Naaz Haleema Khan

Naaz Haleema Khan is a writer and educator with a background in refugee education and a passion for interfaith community building. She attended college in San Diego where she studied Sociology and Religion, has a diploma in Refugee Studies from the American University of Cairo, and a has a Master of Arts in International Education from Columbia University’s Teachers College.

Based in the United States (Washington DC and California), Naaz draws inspiration from her experiences living in Saudi Arabia, India, Kenya, and Egypt, where she is currently working. Her soul food comes in the form of quiet sunrises, interfaith dinners, music, dance, magical stories, poetry, puppetry, traveling, dreaming, soaking her feet in blue turquoise waters, and exploring practices that deepen her connection to the realm of the spirit.

Naaz’s debut picture book, Room for Everyone, about a rambunctious bus ride through the Muslim island of Zanzibar and the challenges the bus passengers face in making space for new travelers at each stop, was published by Caitlyn Dlouhy Books/Simon & Schuster in 2021, to wide acclaim. She is currently writing her next two picture books for Simon & Schuster, and much more!

Visit Naaz on Infinite Gems, her roundup of recommended children’s books for families to share and enjoy together. 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/naazhkhan

Website: NaazKhan.org

Praise for Naaz H. Khan’s writing:

“Khan’s rhymes are electric, her wordplay flawless, and her sound effects entertaining to say aloud.”
— The Horn Book *STARRED REVIEW*

There’s a lot of fun to be had as lyrical rhymes and mixed-media illustrations make the growing menagerie of passengers feel both vibrantly stylized and realistically depicted. East Africa is presented richly and distinctly in López’s dynamic artwork, but the overall experience of riding and building community on the daladala is not only accessible, but easily familiar to much of the world in this charming story. Khan and López take readers on a uniquely East African journey toward a global sense of compassion and inclusion. 
— Kirkus Reviews *STARRED REVIEW* 

The zippy anapestical rhymes are laced with dramatic emphasis (playfully signaled by the font) and touches of repetition as well as the entertaining cumulation. A fresh and gorgeous outing all its own, eminently suitable to get giggles from kids doing their own complaining about close quarters.
— BCCB *STARRED REVIEW* 

This irrepressible story in verse by newcomer Khan is simultaneously a counting book and a study in generosity of spirit…Even the characters’ robes and the attractive chaos of the things they carry are captured with care in this affirming portrait set in East Africa. 
— Publishers Weekly *STARRED REVIEW* 

“Based on a “fantastically fun daladala ride” that author Naaz Khan once took in Zanzibar, Room for Everyone is an entertaining and bighearted joyride of a picture book that features fabulous illustrations by Mercè López…The bus and Khan’s pleasing prose bounce along rhythmically. The text is full of satisfying alliteration, flowing dialogue and rhyming couplets that are a delight to read aloud…”
— BookPage *STARRED REVIEW*