Going to Mecca
A Muslim family living in London joins thousands of others as they make the yearly sacred pilgrimage, or Hajj, to Mecca. The text invites children to perform the same activities as the pilgrims, described in one free-verse poem per spread: “Stand with the pilgrims / As they face the Ka’bah, / Head bare, feet in sandals, / With thousands of others.” The text is lyrical, but the lyricism comes at a price: what’s actually happening is pretty vague. Throughout, it’s tough to figure out where the pilgrims are on the nine-day journey, and unfamiliar terms like Black Stone and As-Safaa aren’t explained until a concluding glossary. The cut-paper mixed-media art, however, nicely presents the wide range of pilgrims, from those in wheelchairs to the youngest children, and captures the sheer number of “Strangers, sisters. / Strangers, brothers” united in their faith. Those who share this will want to have prior knowledge of Islam; otherwise, there will be more questions than answers. Grades 1-4. --Ann Kelley