Shaila Abdullah

Award, Interviews, Oh My!

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My Friend SuhanaJanuary has suddenly become the most happening month for My Friend Suhana. For those who don’t know, I wrote this book with my young daughter Aanyah Abdullah, and the story is inspired by Aanyah’s special bond with her friend Suhana who has cerebral palsy and is unable to communicate in the traditional manner.

We received word that the book won the prestigious Dolly Gray Children’s Literature Award. Suddenly we became inundated with interview requests. We appeared on KVUE TV (See the interview) last week and were interviewed by KUT for its Texas Standard program just this week (hear the audio at the 24:40 mark). The KVUE story was shared over 280 times and received 1800 likes. We feel blessed to have this opportunity to spread this message of love, friendship and uncommon bond with the rest of the world.

Suhana-Aanyah

Learn more about My Friend Suhana by going to http://myfriendsuhana.com/

The Art Behind A Manual for Marco

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MFM-Email_v1_04Being a veteran graphic and web designer, I was excited when I landed a 3-book contract with Loving Healing Press with complete control over the visuals of each children’s book. What I didn’t calculate was what a tall task it is to deliver all three within a year. Clearly when I signed the deal and made the commitment, I didn’t factor in having a tween with a long list of school events and extracurricular activities and another child being 2 at the time. While frantically trying to complete the designs for books 1 and 2, I was hit with a splendid idea to tackle the art for the third book.

Due to a genetic link of sorts, many of my nieces, and my own daughters are artistically inclined. I decided to enlist the help of my 12-year-old niece, Iman in Calgary to develop the sketches for A Manual for Marco. Another niece in Houston––Sophia, who was 9 at the time took over the task of painting some geometric and organic background patterns. My own 10-year-old daughter Aanyah took a stab at creating some of her own background art. Not to be left behind, I handed some paint and halved onions and potatoes to my two-year-old daughter Aaliyana who developed some of her own visual conquests.

Now the challenge was to put them all together. Using Photoshop I scanned in the sketches and filled in colors. Next I brought in various pieces of background patterns and positioned them behind the characters. The result was something even I had not imagined. The art came alive and so did the talent of these gifted young girls. The book’s art is currently being widely recognized and praised. Layers_Artist_v1

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“Through her genuine, caring accounts about growing up with an older, autistic brother, this eight-year-old also shows her love for her sibling who is special but sometimes does things that are not-so-special. I highly recommend this book written with sensitivity and beautifully illustrated.” –Lorna d’Entremont, Special Needs Book Review

“A Manual for Marco is a ‘must read’ for families or friends of an autistic child. Abdullah’s writing is clear, warm, and accessible. Even the youngest readers will be able to understand autism. Abdullah has the ability to show love under the worst circumstances, even when Marco’s sister realizes her treasures are probably in the toilet. The illustrations are delightful. A Manual for Marco is perfect for younger elementary students.” –Gwendolyn Hooks, author of 17 books for young readers

Connections of the Heart: Reaching Out to Kids with Special Needs

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My Friend SuhanaHave you ever wondered what it is like to be trapped in a body that refuses to follow the commands of your mind? Now imagine a 7 year old in that situation. In the child’s medical file, a single label sets the course of her life: cerebral palsy. Sitting in a wheelchair, she waits on the sidelines at recess. Around her, there is the sound of life being lived to the fullest––kids chasing each other, running, swinging high in the air, playing hopscotch!

Except for her! Her arms twitch. Yearning to connect, to reach out to another.

A child walks up to her and takes her hand in her hand. Her new friend kneels down and starts talking to her. Engages her in nonverbal play. Draws a face in the dirt with a stick! Laughs. The girl in wheelchair gets excited. She wants to smile but she can’t.

Her friend smiles for her.

I am happy to introduce you to my children’s book, My Friend Suhana, coauthored with my 10-year old daughter Aanyah Abdullah. It is a story about a little girl who forms a close bond with a girl who has cerebral palsy. The little girl finds that through her art, she can reach her special friend Suhana. My Friend Suhana is targeted for children ages 6-8 years. The illustrations were also created by me, with Aanyah serving as a creative director.

My daughter, Aanyah, is the inspiration behind this project. Back in 2011, when she was barely 7, she wrote an essay in class about her friendship with a non-communicative girl with cerebral palsy. The essay touched me deeply, as did the friendship between the two girls. Art, I observed, played a major role in strengthening their bond.

Around the same time, I noticed an alarming gap in children’s literature dealing with disability, especially those that encouraged friendships between mainstream children and children with special needs. I felt that a book like My Friend Suhana would be instrumental in providing tips and tools for both children and parents of special needs children who often find it hard to explain their children’s disability to other children.

Hailed as “Highly recommended for anyone in the position of mentoring a beloved child through the hard places of life” by critics, My Friend Suhana celebrates special friendships and ways of reaching children with disabilities. Dawn Cruzan, president of Camp Craig Allen for all abilities lauded My Friend Suhana for its message of respect, friendship, and support. “As a leader in advocating for the ‘most overlooked’ disabilities, which sometimes include nonverbal communication, this was outstanding in providing these differences,” she said.

My hope is that by reading this book, children would feel equipped to connect and bond with children with disabilities. Not all friendships need words to be perfect. Some are connections of the heart!

Learn more and share My Friend Suhana

Originally posted at Special Needs Book Review on 05/18/2014