Amina's Voice & read-alikes: connecting readers with more books (ages 9-12)

Many of our students really enjoyed reading Amina's Voice, by Hena Khan, as part of our Mock Newbery Book Clubs. They connected with the way Amina learns to cope with her nerves, finds the courage to perform, and deals with the pressures of sixth grade.

Amina's Voice
by Hena Khan
Salaam Reads / Simon & Schuster, 2017
Amazon / your local library / Google Books preview
ages 9-12

As Amina starts sixth grade, she struggles with friendship and family issues. At school, her best friend Soojin is befriending another girl, Emily. Soojin is also talking about becoming an American citizen and taking a second, more American name. Amina just wants things to stay the same with Soojin.

At home, Amina loves to sing; true to her parents' nickname (geeta, 'song' in Urdu), she has a beautiful voice. Amina avoids the spotlight, and prefers to sing by herself. When her uncle Thaya Jaan, who is visiting from Pakistan, tells her parents that her singing and piano playing are un-Islamic, she feels undermined and unsure of herself just as she's trying to get up the courage to perform at a school concert.

Students of many backgrounds really responded to this story. Here are some of their comments:

• "It totally hooked me and stayed with me."
• "I liked the beginning how she felt nervous and scared, and then she overcame this."
• "It was intense when their mosque burnt down."
• "I could relate to having arguments with a friend."

Berkeley librarians worked together to recommend "read-alikes" for students who enjoyed Amina's Voice.

If you liked Amina's Voice for the way Amina found her own voice, you might try:

• The Sweetest Sound, by Sherri Winston
• Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, by Judy Blume
• Fish in a Tree, by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
• Stella Diaz Has Something to Say, by Angela Dominguez

If you liked Amina's Voice for the way it portrayed a Pakistani family in America, you might try:

• Save Me a Seat, by Sarah Weeks and Gita Varadarajan
• A Long Pitch Home, by Natalie Dias Lorenzi
• Same Sun Here, by Silas Hosue and Neela Vaswani

In looking for read-alikes, we tried to think of a "hook" to give a student a connection to another book. We also looked for books that would appeal to students at a similar emotional level and reading level. This is not an exact match, but rather a general guide to help us. We also looked for books that many of our libraries have and books that are still in print.

Many thanks to all of the librarians in Berkeley (both at BUSD school libraries and Berkeley Public Library) who are helping us create these read alike lists. Please let us know if you have any other books to add to these suggestions!

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©2018 Mary Ann Scheuer, Great Kid Books