Showing results by author "Hena Khan" in All Categories

Amina has never been comfortable in the spotlight. She is happy just hanging out with her best friend, Soojin. Except now that she's in middle school everything feels different. Soojin is suddenly hanging out with Emily, one of the "cool" girls in the class, and even talking about changing her name to something more "American." Does Amina need to start changing too? Or hiding who she is to fit in? While Amina grapples with these questions, she is devastated when her local mosque is vandalized.

It’s the last few days of an amazing trip to Pakistan, and Amina finds it hard to leave the sights, the shops, and most of all, her family. As she heads back to Greendale to start seventh grade, the experience has changed her, and she’s eager to share it with her friends. At home, though, Amina discovers her friends don’t seem interested in hearing about her trip. With everyone growing in different directions, Amina wonders where she belongs - especially after her school presentation on Malala goes sideways, leaving her feeling like nobody understands both her worlds.

Maya Amir of Washington, D.C. is having a bad day. Her family visiting from out of town have taken over her room, and worst of all, an annoying classmate has taken over the Environmental Club but doesn't seem to care about the environment the way Maya does. Then Maya receives a mysterious, magic bracelet in the mail from Lucy, a girl in Fort Worth, Texas, who had the bracelet last time. The bracelet grants wishes and Maya is having a hard time deciding what to wish for.

From a family restaurant to a hot-dog shaped car, from an empty road on a moonlight night to a classroom holiday celebration, this anthology of personal stories from award-winning and bestselling authors, shows that hope can live everywhere, even—or especially—during the darkest of times. No matter what happens: Hope wins.

When Uchenna and Elliot’s classmate publishes an article in the school newspaper about the Schmoke Brothers, Professor Fauna notices something alarming in a photo. Mounted on the wall of the Schmoke’s living room is a single spiral horn that he’s certain could have come from only one animal - a unicorn! To save these magical creatures - and to finally see a unicorn themselves - the Unicorn Rescue Society heads to the rugged mountains of Pakistan.

Zara lives for bike rides with her friends—so when her shiny, brand-new bike goes missing from the park one day, she’s crushed. After her parents insist she earn the money for another one herself, Zara’s determined to start a business. But what kind? A lemonade stand? Not profitable enough. Selling painted rocks? Not enough customers. Zara’s starting to get discouraged when she and her friend Naomi finally come up with the perfect idea: The Treasure Wagon, a roving garage sale that unloads knickknacks from the Saleem family basement and makes money all at once!

Zara Saleem is the queen of the neighborhood. Zara’s in charge of it all: She organizes the games, picks the teams, and always makes sure everybody is having a good time...her way. Until a new family moves in across the street and suddenly Zara’s reign is threatened by Naomi, who seems to have lots of good ideas about how the neighborhood kids can have fun. To reclaim her crown, Zara decides she’s going to break a Guinness World Record to get everyone to notice her again.

Jameela Pervaiz wants to be an award-winning journalist like her late grandfather and is thrilled to be selected as feature editor of her school newspaper, a huge honor for a seventh-grader. Unfortunately, the editor in chief keeps shooting down her article ideas. When she’s assigned to write about the new boy in school, whom everyone is buzzing about because of his British accent, Jameela wonders how she’ll make his story gripping enough to enter into a national media contest. Then Jameela, along with her three sisters, is devastated when her father accepts a job offer overseas.

It’s spring break and Zara and Naomi have big plans…until Zara finds out that Naomi’s parents are sending her to camp and Zara and Zayd are going to spend the week with their grandparents. Zara’s pretty sure it’s a rule that spring break is supposed to be full of fun and adventure—not doing chores for Naano and watching Nana Abu doze on the couch! But ever since Nana Abu retired, it seems all he wants to do is eat and sleep, and Zara’s worried their grandfather has lost his mojo.

Deena’s never given a name to the familiar knot in her stomach that appears when her parents argue about money, when it’s time to go to school, or when she struggles to find the right words. She manages to make it through each day with the help of her friends and the art she loves to make.