--- description: Simon & Schuster's Salaam Reads aims to reflect Muslim children's experiences title: New Children's Book Imprint to Feature Muslim Characters image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Books](/tag/books/) ## Books Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # New Children's Book Imprint to Feature Muslim Characters by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 25, 2016 3:40 PM CUT by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 25, 2016 3:40 PM CUT In recent years, children’s book authors, readers and librarians have pointed out the overwhelming whiteness of books for young readers, using movements like [#WeNeedDiverseBooks](http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/06/02/318098926/-weneeddiversebooks-campaign-comes-to-inaugural-bookcon "undefined") to highlight the change they wish to see in the marketplace. Now, at least one underrepresented group is getting its very own imprint: Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing has announced Salaam Reads, dedicated to publishing books that will reflect the experiences of young Muslims in America. “Our aim with the Salaam Reads imprint is in part to provide fun and compelling books for Muslim children,” said executive editor Zareen Jaffery in a press release, “but we also intend for these books to be entertaining and enriching for a larger non-Muslim audience.” Jaffery is [herself a Muslim American](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/25/business/media/simon-schuster-creates-imprint-for-muslim-themed-childrens-books.html?%5Fr=1 "undefined") who was dissatisfied with the lack of characters who looked like her when she read books as a child, the New York _Times_ [reports](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/25/business/media/simon-schuster-creates-imprint-for-muslim-themed-childrens-books.html?%5Fr=1 "undefined"). The imprint, which takes its name from the Arabic word for “peace,” will publish nine titles a year running the gamut from picture books to YA novels. The first round of publications will include _Salam Alaikum_, a picture book based on the song of the same name preaching peace, _Musa, Moises, Mo, and Kevin_, about four best friends celebrating their various holidays, _The Gauntlet of Blood and Sand_, about Bangladeshi American siblings playing a “supernatural board game,” and _Yo Soy Muslim_, a celebration of one family’s diverse ancestry. Salaam Reads launches in 2017. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4237149/muslim-childrens-book-imprint-salaam-reads/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4237149/muslim-childrens-book-imprint-salaam-reads/"},"headline":"New Children's Book Imprint to Feature Muslim Characters","datePublished":"2016-02-25T15:40:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T15:22:44.336Z","description":"Simon & Schuster's Salaam Reads aims to reflect Muslim children's experiences","url":"https://time.com/4237149/muslim-childrens-book-imprint-salaam-reads/","keywords":["Books"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/books/","name":"Books"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4237149/muslim-childrens-book-imprint-salaam-reads/","name":"New Children's Book Imprint to Feature Muslim Characters"}}]}] ```