Laila Taji

Laila Taji is the author of These Chicks/هالصيصان, an Arabic nursery rhyme/picture book. She published the book to help bridge the gap she saw in Arabic literature between ABC books and more complex Arabic stories. She created ArabishWay, a website that provides tools for parents and educators who want to teach or pass along the Arabic language. She has a BA from Smith College, a BSN from Johns Hopkins and an MPH from the University of Washington. Her family is Palestinian (from Salama, Ramleh and Jerusalem), she has lived in the United States since she was three. She learned some Arabic as a child and studied a little in college, but has always struggled with the language. She is proud that despite the challenge, both her girls know how to write and can read and understand quite a bit of Arabic.