Henna Is . . ., Marzieh Abbas
Henna Is . . ., Marzieh Abbas
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Henna Is . . .

Author: Marzieh Abbas

Narrator: Lipica Shah

Unabridged: 5 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/23/2024

Synopsis

Henna Is ... features music and special effects. Listen along and enjoy the fun!

An audiobook that serves young listeners as a lyrical love letter to henna, written by Muslim Book Reviewer Award winner Marzieh Abbas.

Henna is so much more than a form of temporary body art.

Henna is nature—seeds sprouted into shrubs, leaves kissed by tropical rain.

Henna is color—the orange of juicy mangoes, sun-kissed brown, or black as the feathers of crows.

Henna is fragrance—earthy and nutty, lemony and clove-y.

The intricate patterns of flowers, feathers, vines, and other symbols painted and stained onto skin has been a tradition in cultures all around the world for thousands of years. Beautiful and eye-catching, henna also carries the scents, textures, and colors of family and identity.

A Macmillan Audio production from Feiwel & Friends.

About Marzieh Abbas

Raised between the bustling cities of Dubai, UAE and Karachi, Pakistan, Marzieh Abbas loves traveling, baking, reading and samosas. She is the author of A Dupatta Is..., a member of SCBWI, 12x12PB, and a life-long learner. She runs a kidlit review group on Facebook and blogs about her author journey and life in Pakistan.

About Anu Chouhan

Anu Chouhan is a Canadian illustrator and video game artist. A trained animator with a background in mobile game development, Anu often combines her love of her Punjabi cultural heritage into her art, as well as drawing inspiration from anime, nature, and global fashion. Her unique, edgy, and energetic art has garnered attention from major publications, celebrities, and influencers online. She is the illustrator of A Dupatta Is... and Henna Is...

About Lipica Shah

Lipica Shah (she/her) is a half Bengali, half Kumaoni, fully Indian-American narrator, actor, and inclusion advocate. A SAG-AFTRA and Actors Equity Association member based in the Bronx, she thrives on collaboration and script development, with a special affinity for new plays. Lipica’s dynamic vocal skills, facility for accents and languages, and love of storytelling led her to audiobooks, and she’s had the privilege of narrating a wide range of genres, though her passion is non-fiction for all ages (especially current events, crime, science, politics, and history). As an actor, she has originated roles at Manhattan Theatre Club, The New Group, Mixed Blood Theatre Company, Cal Shakes, and American Conservatory Theater, among others. On screen she’s appeared on ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, HBO, Showtime, USA, Comedy Central, Netflix, and recurring on MAX’s The Girls on the Bus. Hear her in the video game Starfield and English dubs of Pokémon, A Silent Voice, Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin, and more. As an inclusion advocate, she co-founded the nonprofit 1497, an organization committed to supporting and uplifting artists of South Asian descent and challenging their historical exclusion from and underrepresentation in the American film and television industry. She also serves on the Steering Committee of the Asian American Performers Action Coalition, with whom she received Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre. In her spare time, Lipica enjoys traveling, birdwatching, doing crossword puzzles in pen, lighting one-match campfires, and running for inordinate amounts of time outdoors.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Bookishrealm on March 12, 2025

This was such great insight to henna! I loveeedddd how the story built on itself and introduced readers to the many facets of henna. While I was familiar with it, I still learned a lot. The artwork was great and illustrated the global connection that henna has to a variety of communities.......more

Goodreads review by Lois on May 28, 2024

This audiobook was made available for me to listen to and review by Marzieh Abbas, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley. The narrator is Lipica Shah. This has a production quality with drums and music played under the voice track. Not distracting at all. Lipica has a friendly, happy, and kind voice perfect......more

Goodreads review by Therearenobadbooks on June 18, 2024

Henna is... so many awesome definitions to explain what Henna is, more than I thought of, but in the end, it's a major one: Identity. Worth going through each page and take a moment to see what Henna description is connected too. A simple gesture of friendship, a birth celebration, nature, color.........more

Goodreads review by Candace on July 31, 2024

HENNA IS…by Marzieh Abbas is a gorgeous, lyrical picture book that teaches about henna, and how it is made and used. I adore the line: “But henna is so much more.” Henna is about family, tradition, identity, and love. I didn’t know much about henna before reading this book, but I loved learning all......more

Goodreads review by Angel on June 16, 2024

"Henna Is . . ." by Marzieh Abbas is a children's picture book. I received the audiobook to review, narrated by Lipica Shah. It is about 5 minutes long. The story is written in poetry and uses descriptive language to tell about each aspect of Henna. These are: Nature, Proportion, Color, Texture, Fra......more

Quotes

Praise for Henna Is...:

"Writing in vivid, sensory language, [Abbas] offers an all-encompassing exploration of the topic, accompanied by Chouhan’s enticing illustrations dominated by floral patterns and symbols from the various cultures where henna is popular. Nontraditional henna designs—smiley faces, ice cream cones, thunderbolts—appear, too, lending a playfulness to the art. A joyful look at an important cultural tradition." —Kirkus Reviews

"Colorful and affirming illustrations mirror each description, leaving cultural insiders warmly gratified and cultural outsiders with new knowledge. An author’s note adds a little more context. ... Pair Henna Is . . . with Meera Sriram's A Garden in My Hands (2023) and Zain Bandali's Mehndi Boy (2023) for a cute text set all about henna." —Booklist

Praise for A Dupatta Is...:

"Abbas offers not just a story, but a poetic explanation of a traditional scarf worn by the people of Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. ... From color to function, beauty to identity, the dupatta’s significance is shown through vivid illustrations from ­Chouhan. ... This book exquisitely represents the legacy that is the dupatta through imagery and descriptive text for a beautiful lesson in culture." —School Library Journal

"Similar in form to Kevin Noble Maillard’s Fry Bread (2019), illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal, this rhythmic description of a dupatta’s importance in a South Asian Muslim family is an affectionate homage. ... The book’s warm, well-chosen language depicts a joyful, accurate representation of a dupatta’s multigenerational importance in family life. ... A lyrical, multisensory celebration of a South Asian garment." —Kirkus Reviews

"Noting in evocative, expansive terms what 'a dupatta is,' Abbas’s free-verse quatrains and Chouhan’s jewel-toned digital images describe the traditional South Asian scarf. ... Vibrant patterned illustrations show individuals with a variety of skin tones in assorted scenarios. Additional information and a glossary conclude this look at a garment that is 'so much more' than mere apparel." —Publishers Weekly

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