Zara Saleem is queen of the neighborhood. She writes the rules to games, picks the teams, and makes sure the kids in her neighborhood always have fun. Mr. Chapman, her favorite old neighbor, says she rules with “grace and fairness”. When Mr. Chapman moves Zara and her brother Zayd are eager to discover who will move in next.
The new neighbors include older brother Michael and sister Naomi who is the same age as Zara! This is exciting at first, but when Naomi invites the neighborhood over to do fun things like play in an inflatable pool and eat ice pops Zara worries that her title of Queen is being threatened. Quickly, she knows she must work on a plan to stay Queen of the Neighborhood.
In a bid to keep her crown Zara plans to break a world record. From tap dancing to hula hooping to even baking the world’s largest rugelach with Naomi, nothing seems to work out. When one of the neighborhood friends mentions that they would like to have some input on the activities they do together, Zara realizes that maybe she has not been ruling as fairly as she should be.
Khan’s story takes place in a wonderfully multicultural neighborhood. One that is reflective of real life in its diversity. I love how she captures the complex feelings of tweendom. It is hard to realize you have been in the wrong, especially when it means you have been treating your friends badly. We all want to get along, especially when we are 10 years old. This delightful beginning chapter book is full of lessons on friendship, siblings, and ways to have fun. You can find more of Zara Saleem in Zara’s Rules for Finding Hidden Treasure and Zara’s Rules for Living Your Best Life. You can find more of Zara’s brother Zayd in the Zayd Saleem Living the Dream series.
Elinor Serumgard is a poet, artist, and book reviewer from Issaquah, WA. Elinor graduated from Western Washington University in 2022 with a degree in Creative Writing. For more of their work, please see elinorserumgard.com
