The master of middle grade continues the adventures of Zara, who forces her grandfather out of his comfort zone when her spring break plans go away.

Thank you Simon and Schuster for the digital review copy.

Hena Khan is an incredible author for young kids and I will be adding this to a future classroom library next year. This is such an adorable series. Thank you to Alex at SimonTeen for gifting a copy for me!! Zara is an adorable character for young readers.

The third installment in the Zara's Rules series focuses on spring break and helping her beloved Nana Abu find a retirement hobby. I love that the diverse neighborhood gang still makes an appearance even though the focus is more on the family. Jewish day camp, Passover, Easter and Jummah all are mentioned, but the conflict in the story is Zara and Zayd's boredom, and their grandfather's sedentary lifestyle. As an adult reading the book, I wish there was a bit more Islam, yes the salams are nice and the mention of the Imam at the masjid on Jummah was representative, but it seems that a week off from school with your grandparents would feature maybe some Quran reading, salat, or Dua learning. Naomi is learning about her faith at Har Shalom, so it seemed a bit lacking that a Muslim family wouldn't have the same inclusion. I also loved that the installation of a Little Free Library (@littlefreelibrary) played an important plot point and the suggestion of puttimg one at the masjid was particularly on point for me. Unfortunately, a book about being bored, trying to engage an elderly newly retired grandparent in activities, and being excited about a senior center, doesn't particularly appeal to early chapter book readers. I couldn't get my own child in that demographic to finish it, and the other two books were happily read and reread.