Book Review: Zamzam for Everyone

Zamzam for Everyone: Sharing Water at Hajj by Razeena Omar Gutta and illutstrated by Bassent Dawoud, explores Hajj from a child’s point of view.

For those who don’t know, Hajj is the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, which is a mandatory act for Muslims at least once in their lives. Specifically they go to the Kaaba, also known as the House of Allah.

Hajj takes place in 2026 when I’m writing this from May 24-29. Millions of Muslims travel to Mecca during that time to show solidarity with other Muslims and submission of Allah, and as a way to cleanse their sins. There are many rituals and prayers involved, most famously walking around the Kaaba seven times, but also includes a pilgrimage to Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifah.

In the story, Mariam and her parents are at Hajj and her mother tells her it is a time to do good, so she decides to share her zamzam –water from an ancient well — with other people as they complete the rituals. As they go on their journey she meets many people from different countries who also share food and drinks with her and her family.

She meets “new friends speaking a language I don’t know, but somehow understand. Thank you can be a simple smile, a friendly wave, a warm hug.”

At the back of the book there’s the story of zamzam, a special well in Mecca (spelled Makkah in this book) said to be opened by the angel Gabriel for Abraham’s wife Hagar. There’s also a look at some of the foods mentioned in the book, an exploration of all the steps of Hajj, how people dress for the journey and the pillars of Islam.

The book provides a basic overview of what Hajj is and why people do it that would be valuable for Muslim kids and others who want to understand the values of their Islamic neighbors. It’s a sweet story of sharing and helping others as well as a look into a religious experience that people who aren’t Muslim might not know much about.

About the book: 32 pages, hardcover or paperback, published 2026 by Barefoot Books. Suggested retail price $17.99 for hardcover and $9.99 for paperback.

Gabon is a country in central Africa on the Equator, which is bordered by Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon and the Republic of the Congo, as well as the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Guinea. Let’s learn more.

Gabon Facts

Gabon has an area of 100,000 square miles, or 270,000 square kilometers and is home to about 2.3 million people. The capital and largest city is Libreville. Almost 90 percent of the land of Gabon is forest, and the nation has huge biodiversity.

The original inhabitants of Gabon were Bambenga, and the Kingdom of Orungu was established there in the 1700s, and France colonized the area in the later 19th century. Gabon gained its independence in 1960.

The official language is French and about 95 percent of the population is part of the Bantu ethnic groups. The majority of people are Christian.

Gabon comes from the Portuguese word gabao, which means hooded cloak. Portuguese explorers in the 1470s used the term to refer to the Komo river estuary, which they said resembled a cloak. Eventually the name spread to cover the whole region.

Gabon is a presidential republic with a legislature, though there have been many disputed elections and, in 2023, a military coup.

Gabon National Symbols

The Gabon flag consists of three horizontal stripes, in green, yellow and blue. The flag was adopted in 1960.

The national anthem is “La Concorde,” and it was written and adopted in 1960 as well.

The coat of arms features a ship on a shield with the same colors as the flag, with three yellow circles in the green section. Above the crest is a large tree, and the crest is flanked by black panthers. The motto, which translated to English is “unity, work, justice,” is below the shield, among the roots of the tree. The slogan that translates to “we shall go forward together” hang around the tree.

I couldn’t find any official national animals or plants, but black panthers are considered a national symbol because of their use on the coat of arms.

Gabon Learning Activities

Did you know black panthers aren’t a distinct species? In Africa they are leopards, but in other areas black panthers are actually cheetahs, bobcats, lynx or other big cats. Learn more about the animals of Gabon at A to Z Animals.

Check out Monts de Cristal, or the Crystal Mountains, home to a large diversity of wildlife (including lots of butterflies) and a large national park. There’s lots of great pictures on that page.

Adventures in a Messy Life has a little Gabon unit study that includes links to some videos, a recipe for African beignets, and notebooking pages available for purchase that you can use for any country in Africa.

Check out this video with interesting facts about Gabon from The African Script.

Find more resources for teaching about Gabon at Teachers Pay Teachers.

Learn more about traditional foods in Gabon from Chef’s Pencil, and check out this recipe for what’s considered the national dish of Gabon, poulet Nyembwe, a chicken dish made with red palm oil (which is what the dish is named for).

Have you read?

Gabon Facts

Gabon National Symbols

Gabon Learning Activities

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