The Great Race to Sycamore Street

About the author

J. Samia Mair: J. Samia Mair is an American writer of Islamic children's fiction whose books are valued for blending everyday childhood adventures with quiet lessons in faith and good character. She was raised in Pittsburgh and is a graduate of Smith College in Massachusetts. She spent the early part of her career as a prosecutor in Philadelphia and practiced law for more than eight years, later joining the faculty of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. After embracing Islam, she stepped back from law and academia to write and to homeschool her children, co-founding a homeschool cooperative and developing curricula in Islamic history, American history, and science. Her children's titles include the picture books Amira's Totally Chocolate World, The Perfect Gift, and the Zak books (Zak and His Good Intentions and Zak and His Little Lies), as well as the chapter book The Great Race to Sycamore Street, and several were published with The Islamic Foundation. A freelance writer across many genres including short stories, essays, book reviews, scientific articles, and poetry, she is also a staff writer for SISTERS Magazine and for Discover, the magazine for curious Muslim kids. Her stories, often drawn from family life, aim to make faith feel familiar and approachable for young Muslim readers.