Standing with my nine years old daughter in front of endless shelves of teens’ books to select from. We were looking for her next book to enjoy during her summer holiday. It was her first time navigating unknown books and authors that we have not came across before. Unsure which books are appropriate, we kept flipping pages and looking for book reviews that did not show any cultural sensitivity nor reflect shared moral background.

It was easier to choose morally sensitive books when the children were younger, skimming through the short-sentenced pages was enough to know it all. As they grew, the lengthy novels became harder to navigate by eyesight and cultural appropriateness is barely mentioned in any online reviews. Similar to movies, books should be rated and reviewed for their moral compass and appropriateness. books may suit certain age groups and may not be appropriate for other. They may contain violence, inappropriate language or sexual content.

In this blog we want to consciously look into wide range of books and rate them based on their content (read on their own, need to be discussed, carers should read them with their children, not suitable for children). Reviewers can raise flags on any inappropriate content with reference to pages so parents can judge themselves according to their own moral compass. Conscious, culturally sensitive, critical and concise is how we carry our book reviews in this blog.

‘Eqraa” or “read” was the first word in the first revelation by Gabriel in Islam. For that, we believe our children deserve morally sensitive ratings and access to comprehensive reviews to support them in their reading journey.