Muslim-themed children’s books to be released by Publishing giant Simon & Schuster

As a child, Pakistani-American Zareen Jaffery saw a dearth of Muslim characters in mainstream children’s literature.

Talking to the New York Times, she says, “I remember looking at books to try to figure out, ‘What does it mean to be American? Am I doing this right? The truth is, I didn’t see myself reflected in books back then.”

And things haven’t changed much since she was young. However, what has changed is that Zareen now has the power to do something about it as an executive editor of Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers and she’s doing just that.

Zareen is the head of a new children’s imprint called Salaam Reads, which will focus on publishing books featuring Muslim characters and their stories and will release nine or more books a year, ranging from picture books to middle grade and young adult titles.

The 37-year-old felt the lack of relatable Muslim characters even more when she began reading books with her young nieces and nephews: “It was hard not to notice that none of those books really reflected their experience,” she told the Times.

The creation of the imprint is likely to fuel the discussion about diversity in the publishing world and comes at a time when American Muslims are starting to feel isolated and targeted. It must be noted that the books won’t emphasize Islamic ideology or doctrines but will chronicle the experience of being a Muslim.

So far, Salaam Reads has acquired four books that will come out in 2017, including ‘Salam Alaikum,’ a picture book based on a song by the British teen pop singer Harris J. Others planned for release are ‘Musa, Moises, Mo and Kevin,’ a picture book about four kindergarten friends who learn from each other’s holiday traditions; ‘The Gauntlet of Blood and Sand’ by Karuna Riazi, about a 12-year-old Bangladeshi-American who sets out to save her brother from a supernatural board game, and ‘Yo Soy Muslim,’ a picture book by the poet Mark Gonzales.

As support for the decision poured in on social media Jaffery took to Twitter to thank everyone for standing behind the initiative.