Sadiq and the Desert Star

By Siman Nuurali and Anjan Sarkar

When Sadiq's father leaves on a business trip, he worries he'll miss his baba too much. But Baba has a story for Sadiq: the story of the Desert Star. Learning about Baba's passion for the stars sparks Sadiq's interest in outer space. But can Sadiq find others who are willing to help him start the space club of his dreams?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Capstone Young Readers
• Release date: Aug 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781515848936

Siman Nuurali

Siman Nuurali grew up in Kenya. She now lives in Minnesota. Siman and her family are Somali— just like Sadiq and his family! She and her five children love to play badminton and board games together. Siman works at Children’s Hospital and in her free time she enjoys writing and reading.

Book preview

Hi, I’m Sadiq! My family and I live in Minnesota, but my parents are from Somalia. Sometimes we speak Somali at home.

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I’d like you to meet my family and learn some interesting facts and terms from our culture.

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Facts about Somalia

Most Somali people belong to one of four major groups: the Darod, Isaaq, Hawiye, and Dir.

Many Somalis are nomadic. That means they travel from place to place. They search for water, food, and land for their animals.

Somalia is mostly desert. It doesn’t rain often there.

The camel is an important animal to Somali people. Camels can survive a long time without food or water.

Around ninety-nine percent of all Somalis are Muslim.

Somali Terms

awoowe (ah-WOH-weh) — grandfather baba (BAH-baah) — a common word for father haa (HA) — yes hooyo (HOY-yoh) — mother salaam (sa-LAHM) — a short form of Arabic greeting, used by many Muslims. It also means peace. sambuus (sahm-BOOS) — fried pastries that are filled with spicy ground beef, chicken, fish, or vegetables wiilkeyga (wil-KAY-gaah) — my son

Chapter 1

The Desert Star

Sadiq squirmed in his chair. Recess was in five minutes. It was the first warm day of spring. The rest of the class was finishing a journal activity. Sadiq couldn’t wait to play soccer with his friends!

I have something special to share, Sadiq’s third-grade teacher, Ms. Battersby,

Reviews for Sadiq and the Desert Star

[jennybeast · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Hooray, beginning chapter book series with a Somali family! Little bit of bilingual action, with glossary. Decent story for something so short, and Sadiq is a sweet kid. Nice representation of regular life.