About The Very Best Doughnut

  OUR STORIES is a funny, relatable and engaging new early chapter book series that celebrates Australia’s multicultural society with authors and illustrators from a diverse range of backgrounds.

  Friday is always the best day at Adam’s house. It’s doughnut day!

  But this week, his family is fasting for Ramadan. They aren’t going to eat or drink until the sun sets.

  Adam wants to fast too, but it’s so hard. Can he wait that long for his very special doughnut?

  Contents

  About The Very Best Doughnut

  Title Page

  Contents

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Note from series editor

  About Randa Abdel-Fattah

  Copyright

  Newsletter

  To the very best doughnut eaters, Adam and Hannah!

  Chapter 1

  It was the best,

  the very,

  very best

  day of the week. Friday.

  ‘It’s doughnut lunch box day,’ Adam said to himself when he woke up.

  And then he remembered.

  Not today.

  Not this Friday.

  Adam quickly brushed his teeth and quickly brushed his curly hair. He quickly put on his school uniform and ran to the kitchen. He tripped over a basketball, stepped on a piece of LEGO and slid over a truck.

  ‘Agh!’

  he yelled, before colliding into his big, just-turned-cranky teenage sister Hannah.

  ‘Oi! Watch where you’re going!’ Hannah yelled.

  ‘Slow down, Adam!’ Mum called, but Adam was too excited to slow down.

  Chapter 2

  Mum was packing a yummy,

  a very,

  very yummy

  pink-icing doughnut into Adam’s dinosaur lunch box.

  Adam saw it and cried,

  ‘No!’

  ‘Calm down, Adam,’ Mum said, but Adam was too excited to calm down.

  Adam had made a promise to himself. ‘I’m not having a doughnut today, thanks, Mum,’ he said.

  ‘No doughnut?’ Mum asked, shocked.

  ‘I’m fasting too,’ Adam said. And as he said these words, he felt something inside him swell with pride.

  Mum smiled gently. ‘You’re too young to fast, Adam.’

  ‘No, I’m not,’ Adam said.

  ‘It’s lovely that you want to,’ Mum said. ‘But you don’t have to fast until you’re older. You can do it in a few years. When you’re in Grade Six, maybe.’

  Adam hesitated. He stared at the doughnut. The gooey icing and the rainbow sprinkles made his tongue

  tickle.

  It looked

  delicious.

  Hannah rolled her eyes at him. ‘You’re in Grade Three, loser. You’re still a baby. Babies don’t fast.’

  Adam clenched his fists. ‘I’m fasting, just like you, Baba and Mum.’

  Hannah hitched her school bag onto her back and laughed.

  ‘And I’m not a baby,’ Adam added angrily.

  Hannah laughed louder as she walked to the front door.

  ‘Hannah, stop being mean,’ Mum said. ‘That’s not the Ramadan spirit.’

  Mum slid the lunch box across the bench towards Adam. ‘It’s okay. You’re obviously not a baby but you’re also not yet big enough to be fasting a whole day, from sunrise to sunset.’

  Adam pushed his lunch box back. ‘I am big enough,’ he said, and he stood up on the kitchen chair. He stretched high enough to reach the colourful Ramadan Mubarak streamers, lantern decorations and banners dangling from the ceiling.

  ‘Settle down, Adam,’ Mum said, but Adam was too determined and too excited to settle down.

  ‘Very well,’ Mum said. ‘But—’

  There was always a ‘but’.

  Adam agreed to take his lunch box to school, and that he would only fast for a little while. That meant NO food and NO drink until recess.

  Adam went to school feeling like a big,

  a very,

  very big

  boy.

  Chapter 3

  But, oh, it was hard!

  ‘Goodness!

  What’s that noise?’ Ms Hickson asked, turning away from the whiteboard to face the class. ‘Do we have a new student today? A hungry Tyrannosaurus Rex maybe?’

  Adam hugged his

  grouchy,

  groaning,

  growling

  stomach.

  The class stared at him. His face felt hot and his ears burnt like he’d eaten a chilli. Or two.

  Adam whispered,

  ‘Shhh!’

  to his stomach.

  ‘Stop being

  so loud!’

  But Adam’s stomach ignored him and let out another enormous growl.

  ‘There goes the T-Rex again!’ Ms Hickson said.

  ‘Miss!’ Nina called out disapprovingly. ‘Everybody knows that dinosaurs are extinct!’

  ‘Well, then who’s making those angry animal growling sounds?!’ Maysaa asked, staring suspiciously in Adam’s direction.

  Adam let go of his stomach and pointed to the window. ‘LOOK. I think there’s a lion in the playground!’

  Thomas screamed.

  Nina cried,

  ‘Awesome!’

  Soyoka swung back on her chair to look out the window and fell flat on her bum, releasing a large fart as she landed.

  ‘The T-Rex farted, Miss!’ Zayne yelled, roaring with laughter.

  Ms Hickson clapped her hands and asked the class to be quiet.

  ‘I saw it!’ Soyoka yelled, rubbing her bum as she got up. ‘The lion! It has massive teeth! It was the one who growled and farted!’

  ‘It must have run away from the zoo!’ Adam said. But then his stomach let out another mighty roar.

  Ms Hickson walked over to his desk and frowned. ‘Adam, did you eat breakfast today?’

  Adam decided to confess. He didn’t think he could keep up a farting, roaring lion story forever. He sat up tall at his desk.

  ‘Actually, it’s Ramadan. And I’m fasting,’ he explained proudly.

  Ms Hickson smiled.

  ‘Oh! That’s a much nicer explanation than noisy dinosaurs and lions!’

  Ms Hickson then invited Adam to come up to the front of the class and talk about Ramadan. Adam stood up, feeling shy, but also a little special.

  ‘Actually, Ramadan is a nice month for us. I’m Muslim, and during Ramadan we try to look after people who don’t have food or water and we give lots to charity, like how I gave my pocket money last year. This year I might give away my favourite Pokémon cards because my mum said it’s

  extra special

  to give stuff you love. But maybe I’ll give my doubles. I think that still counts.’

  Adam looked at all the kids in his class, who were listening carefully as he spoke. It made him feel happy.

  ‘That’s very kind of you, Adam,’ Ms Hickson said. ‘What about the fasting?’

  ‘We don’t eat or drink

  ANYTHING.’

  ‘Like, forever and ever?’ Nina asked. She looked horrified.

  ‘No,’ said Adam. ‘From when the sun wakes up until it sleeps.’

  ‘And can you explain why you fast, Adam?’ Ms Hickson said.

  ‘So we know how it feels to not have food,’ Adam said, rubbing his belly. ‘So we can give food and money to people who need it — and so we can get presents for Eid!

  Big, massive presents!’

  Some students cheered.

  ‘Maybe you’ll get Pokémon cards!’ Soyoka said.

  Then the bell rang for recess and everybody, including Adam, cheered.

  Chapter 4

  It was hot at recess so Adam and his best friend, Jay, were sitting in the bathroom sinks.

  Hannah suddenly appeared at the entrance to the boys’ bathroom.

  ‘Oi!’ Hannah said in her bossy,

  her very,

  very bossy

  big-sister voice. ‘What are you doing sitting in the sinks?!’

  ‘We’re hot,’ Jay said.

  ‘Get out of there!’

  Adam stuck his tongue out at Hannah and jumped out of the sink.

  ‘Mum said you have to eat at recess,’ Hannah said.

  ‘I’m fasting,’ Adam said.

  ‘But it’s hot! Drink some water,’ Hannah ordered.

  ‘No.’

  ‘Your brain will turn to

  mashed

  potato!

  Eat some food.’

  ‘No.’

  Hannah stamped her foot. ‘You’re too young to fast.’

  ‘I’m fasting,’ Adam said.

  ‘Just like

  you!

  Adam and Jay ran out of the bathroom and into the playground before Hannah could catch them.

  Chapter 5

  Jay was at the canteen buying a packet of chips. Adam’s stomach ached. He snuck away to his school bag. He opened his lunch box and stared at the doughnut.

  He touched it, and a small piece of icing got stuck under his fingernail. He thought about how sweet the icing would taste. Surely

  one

  tiny

  taste

  was okay?

  But then he remembered Hannah calling him a baby. He would show her. He was a

  big boy!

  As delicious as the doughnut looked, Adam would not be tempted. He picked up his mushy labne-and-cucumber pita bread sandwich and took a small bite of that instead.

  He chewed very slowly. Labne didn’t taste like pink icing and oh-so-soft dough.

  Then he took a small sip of water.

  The lion in his stomach purred happily.

  Yum.

  Food. Water.

  ‘Maybe Mum was right,’ Adam thought. He was too young. It was perfectly fine for him to eat that delicious, heavenly doughnut. Adam reached for the doughnut and his mouth started to water . . . but then he remembered his promise to himself. He had come so far! Almost the end of recess! He could keep going.

  So like a fasting superhero, Adam

  slammed

  his lunch box shut.

  A small sip of water and a small bite of a soggy sandwich still made Adam a big,

  a very,

  very big

  boy.

  Chapter 6

  Ms Hickson asked everyone to draw a picture of a favourite memory.

  Adam took out his colour pencils. He drew himself stuffing his face with lollies and Eid biscuits next to a pile of presents.

  Jay drew a picture of his new puppy sleeping in the toy box.

  Adam and Jay usually spent art class drawing pictures of exploding bums or snotty noses, so Ms Hickson was

  very proud

  that Adam and Jay had stayed on task. She told them to visit the principal, Ms Tran, for a special sticker.

  Adam and Jay grinned as they walked out of class with their beautiful work and went straight to Ms Tran’s office.

  ‘This is lovely!’

  Ms Tran exclaimed, taking out a sheet of stickers. ‘I have scented stickers today. All starting with the letter “D”: dinosaurs, dolls or doughnuts. Your pick!’

  Adam reached to grab a doughnut sticker. He held it to his nose and sniffed. It smelt like candy. His stomach growled loud enough for Ms Tran and Jay to hear.

  ‘I think somebody didn’t finish their recess snack,’ Ms Tran said.

  Ms Tran dismissed them, and Adam and Jay headed back to class with two stickers each.

  ‘Wait, I want a bite of my lunch,’ Jay said as they passed their school bags.

  Adam’s stomach heard the word ‘lunch’ and started

  again, this time like an aeroplane taking off into the sky. It wasn’t even halfway through the day yet. Time was going SO slowly. Adam wondered what was so fast about fasting.

  Adam joined Jay and took out his lunch box. He picked up the rest of his sandwich and took an enormous bite. He munched and munched, staring at the yummy doughnut.

  Jay saw the doughnut and licked his lips.

  ‘Yum!

  Aren’t you going to eat it?’

  Adam shook his head.

  ‘Not yet,’ he said, chewing his sandwich. ‘I’m fasting.’

  Chapter 7

  At lunchtime, Adam and Jay were playing with the water bubblers.

  Ms Tran walked past them and stopped. She turned around.

  Adam and Jay stood still, trying to look innocent as water dribbled off their hair.

  ‘No wasting water, boys,’ Ms Tran said.

  Adam and Jay nodded.

  Ms Tran did not look like she believed them, but she rushed away to help a girl who had fallen into a rubbish bin.

  Jay pressed the bubbler and sprayed Adam with water. Adam laughed as the water dripped over his head and down his face. Water trickled onto his lips.

  It was so delicious he forgot he was fasting.

  Adam put his mouth over the bubbler. A fountain of water

  into his mouth and down his throat.

  Suddenly, Hannah was standing behind him.

  ‘Good,’ she said with a smile. ‘You need to drink.’

  Adam spat the water onto the ground.

  ‘He’s fasting!’ Jay yelled, and Adam and Jay ran away.

  Chapter 8

  Adam had made it.

  He’d truly tried his best,

  his very,

  very best,

  to fast from sunrise to sunset!

  After a

  l

  o

  n

  g

  day at school, the sun was finally going down.

  In a big, noisy restaurant filled with people, on a long, busy street decorated with lanterns and banners, Adam sat with his family to break their fast with a feast.

  Ramadan songs played from the speakers above. Suddenly, the songs stopped, interrupted by the soothing call to prayer.

  Mum, Baba and Hannah said a prayer in Arabic. Baba slowed down, allowing Adam to repeat the words after him.

  A waiter brought out cups of icy cold water and

  PLATES

  PLATES

  PLATES

  PLATES

  PLATES

  PLATES

  PLATES

  PLATES

  PLATES

  PLATES

  PLATES

  PLATES

  of food:

  Lamb

  over fluffy rice

  topped with fried nuts,

  pomegranate-dressing

  salad,

  fried chips

  and crumbed chicken tenders,

  lamb and

  chicken

  skewers,

  creamy dips,

  piping hot

  falafels

  and steaming lentil

  soup.

  Adam felt like he was going to melt with happiness as he stuffed his face.

  Mum gave Adam a

  hug.

  ‘Your first day fasting!’ she said. ‘I’m so proud of you.’

  Hannah leaned close to Adam and whispered in his ear. ‘I saw your lunch box after school. There were bites in your sandwich.’

  Adam looked guiltily at Hannah.

  Hannah’s face broke out into a smile. ‘What counts is that you tried. You gave up something that you love.

  I’m proud of you too.’

  Hannah nudged Adam with her shoulder.

  Adam beamed.

  ‘Right,’ Baba said, clapping his hands together in excitement as he studied the menu. ‘What would you like for dessert? Ice cream?’

  ‘Sahlab!’

  Mum said.

  ‘I want a massive piece of konafa,’ Hannah said.

  ‘What about you, Adam?’ Mum asked.

  Grinning, Adam reached into his pocket and took out something wrapped and slightly squashed.

  ‘My doughnut!’ he said, and swallowed it in one bite!

  It was the best,

  the

  very,

  very

  best

  doughnut he’d ever eaten in his life.

  About Randa Abdel-Fattah

  Randa Abdel-Fattah is a chocolate and jam-doughnut loving, multi-award-winning author of books for children, young adults and adults. Randa has four children who always inspire her with story ideas. Her youngest, Adam and Hannah, enjoy fasting to breakfast during Ramadan, sitting in sinks and pink icing on doughnuts.

  Our Stories is told on land that was and always will be Aboriginal land. It is the first Australian chapter book series for early readers (5+ years) that is explicitly about diversity, anti-racism and inclusion.

  It is a series that we hope will offer early readers engaging, thought-provoking, memorable, tender and funny stories, truths and lived experiences of children living on First Nations lands. It is about bringing together the messy, sometimes difficult, complicated and joyful realities of diverse lives.

  The empowering thread that unites each of the very different books is respecting the right of every child to read stories about growing up in Australia, spoken on their own terms.

 

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