The Bookship

When Grandad’s stories fade, Alia feels lost—until the Bookship whisks her away on a magical journey. Through jungles and stars, she discovers that stories never truly disappear. They live on when shared, bringing light, love, and adventure to all who listen.
A touching and heartfelt story by award-winning author Hiba Noor Khan, enchantingly illustrated by Julian Ariza.

Khan's writing career began in 2019, when she was commissioned to write an installment of Penguin Random House's "Extraordinary Lives" series about Malala Yousafzai. Her debut picture book, The Little War Cat (2020), was inspired by the true story of an Aleppo ambulance driver who rescued cats during the Syrian Civil War. She has since authored several other non-fiction books, including Inspiring Inventors Who Are Changing Our Future (2022) and How to Spaghettify Your Dog (2023). In 2023, Khan published her critically acclaimed middle-grade historical fiction novel, Safiyyah's War, based on the true story of the Grand Mosque of Paris protecting Jews during World War II. The novel won the 2024 Jhalak Prize and an Indie Book Award for Children's Fiction, and was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal and the Branford Boase Award. Her second novel, The Line They Drew Through Us, is set for release in 2025.