What Did You Lose, Zaatar? - What Did You Lose, Zaatar

🍡 What Did You Lose, Zaatar?🍡
🍡 Dar Shireen 🍡
☘️ Weight: 555 gr
 

🌿 Review adapted from the distinguished Seham Obaid ❤

I love extended stories; those stories that don't end simply by reading them, but rather open the door to dozens of supportive interactive activities derived from the story ❤

"What Did You Lose, Zaatar?" is one of a collection of distinctive stories published by Shireen Books.
It falls under the category of extended stories that:
🍡 leave a lasting impression and do not fade away
🍡 can be read multiple times with the same enjoyment
🍡 are supported by many accompanying activities and ideas
🍡 and most beautifully, connect all meanings and events to religious aspects

But who is Zaatar? And what is his story?
Zaatar is a beautiful peacock 🦚 with magnificent feathers that he cares for excessively... He thinks he is the most beautiful and sweetest... His father is a kind and beloved merchant... He asks Zaatar to work with him and help him, but Zaatar pays no attention to his father's words and always avoids responsibility, claiming he is young... He remains in this state until the day his father falls ill, and Zaatar has to take on responsibility... But he was not up to the task... His previous life had not prepared him to be responsible...

Zaatar discovered the difficulty of life and the hardship of earning a living... He discovered the falseness of the life he had lived before... He discovered the truth about his friends who left him and didn't care... He didn't know what to do.
One evening, Zaatar sat down to think about his life after his father's illness worsened... And that was the turning point that changed the course of his life...

The story didn't tell us exactly what Zaatar did that evening, what he thought, or what he concluded... But it told us about the new beginning Zaatar started the next day and how his life changed afterwards...

I loved the illustrations of the story very much, especially the drawing of the night Zaatar sat thinking about his situation and destiny... The drawings show Zaatar sitting alone, sad, raising his head to the sky as if communing with Almighty God... with the dark evening colors in the background.

I also loved the illustrations on the last page of the story where the mirror that ruined Zaatar's life is covered with a sheet; a clear indication of its negative impact on his previous life.

And for the first time, my little daughter (seven years old) read a complete, somewhat long story by herself and of her own free will without me asking her to, and insisted on finishing it, shouting at the end "The story is sooooo beautiful... wonderful... wonderful" with sparkling eyes from pure joy.

Many values and concepts can be discussed with children through the story:
- The value of work
- The value of time
- The value of friendship and choosing friends
- The value of filial piety

Contents of the "What Did You Lose, Zaatar?" set ❤
- The story "What Did You Lose, Zaatar?"
- An activity booklet connecting the story to the Quran and Sunnah, which is a sturdy board with a game and questions and foldable windows
- Ten sturdy cards for the child with answers to the game questions
- Ten large sturdy cards with more explanation and details about the answers to the questions, including situations, Quranic verses, and prophetic hadiths

The story has 34 pages, and its pages are smooth and soft like magazine pages. The font size is medium and large in some sentences, and easy on the eyes. The entire text is vowelled.