Meet Yasmin!

Saadia Faruqi's Meet Yasmin is a gentle collection of four little stories for 5 year olds about a girl who's very good at getting herself out of a muddle.

What happens

Yasmin lives with Mama and Baba, and her grandparents, Nana and Nani, are never far away. In every story something small goes wrong. Then Yasmin has a think and finds her own way through.

In the first, she draws a crayon map of her neighbourhood and takes it to the farmers' market with Mama. She dashes off to the swings and suddenly can't see Mama anywhere. (Her map comes in very handy.)

In the second there's an art competition, and Yasmin is quite sure she's rubbish at art. Her circles are lopsided and her hearts don't look like hearts. Then she knocks her paints over and spots something in the splodges.

The third has her class building a city. Everyone else grabs the good ideas straight away. Who hasn't sat and watched other people get going while their own head stays empty?

And in the last she's bored at home with her grandparents, sneaks into Mama's wardrobe and tries on a beautiful kameez. Then it rips. Luckily her grandparents and a glue gun are on hand, and it all ends in a fashion show.

Each story is three short chapters, so it's perfect for a new reader getting going on their own, or one story at bedtime. The sentences are short and there's plenty of chat.

There are Urdu words sprinkled through (Baba calls her jaan, which means life), and at the back you'll find a little word list, some questions to talk about together and a recipe for mango lassi.

Getting lost at the market might give a very little one a moment's worry. Yasmin cries with relief when she finds Mama, and it's over within a page.

What's lovely is that nobody fixes things for her. She makes a mess, feels cross or stuck, and then has her own idea. That's a nice thing for a small child to see.

What to read next

If Yasmin wins them over, look out for Yasmin the Soccer Star. A new coach puts her in goal, which she's quite sure is the most dangerous job on the pitch.