Howdy and welcome everyone to the blog. Today I want to talk about why I love illustrating for children’s books. But, before I get into the topic I wanna share a couple of things first. My name is Ameenah and I am a wife, mother, homeschooling parent and I’m a children’s book illustrator. This blog is my space to share my thoughts, ideas, stories, family life and behind the scenes work.

You will find spelling errors and grammar mistakes…..trust me. It’s not intentional. As a mom of 8, doing several things…I’m gonna miss some things.  And in this day and age I hope you all appreciate the humanness of my work. 

Let’s chat…

I have been illustrating children’s books for over 6 years now. And my experience has been overall positive. I’m thankful for that. 
My being a children’s book illustrator was totally unexpected, unplanned and surprising. That’s a story for another time. But now that I’m a children’s book illustrator, I can tell you what I love about this job.

1. Imagination. I really enjoy using my imagination. It keeps me feeling alive honestly. I still work with my brain and come up with new adventures and illustrations. It’s extremely important to me to keep using my imagination, especially as I get older and the world around me feels too heavy.

2. Visual storytelling. I enjoy being a storyteller for younger people. They get to learn about the world and what’s happening around them with my art. This is a big deal! We get to be a part of a child’s introduction to the world. 

3. Nostalgic memories. I really love reliving the past. Show casing throwback memories of children running, jumping rope, chasing fireflies and sharing those memories with the next generation is a blessing.

I feel like the world of children’s books is play. Now granted…I’ve illustrated some heavy moments!!!!! But it’s all done with such a gentle approach, that in the world of kid lit, I find play, joy, peace and comfort. I really think we live in a time where all of those things are needed to keep thriving. 

Thank you for reading my thoughts. What do you think about the art in children’s books? Whether you illustrate it or you just simply enjoy it. Would love to know your thoughts.

Salaams and howdy! Welcome to Mariam Poppins blog! This is the place where I share my thoughts, behind the scenes content and some things that are happening here at MP. Not sure how you ended up here but I’m glad you are here!!!! 
My name is Ameenah and I am 1 of 2 at Mariam Poppins. 
The other human is Abdullaah and we are a team. Let’s talk about it. 

We’ve been married now for almost 20 years. Mariam Poppins is our first business together as partners. And nope. It’s not always easy. I’m still learning to navigate through some things. In fact I talked briefly about it in an interview with the Islamic Library Association.

Here are some things I’m learning:

• Keep your personal emotions and business separate. Ahhhhhhh I’m working on that. Cause if Abdullaah looks at me funny, I’m quick to be like I’m going to be working late or something else lol. It’s really important for our family that we both keep moving forward despite marital issues of the day. 
  

At the end of the day….i love working with my husband. It has produced some of my favorite moments at MP.

Though we never made it to the Black Muslim Psychology  Conference, it was such a big moment for us as a family.

I’m learning everyday. But I wanted to share of these things I’m managing as I journey through this process with my best friend. 
Any spelling or grammar mistakes is allllll me. I hope you all have a wonderful day and let me know if you’re working with your husband and if you have any advice to share with others.

Salaams and howdy! 👋🏽

Welcome to the blog. My name is Ameenah  and I’m a wife, mama, homeschooling parent and children’s book illustrator and art educator. I’ve been wondering for some time, what is the best place for me to write about my family, art and all the things. 

So with so much going on, I’ve decided to start up here on the website. Before I start writing anything I want you to know some things.

1. I’m not having Ai write our blog. I know we live in a time where writing can appear to be flawless and coherent lol. But that’s not true to who we are. Sometimes my writing will have missing words, grammatical errors and it may not make sense. 
I don’t intend it but sometimes that happens to me. And I honestly am ok with that. I don’t want this space to not feel authentic. 

2. Ai will not be doing our illustrations. Not even the blog photos. I’m striving to my own photos. I love taking pictures of things in life. Before Ai was a thing, my husband always encouraged us to do our own photography, make our mockups and make everything. It was one of the ways where we actually owned our photography, and not have to be scared about licensing. As for the art…..you already know!!!!!! I do it allllllllllllll my friend. 

Meet the team. 
Abdullaah. We’ve been married for almost 20 years. He has a joy for helping others, pottery, homesteading and being in nature. He’s a very hands on kind of guy and would like to be on the move….you won’t find him sitting still for long. 

Ameenah. I’m a mom to eight wonderful kiddos and I homeschool. You can find me chasing the baby or getting the teenagers to do it. I love good food, snacks, photography and art. When I can and it’s safe outside you will find me on my e-bike with Abdullaah riding around.

The humans. There are 8 of them and they are fun. They usually will pop up when they wanna. Like my son does our reels at times lol. 

Family is important to me. And what we do here is also important. It’s a part of our legacy. So we welcome you here to enjoy the ride with us as to grow this business and share the journey along the way. 

Please feel free to introduce yourself and what would you like to see from us.