The Day of Ahmed's Secret by Florence Parry Heide and Judith Heide Gilliland

The Day of Ahmed's Secret written by Florence Parry Heide and Judith Heide Gilliland and illustrated by Ted Lewin is a story of a young boy in Cairo, Egypt who uses his donkey and cart to deliver butane gas to customers every day.  However, this day, Ahmed has a secret.  A secret he keeps to himself until he arrives home to share it with his family.  

As the story commences, Ahmed introduces the reader to his city and all its sounds and noises.  The mix of modern sounds from trucks, buses, and cars are intermixed with those of ancient times such as donkeys, camels, and carts.  He shares the sights and people he meets around the city, but all the while, he keeps his secret.  Ahmed is responsible for helping out the family by working, but he is proud to be strong enough to do the work his father once did.  His young energy fills the pages with a sense of responsibility and urgency.  After finishing his day's work, Ahmed returns home to finally share his secret, and what a secret it is!

The illustrations on the cover of this book are likely enough to entice young readers.  Throughout the text, the realistic and incredibly unique pictures invite the reader into another part of our world, another culture of our world, another lifestyle of our world.  As the story progresses, the reader becomes more entranced with the city itself, but we are frequently reminded that there is a secret to be shared.  Ahmed delivers the reader into the heart of Cairo where the similarities to modern American society are easy to find, but the differences are even more obvious.  Ahmed shares parts of his city that are over a thousand years old and how the desert and Nile river affect his city.  When he returns home, he shares his secret with his family - he can write his name.  Ahmed's pride is only overshadowed by the questions that arise:  Why is he just learning to write his name?  If he is working, does he not attend school?  Why doesn't he attend school?  What language does he speak and write?  Is helping his family more important than going to school?  Is this still something young children in Cairo do today?  Why is this such a big deal?

I would recommend this book to anyone in kindergarten through fifth- or sixth-grade.  Younger students will easily connect with the excitement of being able to write their own name, but they will also notice the differences between Ahmed's city and their hometown.  Additionally, the illustrations offer a great discussion point and exposure to another culture.  I would also recommend this book to older students.  The increasing responsibility of growing older paired with the pride in being strong enough to help out family members is an easy connection to make for older students.  Additionally, older students would be able to investigate, explore, and question the cultural, geographic, and linguistic differences between Ahmed's culture and their own.  



Book trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nq7PaUZ58BE