Orange County Moms Release Book About Eid ul-Adha

Courtesy InFocus, Angie El Sherif

IRVINE, Calif. — New children’s book authors, Amira Gadd and Mariam Saada, released their first book entitled “4-3-2-1 Eid ul-adha is so much fun!” on Nov. 20.
Gadd and Saada have written this book in hopes that it will be the first of many.

The book is available on their educational Web site designed for Muslim kids and families.

Sonbolight kids was created because Saada and Gadd, who are local Orange County moms, felt there a lot of books for Muslim children, but they are more informational books than they are fun, attractive and appealing.

“We were complaining about the fact that Muslim kids’ books are not very attractive-looking and not molded to our children in terms of topics and presentation,” Saada said.

According to their Web site, Sonbolightkids.com, their company aims at “providing quality products geared to enhance a child’s Islamic character and to assist parents, educators and caretakers to instill values in a persuasive yet fun and appealing fashion.”

“Our motto is Read. Think. Learn. Inspire,” Saada said.

The book “4-3-2-1 Eid ul-adha is so much fun!” is sold for $5.99, and the authors plan on marketing it in Barnes and Noble and Borders as well as Islamic book stores.

The book is about how children raised in the West celebrate Eid ul-Adha by decorating, exchanging gifts, etc.

“The thing about this book is that it is very simple in terms of the language. The children can read it on their own without their parents’ help,” Gadd said.

“We would like to also present our book to non-Muslims. It can help them understand what Eid is all about. We feel that there is a gap, and we are trying to fill this gap,” Saada said.

Sonbolight Kids has a line of products – dedicated especially to Ramadan, Eid ul-Fitr and Eid ul-Adha – designed to make the holiday experience fun and attractive.

The Web site is interactive; there you can find printable activities like dot to dot, word search, decorative activities, stickers and arts and crafts.

They plan to also include games, music, videos and movies as well.

“We have big dreams for the Web site,” Saada said, adding that they also hope to publish four books every year.

All their books and products strive to be properly researched and based on the holy Qur’an and Sunnah.

The name Sonbolight defines the organization. The word Sonbol means a grain of wheat in the Arabic language, which represents the fact that good deeds done are multiplied.

Gadd is a graphics designer who is completing her master’s in e-marketing. She is the illustrator of the book as well as the Web site designer.

Saada is currently doing her Ph.D. in Spanish linguistics. Their children attend Islamic elementary schools in Orange County.

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