A Spoonful of Thanks

A Spoonful of Thanks is an Islamic picture book for children aged 4 to 9 about a little girl who loves playing so much that she decides to stop eating, and learns that food is a blessing from Allah.

Laila plays with her food at every meal. She makes her toast swim in her porridge like a boat and turns her rice into a snowman. She forgets her table manners, and she leaves the table before finishing, even though Baba reminds her that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ taught us that food is a blessing from Allah that we must never waste. One spoonful won't matter, she thinks.

So one morning Laila asks to skip her porridge, and Mama says, "Sure." At lunch she skips her soup too. But while her baby sister Lina eats, Laila's tummy rumbles and grumbles, and everything she looks at, from her colouring book to a cartoon, reminds her of food. When Fat Cat meows for his lunch in the garden, Laila is hungry too. Mama gently offers her a spoonful of cat food, fish food and bird seed, until at last she offers soup.

Laila eats it with her right hand, says Bismillah before and Alhamdulillah after, and finishes every drop. Warm and funny, the book teaches children the manners of eating and helps them see why we thank Allah for every meal.

Too busy to eat

Laila loved Mama, Baba, baby Lina and her pets. But most of all, Laila loved to play. She loved it so much that she did not want to stop to eat. At breakfast she made her triangle toast swim in her porridge like a boat. At lunch she shaped her sticky rice into a snowman, and at dinner she made funny faces with her noodles and vegetables.

Laila often forgot her table manners. Mama had to remind her to eat with her right hand and to say a dua before eating. Baba reminded her that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ taught us that food is a blessing from Allah, and that we must never waste it. But Laila would leave the table without finishing, saying her tummy was full, so that she could go back to playing. Just a tiny bit left, she would think. One spoonful won't matter. Wouldn't it be fun to play all day without stopping to eat?

A day without food

So one morning, Laila asked whether she could skip her porridge. "Sure," said Mama, and Laila smiled. Mama whispered "Bismillah" as she gave Lina her porridge, and said "Alhamdulillah" when Lina had finished. Watching her little sister gobble it up made Laila's mouth water and her tummy rumble.

She tried colouring, but her book was full of juicy mangoes, strawberries and grapes. Even a cartoon with talking vegetables made her hungrier. Still, Laila had decided not to eat, so she played blocks with Lina instead.

At lunchtime, Mama brought in steaming noodle soup. Once again Laila asked to skip it, and once again Mama said, "Sure." Laila was happy that she did not have to stop playing, but watching Lina eat made her even hungrier. Her tummy rumbled and grumbled, and all she could think about was food.

Just a spoonful

Laila went into the garden to play with Fat Cat, but soon Fat Cat was hungry and meowing for food. "I'm hungry too," said Laila. "Can I have just a spoonful, please?"

"A spoonful of cat food?" asked Mama.

"Oh no," said Laila.

"A spoonful of fish food, then?" asked Mama, as she fed Mr and Mrs Fishy-Wishy.

"No way!" said Laila.

"Bird seed?" asked Mama, filling Bertie's bowl.

"No, no!" cried Laila. "I want my food!"

"How about some soup?" asked Mama.

"Yes, yes, yes!" said Laila, smiling through her tears.

Laila took a spoonful of soup with her right hand, and she remembered Baba's words about how precious even one spoonful was. She said "Bismillah", and the soup was so delicious that she wanted more. When she had finished, she said "Alhamdulillah".

"You've finished all your soup," said Baba proudly.

"It was so yummy," said Laila, patting her happy tummy.

"Being hungry helped you remember that food is a blessing from Allah," Baba smiled.

"Alhamdulillah," said Laila. She gave Baba a big hug, and off she went to play.

• Sahih al-Bukhari 5376: The Prophet ﷺ told a boy, "Say Bismillah, eat with your right hand, and eat from what is in front of you."