TITTLE TATTLE TALIA
Can YOU resist a juicy story? Talia cannot; she loves talking about other people and she loves to hear about them too. Her tittle-tattling makes her very popular and before she knows it, her tales start to get taller and taller. Talia’s family remind her that this is a bad habit to have, yet even when others get hurt, she does not understand why she should stop.
TITTLE TATTLE
I A A T L
Inspired by a hadith of the Prophet this delightfully simple story, beautifully illustrated, shows the reader how easy it is to slip into the bad habit of gossip, backbiting and slander.
ISBN 978-0-86037-744-3 | $14.00 ISBN 978-0-86037-744-3
Exclusively managed by www.kubepublishing.com
TITTLE TATTLE TALIA COVER.indd 1
9 780860 377443
51400
Written by Salwah Isaacs-Johaadien
Illustrated by Zeyneb Yildirim
30/03/2022 18:09
Tittle Tattle Talia First Published in 2022 by THE ISLAMIC FOUNDATION Distributed by KUBE PUBLISHING LTD Tel +44 (0)1530 249230, Fax +44 (0)1530 249656 E-mail: info@kubepublishing.com Website: www.kubepublishing.com
TITTLE TATTLE
Text © Salwah Isaacs-Johaadien, 2022 Illustrations © Zeyneb Yildirim, 2022
I A A T L A STORY ABOUT GOSSIPING
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Author: Salwah Isaacs-Johaadien Illustrator: Zeyneb Yildirim Book design: Rebecca Wildman A Cataloguing-in-Publication Data record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978-0-86037-744-3 Printed by Elma Basim, Turkey
Written by Salwah Isaacs-Johaadien TITTLE TATTLE TALIA INTERIORS_Revised.indd 2-3
Illustrated by Zeyneb Yildirim 06/04/2022 08:41
Talia enjoyed telling tales. Not the type of tales found in story books though. Her favourite words were, ‘You’ll never guess…’ or ‘They say that...’ She also liked saying, ‘I heard that...’ or ‘Did you hear…’ Talia loved to tittle-tattle; she was always talking about other people and she enjoyed listening to gossip too!
This bad habit distressed her family but they could not get her to stop.
‘You’ll never guess what a scaredy cat Ahmed is,’ she remarked. ‘Ahmed is just a shy boy,’ said her sister, disturbed, ‘if he heard what you’d said his feelings would be hurt.’ ‘But it’s true!’ declared Talia. ‘It doesn’t matter,’ her sister warned, ‘you should watch what you say or you might have to eat your words.’ ‘EAT my WORDS?’ Talia wondered. ‘How?’ 2 TITTLE TATTLE TALIA INTERIORS_Revised.indd 2-3
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‘They say that Aunty Amina smells like old samosas,’ Talia snickered. ‘That’s nasty,’ said her brother, irritated. ‘And who is “they” anyway?’ ‘Everyone!’ exclaimed Talia. ‘Tut,’ said her brother shaking his head, ‘talking nonsense will leave a bad taste in your mouth.’
‘I heard that Uncle Hassan’s children NEVER bathe,’ she whispered.
‘A BAD TASTE?’ thought Talia. ‘That’s strange.’ ‘Why would you say such a thing?’ asked her father, shocked.
‘I just guess so,’ replied Talia, ‘because they always look so grubby.’ ‘Talia, how many times do I have to tell you to stop spreading tales!’ her father scolded. ‘The Prophet taught us to speak good or hold our tongues.’ ‘HOLD my TONGUE?’ Talia giggled. ‘Funny!’ 4 TITTLE TATTLE TALIA INTERIORS_Revised.indd 4-5
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‘Did you hear what Layla said about her cousin?’ Talia began. ‘We don’t know her cousin,’ said her mother warily, ‘so it shouldn’t concern us.’ ‘But it’s so shocking!’ Talia persisted. ‘Astaghfirullah. I don’t want to hear anything about anyone!’ her mother stopped her, shaking an angry finger, ‘it’s better to zip your lips.’
Talia could not understand why her family was so uptight. She was only telling them what she thought or had heard about other people. Surely, there was no harm in that. It did not bother Talia too much that her family would not listen to her tales. Instead, she simply gossiped elsewhere...
‘ZIP my LIPS?’ mused Talia. ‘Really?’
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‘You’ll never guess how scared Ahmed was at the park the other day.’
Talia enjoyed getting reactions from the other children. The attention made her feel good about herself. So good, that soon she did not seem to care that people’s feelings were getting hurt. Everyone had always known what a baby Ahmed was, anyway.
‘They say that Ahmed wipes his nose on his sleeve because he is too scared to ask for a tissue.’
‘I heard that Ahmed shrieked like a baby when he saw a toy mouse.’
It was not HER fault if he felt bad. Talia felt reassured that her tales made more children laugh than feel sad.
So, the more attention Talia got, the more she spiced up her tales! 8 TITTLE TATTLE TALIA INTERIORS_Revised.indd 8-9
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Suddenly, she heard familiar voices crying out together, ‘Wait! Talia! Wait!’ Talia stopped and looked back Her parents glanced up to see what was happening. Ali, Noorah, Sarah and some others were running to catch up with her. ‘Talia!’ called Noorah, out of breath, ‘we came to apologise.’ ‘Huh?’ asked Talia puzzled.
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TITTLE TATTLE TALIA
Can YOU resist a juicy story? Talia cannot; she loves talking about other people and she loves to hear about them too. Her tittle-tattling makes her very popular and before she knows it, her tales start to get taller and taller. Talia’s family remind her that this is a bad habit to have, yet even when others get hurt, she does not understand why she should stop.
TITTLE TATTLE
I A A T L
Inspired by a hadith of the Prophet this delightfully simple story, beautifully illustrated, shows the reader how easy it is to slip into the bad habit of gossip, backbiting and slander.
ISBN 978-0-86037-744-3 | $14.00 ISBN 978-0-86037-744-3
Exclusively managed by www.kubepublishing.com
TITTLE TATTLE TALIA COVER.indd 1
9 780860 377443
51400
Written by Salwah Isaacs-Johaadien
Illustrated by Zeyneb Yildirim
30/03/2022 18:09