Books for young readers tend to have a single focus, one internal message. This book manages to include two without becoming overly complicated. Bandali's tale emphasizes both the importance of practice to improve a skill (rather than relying on innate ability) and being true to oneself. The writing is quite simple and the characters aren't especially complex, but they are believable. Reading this book with youngsters allows for a chance to discuss cultural differences and expectations.

This is such an amazing chapter book that celebrates creativity and self-expression through art and mehndi. It also challenges stereotypical/traditional gender roles as it encourages readers to be unapologetically themselves. This is a fantastic book for anyone looking for a diverse read as it explores different cultural experiences, traditions, and celebrations. Additionally, this book includes a resource at the end of the book where readers can learn more about mehndi along with some activities that they can do at home.

This is such a sweet story about a boy who loves colour, fashion, and drawing, and combines these loves together in creating mehndi designs for others.

When an accomplished mehndi artist offers Tehzeeb a chance to try wearing mehndi, he eagerly agrees. She gives him a mehndi cone afterwards to try it out for himself later, and Tehzeeb begins practicing on himself, friends, neighbours and classmates. He improves his skills to the point that his designs are increasingly accomplished and praised.

His artistic uncle, however, reacts poorly to Tehzeeb’s new love, saying boys neither wear mehndi nor apply it. The experienced mehndi artist assures Tehzeeb men do in fact work as mehndi artists.

When Tehzeb’s cousin Rahima needs her mehndi applied for her wedding, Tehzeeb outdoes himself, earning praise, and leading to an important conversation with his uncle.

This was wonderful. I loved Tehzeeb’s love of fabric, design, colour, and his incredible creativity. And how he can see how he can combine all his artistic loves and pursuits together to become a mehndi artist. It's a powerful moment for the child, as is his respectful and productive heart-to-heart with his uncle. It was heartwarming and empowering to see Tehzeeb express himself, and be accepted.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Annick Press Ltd. for this ARC in exchange for my review.

This was a sweet bridge/ear;y chapter book about a creative and artistic young boy who works towards his dreams of doing bridal mehndi. I loved the cultural references. The characters we a bit one-dimensional, but it didn't take away form the story much. There were themes of believing in onse-self and also gender sterotypes and gendered traditions.

+A digital ARC was provided by NetGalley in return for an honest review.+
A beautifully woven story from author Zain Bandali, this book shares the tale of a young Indian boy living in Tanzania with his family. When his favourite uncle comes to visit for Navroz, he brings the exciting news that his cousin, Rahima, has gotten engaged.

With his creative eye, Tehzeeb carefully watches the mehndi artist applying the intricate henna designs on the hands and feet of bride-to-be. Jenny Bai notices how artistic he is and gifts him with a henna cone of his own, suggesting he give mehndi a try.

What I love about this story is how the author gently weaves in the complexities of changing traditional gender roles in Indian culture in a way that makes it accessible to younger readers. While Ayaz Uncle gifts young Tehzeeb with the “practice makes progress” pearl of wisdom, at the same time he is the same voice of authority that challenges Tehzeeb’s desire to pursue an artistic medium traditionally done by women. The stark differences in generational acceptance between his classmates and his elders is a bit tired, but rings true.

For all the readers pushing the bounds of gender conformity (mirrors), those that need a glimpse into this world - to see a young Mehndi boy as the hero (windows), and those that are ready to immerse themselves in the experience of a young Mehndi boy and the challenges of not always being who the world wants you to be (sliding glass doors) - Mehndi Boy is a rich story that deserves a place on the shelves of every library.

Mehndi Boy is a well-crafted chapter book about a boy who discovers a new way to express his creativity. The theme of practice over perfection is skillfully woven through authentic descriptions of cultural celebrations such as Nowruz and a wedding. Acceptance, gender stereotypes, and the importance of family are also explored through the story. Despite these big themes, the book stays true to the age of its audience. The story is still entertaining to read, has great illustrations to support the text, and a main character who is easy to cheer for! This book would be an excellent addition to any classroom or school library, and would make a terrific read aloud for teachers of early elementary students. Hopefully, we will see more ofTehzeeb in future books!

This was such a cute little story about a boy who wants to get mehndi and his family who accepts him!

**Thank you to NetGalley and Annick Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review**

Tehzeeb's cousin, Rahima, is getting married. He meets the woman who will be doing her mehndi, and she does some designs on him to show Rahima what she is capable of. Tehzeeb becomes fascinated with it, and wants to do his own. He is given some cones of it and begins doing mehndi on his friends and family - until a comment from his favorite uncle crushes him:

"Boys don't wear mehndi. Boys don't do mehndi. It's just...it's just...wrong."

From then on, he is so worried about disappointing him and not being his favorite nephew anymore. Can Tehzeeb reconcile with his uncle, and what happens when trouble arises for Rahima last minute?

chapter-book, Canadian-author, Indo-Tanzanian, creative-solutions, artisans, artist, self-identity, Tamil-Canadian, gender-expression, mehndi-henna-artistry, wedding-madness, cultural-differences, cultural-diversity, cultural-exploration, cultural-heritage, family-dynamics, family-history, family, relatives, encouragement, self-worth-issues, apologies, India*****

Tehzeeb learns to do the art of mehndi and also learns that adults can apologize for being wrong.
During the new year celebrations he meets a famous mehndi artist and begins to learn the art. Later his uncle tells him that this is not an art form for boys. This causes him great distress and nearly ruins his joy in the art. But he also remembers that his uncle said "practice makes progress" and that it is a way of learning through mistakes. On his cousin's wedding day it seems as if she might have to do without her mehndi, but he saves the day.
I was delighted to see that one of the children waiting for her mehndi while he was practicing and delighting his classmates and others was in a w/c.
The story takes place in India.
Illustrations by Jani Balakumar are delightful, fun, imaginative, colorful, and beautiful.
Well suited for reading WITH someone of any age including ESL, and great for gifting to anyone, but especially to a school or teacher or your public library!
I requested and received an uncorrected proof from Annick Press Ltd/Annick Press via NetGalley. Thank you!
The mehndi trivia and drawing activities were not yet available.

Canadian author and illustrator

A nice exploration of gender roles, family traditions, and fitting art into everyday life. I love the true feeling of the family members' different reactions to Tehzeeb's artistic gifts.

I read this book for free thanks to NetGalley in exchange for my honest feedback thanks.

I love finding culturally diverse books to add ti my classroom library, and this very much fits the bill. In this story a young boy wants to be an artist, and finds himself drawn to Mendhi. He quickly develops a talent and passion for this traditional art form. I love that we're seeing a young boy participating in an artwork which is not usually created by men, but the women in his life all encourage his passion .

I definitely want a paper copy in my classroom.

This is a lovely beginning chapter book. Not all of the illustrations were available to view in my copy, but what was available were cute and matched the storyline. This story checks all the boxes for me to suggest it to my young library patrons:

✔ relatable main character written realistically for their age
✔ enough illustrated pages to keep beginning readers interested
✔ text written as if a child were speaking, not an adult in a child's body

As a bonus, the storyline addresses gender roles, making mistakes, and not letting your mistakes define you. All around, I give this a solid 4 stars and cannot wait for it to be added to our library shelves.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for an advanced review copy of this title. All opinions are my own.

What a great early chapter book celebrating Mendhi. Tehzeeb is an inspiration to any kid who wants to follow their passions, even if it wouldn't be considered traditional. I hope this book becomes a series.

One word : Simple and lovely book daring people to dream without inhibitions

Synopsis: Tehzeeb, an Indian Tanzanian boy loves everything about weddings and things that go along with it. He also loves art. Along with all this, he also loves henna or mehndi which is used to draw designs on hands on legs. His favorite cousin is engaged and he dreams of drawing intricate henna designs on the bridal party and has been practicing the art on all his friends and neighbors. But when he realizes that his favorite uncle is not very fond of boys doing henna designs, Tez is heartbroken. Is he going to give up his dream of being a famous henna artist just to be his uncle's favorite nephew again? Read on to figure out

This is a sweet and simple book telling kids and adults to move away from gender stereotypes. Right for kids who are just getting into reading chapter books. The illustrations are wonderful. It really adds a charm to the book.
The book also drives an important message to stand up for yourself even in adverse situations. This will be a good add on to the school libraries.

Thanks to Netgalley and Annick Press for providing me a copy to read and review

I absolutely enjoyed reading this book myself and even more so to my girls who also love mehndi.
I like that Tez was self taught and just continued to practice and practice. It’s a reminder that anything we want to be good at deserves our commitment to practice.

Awesome book.!

Tehzeeb is an artistic child that is close to one of his female cousins. Before she is married, she has a special mehndi artist do a trial run for the wedding. Tehzeeb is interested and helps out. When his uncle walks in, he is horrified that a boy is doing mehndi.

Openness to accepting children as they are is important, especially in this day and age. I think it is especially so in cultures deemed traditionalist. While all can’t speak for one, and one shouldn’t speak for all, I like the positivity and resolution here. I’ll be in the lookout for more of the author’s works.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.

This was a really sweet story about a young artistic boy who discovers a love for mehndi, but when his uncle comments that boys shouldn't do mehndi he feels ashamed and afraid to be himself because he looks up to his uncle. When I was teaching and in social work I loved books that helped teach children that there were no rules for gender and this book would definitely be one I would have loved to have in my classroom collection. Not only does it teach that art has no gender, it also talks about making mistakes in art being part of the process of learning and growing- which is echoed in the young boy's uncle learning a lesson about gender expectations as well. This also had a great example of talking to someone who has hurt your feelings, showing that this conversation can be loving and lead to connection and understanding. I loved the illustrations that went along with the story, I hope the final version also has vocabulary as that would be helpful for classroom lessons.

Thank you to net galley and the publisher for the advanced e-copy.

This is a really sweet book about standing up for yourself and what is important to you and not letting the old-fashioned opinions of others hold you back.

Tehzeeb's passion for creating mehndi designs brings him a lot of joy and allows him to free his joyful creative self. When his favorite uncle tells him that mehndi is not for boys, he feels sick and wonders if he has to sacrifice the art he loves to regain his uncle's love.

The story is fairly simple, and perfect for readers who are comfortable with chapter books. There are several Indian terms that will probably be unfamiliar to a lot of kids in the US, and it's an excellent jumping off point for discussions of Indian culture.

This would be an excellent addition to classroom libraries.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Annick Press for providing an early copy for review.

Superlative character development and a delightful and important story about art, gender roles, and self-expression. In YR especially, I appreciate when the adult characters exhibit growth and development as their own independent personalities - and the uncle in this book (like the father in "Salma Makes a Home") hits the mark. I think the book could have used a little more description - showing, not just telling - although the illustrations are helpful in supplementing what the text lacks. I'll also note that there should at least be a glossary at the end so that readers unfamiliar with the cultural setting might have a reference.

Be true to your craft. A valuable lesson is learned in this middle grade book provided by #NetGalley and #AnnickPress. Tehzeeb is transformed when he first attempts mehndi. While he becomes popular with most friends and family, not everyone is impressed. Tehzeeb must find the courage to follow his passion. There are many stunning elements to this chapter book: colorful illustrations, celebrations of the arts, breaking gender expectations. The most profound is perseverance and courage. This is an important and necessary read to understand family, expectations, and following your passion.