Naaz Khan
Educator. Author. Speaker. Magical Moment Seeker.
Hello! Namaste! नमस्ते Habari! Hola! Assalamualaikum! السلام عليكم Peace Be With You!
I’m Naaz and I am a writer, teacher, and learner. Thank you for visiting my website!
If you click around you’ll find information about me, like where I went to school and what animal I feel connected to (Hint – there’s a clue on this page!). You can also watch/listen to a video of me reading from my picture book, Room for Everyone.
ROOM FOR EVERYONE has been selected as one of the 100 Best Picture Books of 2021 by Kirkus Reviews, 1 of 10 Best Picture Books of 2021 by Barnes & Noble, the Best Picture Book of the Year for ages 3-5 by Amazon, and 1 of 10 picture books included in the IndieNext Nov./Dec. edition. It has also received Starred reviews by BookPage, The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, Hornbook, Kirkus and Publishers Weekly. Thank you everyone for all your support! It is truly an honor to be in the company of incredible authors and illustrators who I deeply respect and admire.
If you’d like to learn more about the story behind the story you can check out my interview with Ruth Forman at Politics & Prose, or read my blog interview with Betsy Bird from A Fuse #8 Production, or my blog interview with Lion and Dragonfly Books.
What people are saying about ROOM FOR EVERYONE
Based on a "fantastically fun daladala ride" that author Naaz Khan once took in Zanzibar, Room for Everyone is an entertaining and lighthearted joyride of a picture book that features fabulous illustrations by Merce Lopez... the bus and Khan's pleasing prose bounce along rhythmically. The text is full of satisfying alliteration, flowing dialogue and rhyming couplets that are a delight to read aloud...the book's palette is especially rich, featuring saturated yellows, sapphires and teals balanced against occasional warmer, softer hues. Lopez's delicate, fine-lined drawings are expressive and dynamic, filled with movement and momentum.."
Book Page (Starred Review)
The zippy anapestical rhymes are laced with dramatic emphasis (playfully signaled by the font) and touches of repetition as well as the entertaining cumulation, and there are enough details of sticky fruit juice and fish smell to make Musa’s reservations reasonable, if doomed. Mixed-media illustrations (combining acrylics, inks, graphite, and digital elements) beam with sun drenched cheer in saturated tones; portraiture is brisk yet delicate, with white linework against dark skin, and the comic streamlining of the animal draftsmanship balances with intricate patterns in clothing. This may make veteran librarians recall Sorche Nic Leodhas’ Always Room for One More (BCCB 11/65), but it’s a fresh and gorgeous outing all its own, eminently suitable to get giggles from kids doing their own complaining about close quarters."
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (Starred Review)
Khan’s rhymes are electric, her wordplay flawless, and her sound effects entertaining to say aloud. López’s (Lion of the Sky, rev. 3/19) marvelous illustrations, in acrylic, ink, graphite, and digital media, employ a multitude of patterns and textures, hustling and bustling right along with the constant, colorful activity... The Horn Book (Starred Review)
There's a lot to love about Zanzibar, and so much of it is squeezed into this short trip but big (and crowded!) adventure...There’s a lot of fun to be had as lyrical rhymes and mixed-media illustrations—including acrylics, inks, graphite, and digital pieces—make the growing menagerie of passengers feel both vibrantly stylized and realistically depicted. East Africa is presented richly and distinctly in López’s dynamic artwork, but the overall experience of riding and building community on the daladala is not only accessible, but easily familiar to much of the world in this charming story...a uniquely East African journey toward a global sense of compassion and inclusion.
This irrepressible story in verse by newcomer Khan is simultaneously a counting book and a study in generosity of spirit. Lopez (I Am Smoke) bring bright color, fine draftsmanship, and communal warmth to jovially packed spreads. Even the characters robes and the attractive chaos of the things they carry are captured with care in this affirming portrait set in East Africa."
Naaz Khan's picture book debut, Room for Everyone is a laugh-out-loud, lyrical masterpiece. Giving up a light-hearted and fast paced story that's perfect for fans of Room on the Broom...Between the vibrant art of Merce Lopez and Khan's masterfully expressive text and fresh scenery, this might be the most fun you can have while reading a picture book.
Barnes and Noble
Truly stunning illustrations are on display as a crowded dala dala makes its way to the Zanzibar shore. Is there room for more? Yes!" IndieBound (Elese Stutts, Flyleaf Books, Chapel Hill, NC)
Gratitude
Thank you Moria Sloan for being my daladala travel buddy. Thank you Ruth Forman for your guiding light and encouragement to keep submitting my stories. Thank you Dilara Auntie for helping me with my agent search. Thank you Lilly Ghahremani for being an agent super hero advocacy champion. Thank you Caitlyn Dlouhy for your sunlit spirit, thoughtful guidance, and exquisite curation of every detail in this book. Thank you Caity Bolton, Amira Salum, and Bi Maimouna for your insight, and invaluable feedback. Thank you to Merce Lopez for your gorgeous illustrations and bringing this story to life. Thank you Noorain Ahmed for my spirit animal illustrations – your art makes my heart sing. Thanks to Sarah Davidson and Nadia El Dasher for your beautiful photography. Thank you Nadeen Siddique for being my fairy websitemother. Thank you everyone in Zanzibar who welcomed me with kindness. Most of all, thank you to my family for encouraging me to explore the world, learn new things and write.