Book Review: Zamzam for Everyone

January 21, 2026 by Sarah White Leave a Comment

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.

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Fine Motor Task Cards for Kids

I don’t know why Pinterest just suddenly decided I needed to see all the content about task cards and task boxes for kids, but these ideas are great for the classroom to keep in centers or have on hand for early finishers. You can also use them at home as quiet bags or boxes for kids to use when younger siblings might be sleeping, or in the car for a non-screen activity.

Let’s take a look at some fine motor skill task cards and how you can use them to teach kids skills while they play.

Pre-K Pages has a nice set of playdough task cards you can use in boxes or bags with a little tray (or they can just work on the table if they are sitting at a table). Working with clay or play dough is a great fine motor skill exercise, or you can add these to your playdough center if you have one to give them a little bit of direction while they work.

Teaching Mama has a bunch of great ideas for fine motor task boxes, from practicing working a glue bottle to threading beads, using clothespins or scissors, dropping water, finger painting and more. There’s a free printable that shows all the task options she talks through in the post if you want to make your own little boxes, or just keep these ideas on hand when you’re ready to add some fine motor fun to your days.

One of the ideas she mentions in that post is working with a hole punch, and Early Learning Ideas has a whole bunch (the urge to write “hole bunch” is strong) of ideas for printables that help kids practice hole punching, whether it’s a strip with circles on it for them to punch or pictures that include circles for punching, these ideas make it a little more fun to practice this important skill.

My Happy Place Teaching has a whole post about using fine motor task boxes in kindergarten, and her paid resource includes more than 100 task ideas with printables. But if you don’t need 100 boxes you can still get some good ideas from this post about different tasks to include and why and when you can use them. She also mentions using them in the morning while you’re busy with kids coming in at different times, which is a great idea.

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