Islam remembers that back then, Abigail was shy and also not yet reading. Through the years, Islam has offered book suggestions that Abigail has devoured.
"What's cool is Hasina has recommended a lot of books that I, at the time, thought may be a little too advanced for you," Jean, then 42, told Abigail.
Like
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,
Abigail said. She was 6 years old when Islam suggested it. "You thought [it] was too
much for me — and I read three chapters of it," Abigail said.
Islam's own love of the library was sparked when she was in the third grade. She lived near the main branch of the Queens Public Library in New York City, and she went there to research Henry Hudson, the English explorer whom New York's Hudson River is named after, for a school project.