Crescent Moon Friends introduces readers to best friends Aisha and Amelia. Aisha recently emigrated from her home country Afghanistan to Canada. The girls explore the differences in their cultural backgrounds and are united by the similarities they share. This light-hearted children’s picture book beautifully portrays this budding friendship.

The book shares many positive aspects of Afghan traditions and keeps a positive tone throughout the story. I loved that the book clarified that it’s more focused on culture rather than religion. I wish that this was emphasized more strongly in the story rather than just mentioned on the book cover. I can imagine others being confused as to why Aisha partakes in things that don’t exactly align with her religion, Islam. In fact, I think this book, unfortunately, slightly normalizes adopting another faith’s convictions in order to to be seen as Canadian. Also, the girls are characterized as slightly childish, and I would have assumed they were a lot younger, especially considering the intended age range of potential readers.

Amelia and Aisha’s friendship is founded on their love of the crescent moon. I viewed it as a symbol of their unity. They both loved the moon for different reasons but loved it all the same. Just as they love each other, despite their differences, but love each other all the same. I appreciated that this book strongly encouraged having compassion.

I was blown away by the gorgeous illustrations in this book. I thought the water colour background really brought the story to life. I also love the details that the illustrator included in her artwork as well as the diversity of some of the background characters. This is a great read to encourage inclusion among younger students. However, keep in mind that certain aspects may need to be further clarified.