April 2, 2025
Here is some terrible news from my sick bed (sick couch but you get it). All my hard work moving to Substack was for naught. It's very boring so I won't describe it to you, but suffice it to say, I'm back to my old school ways of sending through MailChimp. I'm sorry that was so boring. I was bored the whole time I wrote it. I'll still be posting to Substack, but you'll get your email from MailChimp. You still don't need to do anything or care at all, but I thought I'd mention it for those who pay attention to things like that. Now onto the good stuff!
We all know I love books about aunties, see here. But what about the uncles? In Eli and the Uncles we see a little boy being dropped off to spend the day with his 8 (!) uncles. Each uncle has a fabulous beard and unquestionably good fashion sense. Uncle Mahmoud tells the best stories, Uncle Salim is a cook, Uncle Hanif sings, Uncle Aman dances, etc.. My favorite uncle? Uncle Nooru, “who is a world champion nap-taker.”
It feels pertinent to note here that while I am not a bearded uncle, I am a world champion nap-taker. You may be asking yourself, why is that pertinent, Elspeth? And the answer is, I like to brag. Back to the book review!
Eli has a wonderful day with his much beloved uncles and when Mom comes to pick him up, it’s time to say goodbye. But Eli doesn’t just farewell his uncles, he also bids adieu to their amazing and unique beards. Each beard has its own texture and characteristics. The best beard is Uncle Hanif’s “whose beard is like a waterfall of hair!” When Uncle Hanif gives Eli his goodbye kiss, for a second, Eli is more beard than boy.”
Bits and Pieces: I’ve been a fan of Rashin (see here) for a while and she uses watercolor, acrylic, and colored pencils for this book. What I like technically about her work is the swirly swirls. That is probably too much technical art talk for us, but I guess now I’m bragging about how educated on art I am.
Not Sure About: We didn’t really get to know Eli. His uncles were far too interesting.
Favorite Part(s): The art, the colors, the beards, the fact that 8 uncles all live together in harmony and love their nephew so much.
