Maysoon Zayid, the Girl Who Can Can (Muslim Mavericks #1)

In this nonfiction chapter book, a series starter, Yasmin (Unbecoming) follows a “Palestinian, Muslim and disabled entertainer,” American actor and comedian Maysoon Zayid, as she confronts obstacles on her way to stardom. Young Zayid, who lives with cerebral palsy, plans on becoming the “winner of all the awards on the planet for best entertainer.” Zayid’s first step toward achieving her goal is to start attending school. She’s excited to join her older sisters at Public School Number Six in Cliffside Park, N.J., but when the superintendent informs Zayid and her father that the school “won’t be able to accommodate her,” Zayid realizes for the first—but not the last—time that “other people’s misunderstandings were about to get in the way of her big dreams.” With help from her supportive parents, Zayid endeavors to prove her naysayers wrong, enrolling in dance classes, studying acting, and practicing stand-up comedy outside of school. Habaieb’s warm grayscale cartoon illustrations appear throughout straightforward, chronological plotting. Effervescent prose presents Zayid as a lively girl with ambitious goals and talent to match while matter-of-factly portraying her day-to-day experience of living with CP. A buoyant prologue sets up the series as a vehicle through which to highlight prominent Muslim figures pursuing their “wildest dreams.” Ages 6–10. (Feb.)