The Blessed Bananas

The Blessed Bananas by Author Tayyaba Syed and published by Prolance is a beautiful fable about a monkey named Rico who had a banana tree that he did not want to share with anyone. He counted his bananas and yelled at anyone who asked him for just one. One day, an elephant slips on a banana and holds the tree, swinging it from side to side. The bananas fall and Rico is scared that he might too! He calls out for help and the animals that he had not given anything to before actually do listen and come to his rescue. He is thankful and realizes his selfishness from before.

My kids loved this story. They laughed at the naughtiness of the monkey and were engaged and attentive until the end. They even told me right from the beginning that they recognized that Rico’s story reminded them of a the Ashab AlJannah story in the Quran - ( the story in Surah alQalam that talks about the youth that inherited their father’s farm but did not want to share it with the poor people, and so it was destroyed as a reminder for them to be generous in charity.)

Important lessons to discuss with your child while reading the book:

1. It is never too late to repent! Even if you make a mistake, Allah sends signs, and we should listen to them and come back to the right path. 2. Charity and “sharing” does not decrease from your “stuff”.Allah blesses you with more, the more you give! 3. Never give up on people! Help them, even if they have scorned you before. Be nice for Allah’s sake...and you might make a new friend for life! 4. Money and wealth is nothing without friendship and love! 5. Make duaa for those who do wrong, Allah may accept and guide them to the truth! 6. Trials and loss of wealth happen in this world, but it is how we react that matters. Do we turn to Allah? Do we ask ourselves if anything in our life is sinful and how we can improve?

This book is full of lessons and I recommend it for everyone with kids ages 5 and up! Get yours from www.tayyabasyed.com/bookstore for between 12 to 18 usd.

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