Speak Up Sami

Shabana Hussain is a teacher from Lancashire who writes faith inspired children's picture books. She believes strongly in representation and spreading kindness. Through her work, she hopes to help young readers feel empowered and confident to embrace their unique culture and identity.When she's not writing, you can find Shabana doodling, singing or playing her daff (drum). She can also be found munching on chocolate goodies which she claims fuel her imagination!

“This isan excellent book about a young boy, Sami, who is quiet and shy and doesn’tlike going to school. He feels left out but doesn’tknow how to join in. He feels picked on but isn’t confident enough to speak upfor himself. When schoolmates begin to pick on a new kid at school, Sami feelsbad for Gamba. Sami has been taught to speak up and take action whensomething seems wrong. Emotiveillustrations really help littles feel what the characters are goingthrough."The Collector of Heads-A Fuse 8 Production/Betsy BirdA beautiful book with a powerful message about standing up against bullying: both Sami and Gamba are so relatable. Love the Hadith quoted at the end. -Dr Neha Qazi, (Author)  My daughter loves Speak Up Sami! Almost obsessed with the classroom scenesand the schoolyard scenes.  She loves the ones with a hearing aid and eardefender. (I have a hearing aid, she has the noise canceller so she totallyrecognises those). Well-loved book in our house, thank you. - Anita Bagdi (Children's Book Illustrator) I’ve just read your book and Masha'Allah it’s beautiful!  The story, theillustrations, and what kids can take away from it.  My son has alreadyread it and says it's "very wholesome and has a lovelymessage." - Isla Khan (Homeschooling Mum)So much love for this book! Big messages are perfectly written in a relatable way for little minds. - Mrs Din (Teacher) He absolutely loved it! I could totally relate to it and enjoyed the friendship between Sami and Gamba. In his own words, "It is awesome!" - Mrs Aziz (Teacher) I adore the overall message of tolerance andrespect for others and believe this story does a fab job of highlighting thesignificance of celebrating our uniqueness and differences. - Sarah Javed (Educator)