RAMADAN

Ghazi, while never stating forthrightly that Allah is the same God Christians and Jews worship, explains Ramadan, Islam's holiest month, with pedantry as the guiding force. Readers learn about the Islamic faith, who Muslims are, how a lunar calendar works, the liturgies inside a mosque, and the enchanted hour of the pre-dawn meal just before the inception of a day of fasting. Beyond the fictionalized framework of the boy Hakeem's personal rites and family traditions, there is little to make the information memorable. That's not true of Rayyan's artwork, which is replete with images of the sacred and the profane; it's an eyeful of Islamic motifs, from delicate filigree to miniature panels to a well-lighted mosque that appears to be carved out of the dark. (glossary) (Picture book. 4-10)