of the book, providing plenty of teaching and practice opportunities for k-1 math concepts, using the same principle of familiarity with the world of the book.
Each story is intentionally designed in a way such that the early reader can ‘sound out’ each word, while being challenged with the new phonics rule being introduced. To this end, an early reader can ‘finish’ the book all on his/her own after a few readings with an adult. This lends a feeling of accomplishment that goes a long way in the journey of learning how to read, inshaAllah.
In line with our vision at Glowing Olive Press, a Muslim version of ‘Bob Books’ not only serves to increase Muslim representation in the world of children’s literature, but also tackles the inadvertent subliminal messaging found across books in this age group that are often at odds with Islamic ideals. An example from our own experience is when our 6-year-old questions why a certain female character in the book is tap-dancing with a male character, and us having to quickly explain that these two characters must be husband and wife, only to have this same female character hanging out with a different character in a later book… as you can see, it can get complicated lol. Of course we know that mainstream Islam, in the absence of alternatives, allows us to use the means that are available to us so long as we use it to extract benefit from it while leaving what is not beneficial. This is where our small press comes in (and we make du’a for others who are contributing to this purpose in their own ways) — in making a humble effort to increase those alternatives that are consistent with Islamic ideals, we pray that through us, Allah allows Muslim families to have access to high-quality resources that are first and foremost rooted firmly in our Deen, Ameen.
Get your free copy of “Bilal On A Friday” in print today!
We are looking for 8 families or educators residing in the US (preferably those teaching phonics and reading skills to 5-7 year olds) to give away a free copy of the first book in the Bilal Books Series -‘Bilal On A Friday’. Your copy will come equipped with the sticker pages at no cost to you (besides shipping & handling). In return, we ask for your honest feedback (via an email survey that will be sent to you), which is invaluable to us as we move forward with more books in the series, B’ithnillah.
We would love for you to fill out the form below if you are interested! JazakAllah Khair.