Books are a great way to help young children understand life and some of the challenges they may face as they grow up. One book I think is really good at this is “How Muzn Found Her Voice” written by Fatma Al Manji and Rumaitha Al-Busaidi. I was kindly gifted an electronic copy of the book so that i could review it.
The book explores how it feels for a young child to have a stutter. Muzn, the book’s main character, has one that makes her want to stay silent and not speak, preferring to bury herself in books. She lives with her family near the Strait of Hormuz and is terrified when she’s chosen to represent her class at a local competition by reading out a poem.
The story explores what it’s like for children around the world whom their peers mock because they’re different. Muzn was extremely self-conscious about her stutter and knew that her classmates felt she was the wrong choice for the competition because of it.
Muzn finds strength and support from her grandmother and a butterfly she’s watched grow from an egg. With their help, she realises if she’s going to overcome her fear of public speaking, the courage she needs will come from within her.
Finding courage from within
The book is a beautiful way to show young children that they’re often braver than they think and that they can overcome challenges with help and support from those around them. This is such an important message for young children to understand. Many have challenges that make them unique, but that doesn’t mean they can’t achieve their dreams.
The authors have set the book near where they’re from in Oman which helps to show children that whatever part of the world they live in, children struggle with feeling different. The book is about overcoming the fear of public speaking but its message will help to support children with a whole range of issues, such as feeling different because they’re adopted.
I’d recommend the book for all children and it’s one we’ll be reading time and time again. My youngest daughter, in particular, enjoyed the colourful images and loved how Muzn nailed the poetry reading!
How Muzn Found Her Voice: About the authors
Fatma Al Manji is an environmental researcher, water scientist, anti-racism activist, and travel enthusiast. Her co-author Rumaitha Al-Busaidi is also a scientist, activist, and athlete. She empowers Arab women to step into spaces previously denied to them such as the football field, on the front line of battle against climate change, or a volcano summit. She was the youngest Omani woman to step foot on the South Pole.
They are both passionate about helping young children from diverse backgrounds find their voice. Having lived in a range of multicultural settings growing up, Fatma realised that women empowerment and representation wasn’t something that was communicated to her during her youth which was the driving force for them to write the book.
You can buy “How Muzn Found Her Voice” from Austin Macauley Publishers and a range of bookshops.
If you’d like to find out about more amazing books, head over to the book reviews section.
