Nadia,” he said. “I have something to say to them.”
When all were assembled, Tarik said, “From this day forward, let my daughter Nadia be known not as Willful, but as Wise. And let her name be praised in every tent, for she has given me back my beloved son.”
And so it was. The shepherd returned to his flock, kindness and graciousness returned to the oasis, and Nadia’s name was praised in every tent. And Hamed lived again—in the hearts of all who remembered him.
Sue Alexander
Sue Alexander (1933– ) loves to write stories and is the author of more than twenty books for young people. Alexander wrote Nadia the Willful because she had a similar experience. When her brother died, her father found it painful to talk about him. Alexander needed to talk about her brother and did not know how to explain this to her father. She decided to write a story about it. Because Alexander had always had an interest in the Bedouin culture, she set her story in the desert.
Jamel Akib
Jamel Akib (1965– ) is an award-winning illustrator of English and Malaysian ancestry. His work has been shown in museums and galleries. Akib’s style includes both chalk pastels and digital artwork. Akib lives in Essex, England with his family.