Habibi, the camel, is a delightful character who one day decides he wants to have something a little fancy to brighten his day. One day, Habibi refuses to carry the children around and his owner cannot figure out what is wrong with Habibi. The owner then spends the day running through the city searching for his camel with the 'sense of style'.
The plot is very humorous, and the story begins on the title page with a very interested Habibi, along with his owner, passing by the fez stand at the Arab bazaar. The setting of the story is depicted in the beautiful illustrations and in the vocabulary words throughout the story. The author, Betsy Lewin, uses onomatopoeia throughout the story, which adds a unique quality to the story. Lewin uses black outline with watercolors for the beautiful illustrations in the children's book. The illustrations are very lively and add something magical to the story. Black squiggly lines outline the people showing action and sometimes chaos. "‘Lewin's expressive, playful line-and-watercolor illustrations bring to life this funny tale" (Taniguchi 2010).
This whimsical book would be loved by school children for story time in the classroom or library. Teachers and librarians could utilize this picture book to teach onomatopoeia and use of strong vocabulary words.
Lewin, Betty. 1997. What's the Matter, Habibi? New York. Clarion Books. ISBN 039585816X
Taniguchi, Marilyn. Review of What's the Matter, Habibi? School Library Journal. 2010.
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