When Reem Faruqi taught second grade, her favorite time was “Read Aloud” time. Now, her favorite time at home is reading with her daughters. Reem Faruqi is the award-winning author of Lailah’s Lunchbox, a picture book based on her own experiences as a young Muslim girl immigrating to the United States. Of Pakistani origin, Reem moved to Peachtree City, Georgia, from Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, when she was 13 years old.
She’s also the author of her three middle grade novels in verse, Unsettled (HarperCollins 2021), Golden Girl (HarperCollins 2022), Call Me Adnan (HarperCollins 2023), chapter book Anisa’s International Day (HarperCollins 2022), and picture books Amira’s Picture Day (Holiday House 2021), I Can Help (Eerdmans 2021), Milloo’s Mind (HarperCollins 2023), Swimming Toward a Dream (Page Street Kids 2023), many of which received starred reviews. She released two picture books in 2024, The House Without Lights and Do You Even Know Me? Her newest book Zarina Divided (May 2025), is a stirring coming-of-age story about a Muslim girl who, during the Partition of India, must learn to cope with loss, guilt, and change in order to grow.
Reem seasonally works as a photographer and currently works as a Scheduler for the Islamic Speakers Bureau of Atlanta. She has a masters in elementary education and loves to doodle, write, and take photos. Currently, she lives with her husband and daughters in Atlanta.
