Book Review: A Great Friend of Children

A Great Friend of Children Book Review

Compiled by: MS Kayani

Published by The Islamic Foundation, UK

Hardcover

Ages: 7-11 years

"A Great Friend of Children" is a collection of eight stories from the life of the Prophet Muhammad (blessings of Allah and peace be upon him) depicting the love and kindness that he showed towards little children. A man who as busy changing the course of human history was, at the same time, free enough to mingle with and love the children - a captivating aspect of the greatest of human life stories."

This is an old book that was first published in 1981. The version I have now is the reprinted hardback cover from 2008. This is one of the first few books from The Islamic Foundation’s ‘Muslim Children’s Library’ that was available in English for Muslim children. 

I actually came across them in the 1990s (in Australia, we used to be 10 years behind everybody). The age of this book and its reprint suggest that it has become a classic. 

It’s easy to understand why this book is a classic. The stories in it are taken from Prophet Muhammad’s hadeeth (his sayings and actions), peace and blessings be upon him, and are retold in a way that is easy to understand for children. Each chapter is a story from the Prophet’s life that children can take lessons from. 

As the title indicates, each story shows how Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, treated and loved the children. This is a great book for children to read to endear our beloved Prophet to them.

I’ve read this book out loud and the words flowed smoothly. So it’s great for bedtime reading to your child or if you’re a teacher, it’s great for reading out loud to your class. The added bonus is that each page has a colour illustration that is clear and bright so you can show the pictures as you read.

It is geared towards the older child, between the ages of 7 and 11 years of age. I gave this book to my 10 year old to read and this was what he said: “The language used is clear. It gave a good description of what’s happening. It uses emotional language – it makes you feel.” OK, my 10 year old is a precocious child who reads thick teenage chapter books, but he still enjoyed the stories in this book. I'm sure yours will too.

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