Our Favorite Day of the Week by Ashley Franklin, illustrations by Rahele Jomepour Bell
Publisher: Salaam Reads/Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers
Publishing: September 29th, 2026
Format Read: E-ARC
Number of pages: 40 pages
Source: Publisher
Opening Lines: "Musa was ready to begin his week with something amazing."
Musa is thrilled to have learned how to tie his shoes and can't wait to share the news with his next-door neighbor, Zohra. But when he sees her, she doesn't seem in the mood to celebrate with him. Zohra is worried that her upcoming trip on Tuesday means she'll miss her favorite pastime, seeing Mr. Joey and Mr. Brown collect her trash. Recycling is her passion and watching them work makes Tuesday the best day of her week.
Hearing this Musa shares what he enjoys about Wednesday's, and soon their friends from school join in as they walk to school, each describing what they love most about their favorite day of the week. I loved the children's excitement and reasons for why they picked the day that they chose whether it was swimming with a parent, playing futbol, visiting a Chinese cultural center or celebrating the Jewish day of rest or Shabbat. Every day held something meaningful and together created a joyful mixture of traditions and activities.
The vibrant colors and expressive faces in the illustrations were the highlight for me. The book features a wonderfully diverse group of children, and I especially loved that one of the days was spent with a grandparent creating art projects together. It's a lovely sequel to Our Favorite Day of the Year, carrying forward the same sense of joy, connection and celebrating everyday moments.
Included at the back of the book is a section explaining which countries consider Sunday the first day of the week, along with the origins of each weekday's name, including the Roman or Norse gods they were named after. I can easily see this being used in a classroom during story time to spark conversations about each student's favorite day of the week, or even to create a chart or list so the class can compare their choices.
