The Cave

  Author:  Uthman Hutchinson

  Grade Level: 3

  Subject: Three tales

  Rating:  3 stars

    “The Cave” by Uthman Hutchinson consists of three wonderful stories: The Cave, Big Business and The Lost Bus. 

    The first story The Cave is a wonderful story that will touch your heart. It is about a young girl named Fatima and her friend Amina. Amina was an orphan from Afghanistan. Her parents were killed in the war with Russia. It’s a nice story that teaches children to understand how extreme situations like war can devastate a young child. It is also a story that demonstrates the importance of friendship and love that can make so much of a difference in our lives. 

    The second story Big Business was about Fatima’s great accomplishment of becoming a businesswoman despite her brothers’ opinion that “girls don’t do business.” Along with her friend Rabia and the help of her Auntie Hafsa, they learn the importance of Islamic principles in business and life. The young businesswomen learn three important rules of conducting their business.

    This story teaches young boys and girls that girls are capable of doing business and pursuing other important careers also. The girls learn about important women in our Islamic history who succeeded in business. The girls gain confidence and the boys learn to break the traditional stereotypes of girls. 

    The Lost Bus was another great story. It was about a situation children find themselves in at one time or another. Fatima had to write a story for class. It seemed simple enough. But there are many ways to come up with a captivating and exciting story.

The book contains a few simple illustrations.  But that does not take away from the content of the book. It was very enjoyable. It is very reader friendly.  It was also funny, exciting and most important, it incorporated Islamic teaching. It is a good book for ages 8- 10 years old.