One Wish by M.O. Yuksel illustrated by Mariam Quaraishi

One wish: Fatima al-Fihri and the World's Oldest University

"Fatima knew the best way to help her community was to build a school where students, especially the poor and the refugees, could live and study for free."

I can hear the founder of IBBY - Jella Lempman cheering over these words. And these words too:

"Fatima knew her school was like planting a single seed that would continuously bloom with each student who studied there. Her school, which was also a mosque and a library, opened its arms ready to serve the community."

I hope this amazes you when I tell you Fatima built her school in the year 859. That's 1200 years ago! In 1963 it became part of the Moroccan state university system. 

My wish is that every library could have a rich collection of biographies such as this one which comes from the exceptionally well-stocked school library I visit each week. Every time I read one of the biography titles from this library, I learn something new and amazing and this one - One Wish - is no exception. These hardcover biography titles are somewhat expensive but I think they are a good investment. If you have students in your school with a Muslim background this book is one you should seriously consider purchasing. There are extensive end notes in this book with a bibiography, timeline, author's note and glossary.

Read more about Fatima al-Fihri:

• Teach Mideast
• Bright Insight
• Odyssey Traveller

Take a look at this biography picture book Pinterest. 

Read this interview with Mr Schu about One Wish. The illustrator says:

Nonfiction picture books are a window into history and an introduction to unknown heroes like Fatima al-Fihri and other ordinary people who have contributed to humanity in extraordinary ways; heroes who have illuminated our world and continue to do so even to this day.

And the author says:

Writing biographies or becoming an author was not on my radar at the time but Fatima was a personal hero I kept tucked away in my heart. When I began writing picture books in 2015 as a result of seeing a gap in the marketplace for Muslim voices, that’s when Fatima al-Fihri and my desire to write a biography about her surfaced. We need stories about women who have changed the world for the better, especially stories about underrepresented women who are often stereotyped, misunderstood, and maligned in our current society.

An inspiring profile of a tenacious trailblazer that highlights the power of knowledge. Kirkus

Who could not love a book about a girl whose first spoken word was “read”? Add this biography to any collection looking to be well rounded when it comes to women’s history. School Library Journal