The Story Behind Adbullah’s Bear

Yasmin Hanif is a Scottish-Pakistani author, poet and educator from a Muslim background. She worked on the ‘We Can Be Heroes‘ project which tackled the lack of diversity in children’s literature and won several awards including the Scottish Awards for Minority Ethnic Educators, the Aspiring Writers Award and The Scottish Education Curriculum Innovation Award. Yasmin’s debut picture book Abdullah’s Bear Needs a Name! is inspired by this project.

In this video, listen to Yasmin read an extract from the book, as well as talking about her inspiration for the story. Plus, get a glimpse of some of Sophie Benmouyal‘s bold, bright and beautiful illustrations, full of little details that add authenticity to the story.

About the Book

To celebrate Eid, Abdullah’s parents give him a cuddly teddy bear. The bear used to belong to Abdullah’s dad, his abba, and it has a name, but Abba won’t say what it is!

Abdullah and his new bear become inseparable, but he can’t guess what its name is. His siblings, friends and classmates all have suggestions — Bertie, Olivia, Edward — but none of them feels right. Then one night, when Abba tells a story from long ago in Pakistan, Abdullah has an idea. What if the bear has a name like his name?

In this sweet but powerful story, children will learn to value their cultural heritage and about the special bonds between family generations.