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ST. CLOUD – A few years ago, Hudda Ibrahim s niece asked her why characters in books don t look like her.
The question from Fatima spurred an idea for a children s book featuring Muslim women of all ages and professions wearing different colored hijabs a teacher in a brown headscarf, a doctor in yellow and an athlete in black. I like writing essays and chapter books, said Ibrahim, a teacher and author of a book detailing how central Minnesota became home to many Somali refugees, including herself. I never thought I d go into children s books.
But Fatima was right. Children s books are overwhelmingly written by white authors and much more frequently feature white characters.