Aya Khalil

The Great Banned-Books Bake Sale

Upon learning that the books with kids who look like her have been banned by her school district, Kanzi descends into fear and helplessness. But her classmates support her, and together--with their teacher's help--they hatch a plan to hold a bake sale and use the proceeds to buy diverse books to donate to libraries. The event is a big success; the entire school participates, and the local TV station covers it in the evening news.

Prodded by her classmates to read the poem she has written, Kanzi starts softly but finds her voice. "You have banned important books, but you can't ban my words," she reads. "Books are for everyone." The crowd chants, "No banned books! No banned books!" and the next week, the ban is reversed.

Aya Khalil appends a note about how The Arabic Quilt was briefly banned from the York, Pennsylvania school system, and the backmatter also includes a recipe for baklawa, the Egyptian pastry that Kanzi prepares for the bake sale.

Publisher: Tilbury House Publishers
Publication Date: August 01, 2023
Type: Hardcover
ISBN: 9780884489672
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The Night Before Eid

Celebrate the end of Ramadan with this luminous Muslim family story about faith, history, and delicious foods.

On the night before Eid, it’s finally time to make special sweet treats: Teita’s famous ka’ak. Zain eagerly unpacks the ingredients from his grandmother’s bulky suitcase: ghee from Khalo Karim, dates from Amo Girgis, and honey from Tant Tayseer—precious flavors all the way from Egypt. Together with Mama and Teita, Zain follows his family’s recipe and brings to life Eid songs and prayers, pharaonic history, and the melodies and tastes of his Egyptian heritage.

This Muslim holiday story, featuring a delicious ka’ak recipe, is a satisfying addition to a joyful and expansive Eid.

Publisher: Little, Brown/Christy Ottaviano
Publication Date: March 7, 2023
Type: Hardcover
ISBN: 9780316319331

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Our World: Egypt

Come along for a day in Egypt! There's so much to explore -- candy- colored boats, thumping tablas and warm pita bread. Author Aya Khalil and illustrator Magda Azab draw on their personal experience of life in Egypt to create this appealing board book for very young readers.

Publisher: Barefoot Books
Publication Date: October 18, 2022
Type: Board Book
ISBN: 9781646867172

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The Arabic Quilt: An Immigrant Story

The Arabic Quilt: An Immigrant Story
Kanzi's family has moved from Egypt to America, and on her first day in a new school, what she wants more than anything is to fit in. Maybe that's why she forgets to take the kofta sandwich her mother has made for her lunch, but that backfires when Mama shows up at school with the sandwich. Mama wears a hijab and calls her daughter Habibti (dear one). When she leaves, the teasing starts.

That night, Kanzi wraps herself in the beautiful Arabic quilt her teita (grandma) in Cairo gave her and writes a poem in Arabic about the quilt. Next day her teacher sees the poem and gets the entire class excited about creating a "quilt" (a paper collage) of student names in Arabic. In the end, Kanzi's most treasured reminder of her old home provides a pathway for acceptance in her new one.
This authentic story with beautiful illustrations includes a glossary of Arabic words and a presentation of Arabic letters with their phonetic English equivalents.

Publisher: Tilbury House Publishers
Publication Date: February 18, 2020
Type: Hardcover
ISBN: 9780884487548

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About Aya

Freelance journalist and blogger Aya Khalil, holds a master’s in Education with a focus in teaching English as a second language. She’s been featured in Teen Vogue, Yahoo! Book Riot and other publications. Her work has been published in The Huffington Post, The Christian Science Monitor, Toledo Area Parent and many others. She’s done sensitivity readings for DK Publishing/Penguin.

Aya is a picture book author and is represented by Brent Taylor of Triada US Agency. Her debut picture book The Arabic Quilt: An Immigrant Story was published February 18, 2020 by Tilbury House.

She is also an adjunct instructor at the University of Toledo. Besides writing and teaching, she enjoys spending time with her family, traveling and exercising.

She does author visits at libraries and schools and sensitivity readings. Contact her for details.

You can learn more about Aya at http://ayakhalil.com.