Interview with picture book author Yasmin Hanif

KLiC: What was your inspiration for Abdullah's Bear Needs a Name? 
 
YH: The inspiration for the book title came from the story behind the book. During the pandemic, I started working with a primary school in the west of Scotland. About 90% of the school’s pupils at that time were from an ethnic minority background but the pupils didn’t see themselves as the main character in books and didn’t use their own names in creating stories in class. Names, which were from their own culture, community, religion, or heritage.  
 
I remember one of the teachers telling me that the children had been putting together a list of teddy bear names for a raffle and had chosen predominantly European names like Jack, Alan and Sarah. Not one of those children had picked a name like their own such as Anum, Omar or Fauzia. This anecdote became crucial to the school developing a project called ‘We Can Be Heroes’ where myself and two other writers worked with the pupils to help create stories where those children saw themselves in the books they read and were the heroes of those stories.   
 
My time at the school was also the inspiration for both the story and title of my book, Abdullah’s Bear Needs A Name!, about a boy called Abdullah who gets gifted a teddy bear passed down through generations, but he can’t find the right name for the bear until one day he hears an old story about his Dadaji (granddad).  

KLIC: What are your favorite illustrations in the book? 
​
YH: I can’t praise Sophie Benmouyal, who is the illustrator of the book enough! She’s done such a terrific job and really brought the story to life more than I could have imagined. There are so many favourite illustrations to pick from! I think every spread where Abdullah is holding the bear you can see the love on his face.  

I really valued the collaborative process with my publishers in terms of the illustrations where I was asked for my opinion and feedback which was then given to Sophie who would then go ahead and do the illustrations based on that. I think this makes the book more authentic and richer in cultural experience and really goes that extra mile. For example, the detail on the shalwar kameez (clothes that the characters are wearing), the Pakistani food, the shops on the street, etc. But one of my favourite illustrations is where Abdullah asks his Abba to tell him a bedtime story. The details are wonderfully done and this was based on my own experience visiting Pakistan.  

A fun fact, Sophie started to research into her own Moroccan heritage for the book’s illustrations, so the book really is a piece of so many people’s heart – their experiences, stories, culture and histories.  
 
KLIC: What's the one thing you want children to take away from your book? 

YH: I want children to believe that they are worthy of being the central character in books. I want them to develop confidence and believe in themselves.  

For a long time growing up, I believed that only those who looked a certain way were worth reading about. I hope Abdullah’s Bear Needs A Name! will help change that perception and encourage all children to believe that they are important and worth reading and writing about, no matter who they are. 

Abdullah's Bear Needs a Name! releases in February 2026, but you can learn more or pre-order here. 

---

Yasmin Hanif is a British-Pakistani author, poet and educator from a Muslim background. She worked on the 'We Can Be Heroes' project, which tackled the lack of diversity in children's literature and won several UK awards. Yasmin's debut picture book Abdullah's Bear Needs a Name! is inspired by this project. She lives in the west of Scotland, UK.