Suitable for children aged 5-7 years old. (Key Stage 1)
Author: Rae Norridge
Publisher: Islamic Foundation
ISBN: 0860373134

This book is about a Hippo called Hilmy and his discoveries about creation. Hilmy notices many things about the animals around him in the wildlife setting of this book. He notices the kingfisher eats fish and the zebra eats grass, and this starts his questions about the creation. To find answers, he goes to the terrapin. On the way, it starts to rain and he wonders why the rain comes from the clouds.

Once he reaches the old, wise terrapin, he finds the answers to his questions about creation. I like the terrapin's reply to Hilmy, when asked why different animals eat different things. The terrapin says,

`Allah created all of us. Everything has a purpose in life. Everyone of us and everything in nature relies on something for survival'.

This book teaches children that Allah created everything and we were all made different and everything has a reason in life. For example, if we were all vegetarian, there may not be enough food for all of us, so we need a variety of diets. It also teaches us that Allah has given us such a precious world we should look after it and respect it. People are also different and we should respect each other and not be unkind about other people's lifestyles.

This book is recommended for 5-7 year olds, but I think it could make older children think about the world around us and not just take it for granted.

By Haaniah Hamid, age 9yrs

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