Meena's Saturday selected as 2025 Bank Street Irma S. Black Award silver medalist

Meena’s Saturday, illustrated by Yasmeen Ismail and written by Kisim Mepani was selected as the Silver Medalist at the 2025 Bank Street Irma S. Black Awards, one of many accolades the best-selling picture book has received.

Published by Penguin Random House / Kokila Bookm, this touching story, which was selected for the Society of Illustrators 2024 Original Art Exhibition, captures the daily life of a young Indian girl, Meena, as she and her sisters manage a bustling household full of guests on a busy Saturday morning. Full of warmth, family, and tradition, Meena’s Saturday is a love letter to community, and to a young girl’s courage to make a change.

In line with its release last year, we interviewed Yasmeen for our Behind the Book series. Read the full interview here.

To work with Yasmeen, contact her agent Vicki Willden-Lebrecht here.