Tackling Islamophobia through children's literature

You Think You Know Me by Ayaan Mohamud

Image courtesy of Darley Anderson Children's Book Agency

An authentic story following the life of a young Somali refugee in modern day Britain, You Think You Know Me (Usborne Publishing) is the debut young adult novel from talented 25-year-old author and medic Ayaan Mohamud.

Turning an emerging author into an influential voice, our PR campaign empowered Ayaan to share her personal story and motivations for writing her book, whilst attracting national media attention, and connecting with young readers from her community and beyond. Through a dedicated media strategy and targeted blogger outreach, we generated inspiring, educational and topical articles that sensitively explored Islamophobia, institutional racism, bullying and gang culture in modern Britain.

In a powerful first person piece for The Guardian, Ayaan called for better representation of Somali characters in literature, while her experiences of Islamophobia were explored in an eye-opening account for the Metro. Interviews with Islam Channel, Amaliah, Hyphen, The Black Project, and reviews and round-ups in The New Arab, The Muslim News, and British Muslim Magazine, among others, celebrated Ayaan’s work in bravely and creatively fighting difficult and dark themes through children’s literature.

From receiving rave reviews to being selected as a World Book Night title, You Think You Know Me became a catalyst for important conversations on identity, religion, racism and the refugee experience, whilst helping to create much-needed empathy and understanding among young generations of readers.