"Dancing Bear" hits big with kids

Subtle tales of Islamic superiority top seller in kids' textbooks

NEW DETROIT, Mich. (RWN) - Charleen Adams just wanted to celebrate her new faith, since it filled her with warmth and joy and love. The best way she could do that, she thought, was to write about it.

But writing essays and journal entries didn't seem to do it. They were fulfilling to her, but she wanted to spread the word. She began telling her stories about a bear knight named "Dancing Bear," and then she had moment of lucidity.

"My children liked the stories so much I thought I should go and wrote them down and share them with the world," Adams said.

It proved to be a smart decision - Adams' first book Dancing Bear and the Knights of Chicago, has sold more than 2 million copies and has been adopted by at least 10 major school boards around the country as part of the first- or second-grade curriculum. Her second book, Dancing Bear Heads South, sold more than 1 million copies. And the pre-release orders of her third book, Dancing Bear and the Spirit of Heaven, have topped 1 million copies, as well.

The formula of sharp illustration, tightly woven plots and stories that subtly reinforce Islamic themes of charity, honor and honesty is a winner, especially with school boards.

"There's so much chaff out there when you go looking for wheat," said Dana Mawaa, a school board member in Oakland, Calif. "Charleen's stories are great for role modeling what a good Muslim should be like."

Even fundamentalists have cottoned to them. The Madras Board of New Detroit - one of the most conservative private religious boards in the country - has adopted the books for its early students.

"The stories reinforce all that is good about Islamic warriors," said Kendrick Oxley, the head of the New Detroit board. "They stay away from controversial topics such as the role of women. That it was written by a woman, well, we skirt that fact."

Adams has been made a wealthy woman by the Dancing Bear books. But like a good Muslim, 2.5 percent of her earnings have gone to charity.

"Actually, it's more than that, but Dancing Bear says be modest, so let's just say that," she said.

"What's really gratifying is how many people are adopting the series," she said. "To think that just a few years ago, before I met my husband, I was waitressing in a Zone bar and now I have been redeemed through the light of Islam, and I get to share that light. That's just amazing."


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