Marzieh Abbas

“Heartfelt and triumphant.” —Rajani LaRocca, Newbery Honor–winning Author of Red, White, and Whole A cricket-loving Pakistani girl stifled by patriarchal expectations disguises herself as a boy to get a job to pay her sister’s medical bills in this “lyrical action-packed debut full of determination and grit” (Reem Faruqi, award-winning author of Golden Girl). Living with her aunt and patriarchal uncle in Karachi, Pakistan, recently orphaned twelve-year-old Aarzu detests the way she and her younger sister get treated like extras and excluded from all the fun stuff. Aarzu dreams of playing cricket, just like her male cousins and the neighborhood boys in the streets, but her uncle will hear nothing of it. According to him, girls ought to master the art of making round rotis, not play sports. When her sister requires urgent medical treatment but finances are tight, Aarzu decides to earn money herself. She hears of a part-time job at a bungalow near her school—but it’s only open to boys. Aarzu has no choice but to disguise herself as a turban-wearing boy to get the gig. Now, Aarzu must find a way to balance school, work, chores, and secret cricket practices—all without burning out or getting caught by her uncle—or else her dreams of making the girls cricket team and her quest to save her sister will crumble around her.

Meet Roshan the camel. He spends his days carrying firewood with his human, Murad, to feed their family. One day, a pandemic sweeps through their home country of Pakistan, closing the schools and public libraries. Many children, especially in rural areas, were left without access to learning materials. Then Roshan and Murad get a call from an organisation that wants to help, and they accept a new mission: instead of carrying firewood, they'll carry books. Day after day, they set out to different villages, Roshan's back loaded with books to lend out to the children they meet. But they don't just bring stories - they also carry joy, hope, and connection. Alongside warm and soft illustrations by Anain Shaikh, Marzieh Abbas lovingly weaves the heartfelt true story of Pakistan's first camel library, which reconnected Pakistani children to the light of books in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The back of the book includes photos and more information about the camel library program, as well as fun facts about camels.

“Heartfelt and triumphant.” —Rajani LaRocca, Newbery Honor–winning Author of Red, White, and Whole A cricket-loving Pakistani girl stifled by patriarchal expectations disguises herself as a boy to get a job to pay her sister’s medical bills in this “lyrical action-packed debut full of determination and grit” (Reem Faruqi, award-winning author of Golden Girl).Living with her aunt and patriarchal uncle in Karachi, Pakistan, recently orphaned twelve-year-old Aarzu detests the way she and her younger sister get treated like extras and excluded from all the fun stuff. Aarzu dreams of playing cricket, just like her male cousins and the neighborhood boys in the streets, but her uncle will hear nothing of it. According to him, girls ought to master the art of making round rotis, not play sports. When her sister requires urgent medical treatment but finances are tight, Aarzu decides to earn money herself. She hears of a part-time job at a bungalow near her school—but it’s only open to boys. Aarzu has no choice but to disguise herself as a turban-wearing boy to get the gig. Now, Aarzu must find a way to balance school, work, chores, and secret cricket practices—all without burning out or getting caught by her uncle—or else her dreams of making the girls cricket team and her quest to save her sister will crumble around her.

A poignant eco-biography about Pakistan’s first female architect and humanitarian, Yasmeen Lari, who invented sustainable and affordable housing amid natural disaster, featuring back matter with photographs of Lari and her work.From an inquisitive and compassionate young girl to a world-renowned and award-winning architect and humanitarian, Yasmeen Lari has an empowering and inspiring life story. Learn about her success in a career dominated by men, her early work of advocating for and restoring historic buildings in Pakistan, and her turn to eco-friendly and sustainable design in the wake of natural disasters.Starting in 2005, earthquakes and floods raised Lari's attention to the need for rehabilitation building. The pioneering architect met the challenge head-on. Incorporating innovative modern design and traditional building practices and materials, Lari developed a blueprint for sustainable, disaster-resistant homes. Vibrantly illustrated, Yasmeen Lari, Green Architect gives an in-depth look at Lari's process from design and testing prototypes to teaching the communities she served the skills needed to rebuild alongside her.Delivering stunning illustrations and detailed text, Marzieh Abbas and Hoda Hadadi weave together a powerful ode to a contemporary icon. Back matter includes expanded biographical information about Lari in addition to photographs of her and her work.

Henna is so much more than a form of temporary body art. Henna is nature - seeds sprouted into shrubs, leaves kissed by tropical rain. Henna is colour - the orange of juicy mangoes, sun-kissed brown, or as black as the feathers of crows. Henna is fragrance - earthy and nutty, lemony and clove-y. The intricate patterns of flowers, feathers, vines, and other symbols painted and stained onto skin has been a tradition in cultures all around the world for thousands of years. Beautiful and eye-catching, henna also carries the scents, textures, and colors of family and identity.

This warm and joyful picture book blends family tradition and creativity as Noor puts an awesome spin on her Dadijaan's yummy but ingredient-specific samosa recipe.It’s Noor’s first time making her Dadijaan’s Special Samosa recipe. When she can’t get in touch with her Dadijaan because it’s nighttime in Pakistan, Noor must improvise to make her family’s recipe without all of the correct ingredients.Noor uses her creativity and problem-solving skills to create something new and exciting for her friends: flaky, super-crispy Awe-samosas!Marzieh Abbas weaves Urdu words into her narrative of creativity, problem-solving, and love of food and cooking. Includes Dadijaan’s traditional potato and pea samosas recipe in backmatter.

A dupatta is so much more than a beautiful piece of fabric. A dupatta is sound—swooshing and swashing like a superhero cape. A dupatta is scent—cinnamon and cardamom, crushed coriander and peppermint oil. A dupatta is fun—playing peekaboo and building cushion forts with dupatta canopies. Written by Marzieh Abbas and vividly brought to life by the artwork of Anu Chouhan, this is a loving and lyrical ode to the dupatta. These shawls—traditionally worn by women in various cultures of South Asia—are beautiful and colourful of course, but they're also fun, functional, and carry the sounds and smells of family and identity.

It was an ordinary day for Hamza. He changes into his pyjamas, and goes to brush his teeth before bed. But when he looks at his reflection, he sees letters stuck all over the mirror ... and they are all addressed to HIM The letters are from his hands, his eyes, his feet, his ears, his mouth and even his nose They are all saying the same thing: be mindful of how you use us What is Hamza to do? Join Hamza for the bedtime routine he'll never forget