For National Poetry Month, KidLitSOUL welcomes Reem Faruqi and Gayatri Sethi as they discuss the power and inspiration of poetry.

You’ve written several beautiful novels in verse (ZARINA DIVIDED, UNSETTLED, CALL ME ADNAN and GOLDEN GIRL), what inspired you to write poetry?

Thank you! It was accidental at first! I had started my first book UNSETTLED and when I’d sent it to my literary agent at the time, she said it sounded like verse and asked if that was what I intended. I hadn’t but eagerly checked out books at the library and fell in love with verse. I find it an easier format to write in and it’s less intimidating that paragraphs.

Who are poets who inspire your poetry?

There are too many to list! I know Jasmine Warga’s book OTHER WORDS FOR HOME gave me the boost I needed to finish UNSETTLED. It was heartwarming to see a Muslim character like Jude portrayed so beautifully in verse. I also really loved Sandra Cisneros’s writing in THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET, it showed me how whimsical writing could be. That book really made an impression on me. I still remember how Cisneros describes the different family members hair so vividly and wanting to write like that.

Share your craft tips for writing poetry.

When you’re stuck, which can happen often, step away from your screen and grab a good old pencil or pen, and a regular notebook and write on there. With poetry, the spacing can be playful and intentional so it’s easier to write with a pencil and then transcribe it to a computer document.

Please share a new poem you’ve written recently?

Where are you from? (203 words)

I am a newly turned teen and am new to Peachtree City, Georgia

and any time I see someone Brown

I can’t wait to ask

Where are you from?

And when they answer somewhere a bland town in America

and I follow up No where are you from?

and when they say the state they are from

my eyebrows hug in confusion

No where are you really from?

and when they mention Pakistan India Sri Lanka Bangladesh

anywhere Brown

I smile

feel relief

I am so desperate for a connection of my experience back home

that when they have something that they can share with me

I can say

Me too

Me too

Me too.

Years later

I realize

that you aren’t supposed to ask

Where are you from?

No, where are you really from?

But you see

at that time

I asked

because I so badly wanted to see them

and me

and to have a connection

even it was the slightest whisper

or a trace

where our fingers could point to a map

and land somewhere closer together

than inches and continents

a p a r t.

I could then speak up
Look how our borders touch…

Thank you, Gayatri. I really loved your book Diaspora-ish and think it should be required reading! Your poetry has an emotional punch that we can all learn from.

Reem Faruqi is an award winning author who enjoys writing lyrical stories that reflect her own experiences. When Reem Faruqi taught second grade, her favorite time was “Read Aloud” time. Now, her favorite time at home is reading with her daughters. Reem Faruqi is the award-winning author of Lailah’s Lunchbox, a picture book based on her own experiences as a young Muslim girl immigrating to the United States. Of Pakistani origin, Reem moved to Peachtree City, Georgia, from Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, when she was 13 years old. She’s also the author of four middle grade novels in verse, Unsettled, Golden Girl, Call Me Adnan, Zarina Divided, chapter book Anisa’s International Day, and picture books Amira’s Picture Day, I Can Help, Milloo’s Mind, Swimming Toward a Dream, House Without Lights, many of which received starred reviews. Reem loves to doodle, write, and take photos at http://www.ReemFaruqi.com. She seasonally worked as a photographer and currently works as a Scheduler for the Islamic Speakers Bureau of Atlanta. Currently, she lives with her husband and four daughters in Atlanta.

Gayatri Sethi is a cultural worker, educator and caregiver. She is connected to multiple diaspora communities in (South) Asia, Africa and the Americas. With heritage roots in pre-partition Punjab, she was born in Shinyanga, Tanzania and raised in Gaborone, Botswana. She identifies as polycultural, multilingual and interfaith.

Her lifelong learning work focuses on unlearning allegiance to systems of oppression rooted in imperialism while relearning about liberation movements, anti-imperialism, abolition, and revolutions. She resides in sacred Muscogee lands and seeks to seed solidarity with movements for land back globally, from Punjab to Palestine.

Lately, every morning, I get about ten minutes of awake time before it feels like the world is ending.

In those ten minutes- I rub the sleep from my eyes, do wudu, complete my Fajr prayer, and go downstairs to make my huge pot of coffee before my kids wake up and the duties of the day begin. And once I am settled with my hot mug on my favorite chair, I open my phone to look at my social media.

Cue the doom scrolling. I look through image after image of disaster, and all I feel is this deep aching sadness at not being able to stop all the horrible events going on in so many areas of the world and at home, here, in America.

We can witness the whole world from our very fingertips, and yet feel like we are not be able to do anything to change it.

That crisis overwhelms me, almost swallows me. And I wonder…. how do we survive these bad moments? How can we look for a glimmer of sunshine when it feels like our problems are snowballing bigger and bigger.

When I started writing my survival novel in verse SISTERS ALONE, I began with a simple premise. Tween gets stuck home, and has to navigate a monstrous blizzard and all the struggles that come with it, alone. As with my usual process of writing and plotting, I strove to dig deeper into the character and the plot to unearth the heart of my message- the theme.

What was I trying to say about survival? Was it that my main character learned to be confident in her own skills to survive? I could think of many beautiful middle grade books that relayed similar themes— HATCHET and ALONE mainly.

But for my story…something felt missing.

Pretty quickly, I realized the story needed something, or rather someone more— and that happened to be the main character’s sister.

Rama and Leena, the two sisters in my novel SISTERS ALONE have opposing personalities. Rama is fierce and focused, and Leena is forgetful and withdrawn. Both are reeling from the sudden death of their mother, and trying to navigate grief in their own individual ways. Leena uses a scrapbook to try to bring back the memories of before when their life wasn’t as broken. Rama tries to move on quickly from her grief, determined that if she can shape the future herself, bad things won’t happen again. Rama’s main struggle is in her intrusive thoughts and anxiety- which make her goal harder.

While the blizzard and the girls being home alone is the catalyst for the external plot, what makes Rama and Leena’s survival even harder is that their relationship is icy, shaped by scars and secrets. What makes their lives harder is that they are each going about their journeys of trying to heal alone.

They clash as the events of the blizzard strike disaster after disaster, and it is only by learning to hold onto each other (quite literally in some scenes), trusting each other, and being completely honest are they able to save each other, and themselves.

And in that journey is the theme of my story.

Survival goes hand in hand with sisterhood (a metaphor for community).

Leaning on those we love, getting support with both our external and our internal storms, empowers us to be able to withstand them.

The disasters we see online every day- we CAN do something to change them. We can reach out to each other via the very social media that brings this news to our doorstep. We can provide aid to our local food banks, donate our time and finances to support people struggling, and even provide kind comments of solidarity. Sometimes, being seen can be a much-needed balm to a person struggling.

We don’t need to do this survival thing alone.

In our tumultuous world, although it feels like unpredictable storms loom closer, about to sweep us away— leaning on each other can help us feel anchored, even if for just a moment.

And maybe while striving for that sunshine-shaped warmth of hope together, life might surprise us with a little bit of a winter miracle.

SHIFA SALTAGI SAFADI is the National Book Award winning author of Kareem Between, the Amina Banana series, and several picture books, including The Gift of Eid. She has a bachelor’s degree in English literature, is a former ELA teacher, and is passionate about spreading a love of reading through storytimes and school visits. Shifa was born in Syria and immigrated to the US with her parents as a young girl. She lives near Chicago with her husband and four children.

Find her on Instagram @shifasaltagisafadi

My Language Is a Garden has been featured in the CBC 2026 Booklist, with a spotlight for “Verse That Sparks Joy.”

In Full Bloom: Poetry and Verse

In Celebration: Verse That Sparks Joy

It also received a beautiful review from School Library Journal, excerpted in the image above.

Thanks for sharing, reviewing, and supporting this title.

Happy Reading!

Learn about Mindy’s new book, which features the life of Ulugh Beg, a prince whose fascination with the stars led to important developments in space exploration.

Great conversation.

Congrats Mindy!

From M. O. Yuksel, author of In My Mosque, One Wish, and Ramadan Kareem, comes the first picture book biography of Ulugh Beg, an extraordinary Muslim man who charted the stars and discovered why seasons change and the length of a year, illustrated by Zelma Firdauzia.

Ulugh Beg’s curiosity burned as bright as the stars. He yearned to count every star in the sky, every day in a year, and to know why the seasons change. Fueled by his deep faith, Ulugh Beg’s quest for knowledge led to the creation of new schools, the world’s largest observatory and star catalog, and innovative tools to better chart the secrets of the skies. Although some doubted him, he never stopped searching for answers. And because of his determination, our understanding of the world has changed—forever.

With lyrical text by award-winning author M. O. Yuksel and captivating illustrations by Zelma Firdauzia, this portrait of a trailblazing Muslim astronomer reminds us just how far curiosity can take us.

Reviews

“Enlightening and infused with a great sense of wonder, Yuksel’s picture-book biography is a much-needed addition to an existing repertoire of books featuring Muslim heroes. As dreamy as the night skies so loved by Ulugh Beg, Firdauzia’s digitally created illustrations chronicle the subject’s growth from a young inquisitive boy to an accomplished mathematician and astronomer. This already greatly informative work wraps up with even more content in the backmatter. A luminous tribute to a notable figure that’s sure to satisfy—and inspire—inquisitive minds.” - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Fifteenth-century prince Ulugh Beg’s passion for science propels this polished picture book biography, which also shines light on astronomy’s early history... Firdauzia’s unlined digital renderings draw heavily on Islamic geometric patterns while Yuksel’s straightforward narration puts full emphasis on the figure’s remarkable accomplishments.” - Publishers Weekly

“Take one little boy brimming with curiosity, surrounded by nature and opportunity, supported by the best teachers... and you find young Ulugh Beg, who becomes one of the world’s most accomplished scientists... A biography to add flair and depth to math and science curricula, reminding readers of how knowledge is constructed.” - Booklist

Get Your Copy

Harper Collins

—Razeena

Starred Reviews

★ “A meaningful and heartwarming tale that shares lessons of goodwill, generosity, and gratitude” – Kirkus, starred review

★ “This joyful collaboration will be equally enjoyed by children who already know about Hajj and by those who are learning of it for the first time” – School Library Journal, starred review

About the Author

Join us in congratulating KLS member, Safa Suleiman, on the selection of her debut picture book, Hilwa’s Gifts, for the 2026 ALSC Notable Children’s Books List!

Hilwa’s Gifts. By Safa Suleiman. Illus. by Anait Semirdzhyan. Candlewick Press, $18.99 (9781536229424)

Ali visits his grandparents in Palestine and learns from them and Hilwa, the beloved ancient olive tree planted long ago. Illustrations in a gentle, earth-toned palette celebrate family, tradition, culture, and the tree whose gifts keep giving from generation to generation.

About the award

Each year a committee of ALSC identifies the best of the best in children's books. According to the Notables Criteria, "notable" is defined as: Worthy of note or notice, important, distinguished, outstanding. As applied to children's books, notable should be thought to include books of especially commendable quality, books that exhibit venturesome creativity, and books of fiction, information, poetry and pictures for all age levels (birth through age 14) that reflect and encourage children's interests in exemplary ways.

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