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| Photo by Lucas Passmore |
Seema Yasmin is the author of the new middle grade book Maysoon Zayid, The Girl Who Can Can. It's the first in her Muslim Mavericks series. Yasmin's other books include Unbecoming. She is also a physician and a journalist, and she lives in Las Vegas.
Q: What inspired you to write Maysoon Zayid, The Girl Who Can Can, which focuses on the comedian Maysoon Zayid?
A: I’ve long being a fan of Maysoon Zayid’s voice, her comedy, writing and activism. I am constantly inspired by her humor and refusal to be defined by other people’s expectations.
As soon as I had conceived the idea for the Muslim Mavericks middle grade series, it made sense for Maysoon to launch the entire series! I wanted kids to meet a disabled Palestinian comedian whose story is joyful, ambitious, and unapologetically her own; someone who expands what kids believe is possible.
Q: How did you research Maysoon Zayid’s life, and did you learn anything that especially surprised you?
A: I interviewed Maysoon, watched her stand-up comedy sets live and online, read her books, and researched cerebral palsy.
What surprised me most was how intentional she was as a child about imagining futures that went beyond imposed limitations. Her dreams were expansive in a way that kids will love reading about.
Q: What do you think Noha Habaieb’s illustrations add to the book?
A: Noha’s illustrations bring warmth, movement, and joy to Maysoon’s story. They capture her confidence and humor while also making disability visible in a way that feels natural and empowering rather than symbolic or instructional.
Q: What do you hope readers take away from the book?
A: I hope readers come away understanding that there is no single way to dream, succeed, or belong. Maysoon’s story shows that creativity, persistence, and joy can take many forms. Ultimately, I hope every person who engages with this book and other books in the Muslim Mavericks series is inspired to dream bigger.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: My own stand-up comedy shows! I’m also continuing to work on the Muslim Mavericks series while developing additional fiction and nonfiction projects for young readers which center curiosity, representation, and bold imagination.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: Volume I of the Muslim Mavericks series is part of a larger commitment to telling Muslim stories that reflect real diversity, across disability, culture, personality, and ambition.
Maysoon Zayid, The Girl Who Can Can isn’t meant to stand alone as “the” Muslim story, but as one vibrant example among many. I hope it helps make space for even more voices to be heard. Inshallah!
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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