 Bismillahirrahmanirrahim. This book was written by Ismail Hussein and illustrated by Nuria Thomas Mayoles. How do I begin? Bismillahirrahmanirrahim. Mr. Gamal's gratitude glasses. Should I say Gamal or Jamal? What do you guys like? If I do both will you know what I'm talking about? Should I do both? Okay. Bismillah. Mr. Gamal stood at the front of his classroom. His students were getting restless. Farah had lost her bouncy ball at recess. It was so bouncy she whispered to herself, I'll never find one as bouncy again. Adam's mom gave him green grapes instead of red grapes for lunch. Green grapes are too sour. He grumbled. Munna huffed because someone else was playing with the squishy yellow Play-Doh and she needed to make a duck. Sounds like everyone's in a pretty grumpy mood. What do you guys think? Do you ever feel kind of grumpy sometimes? Yeah. Ring went the bell. Mr. Jamal sighed, I wish I could find a way to help my students be more positive, he thought. It takes so much energy to be angry at all the time. Mr. Jamal stopped at the dollar store on his way home from school. They oh that always cheered him up. He went straight to his favorite aisle, shelves stacked top to bottom with party supplies. They were tiny whistles bottles of sticky slime and piles of plastic jewelry. He paused by a bin of oversized glasses and picked up the yellow pair. The lenses were tinted pink. He put them on and everything in the store turned a magnificent magenta. A lightning bolt of an idea hit Mr. Jamal. The kind of idea that made his beer hair stand on end. He picked out 15 of the biggest, most colorful frames he could find and added them to his shopping basket. When you get really really excited, does your beard stick out? Do you have beard? No. So what do you guys do when you're really really excited? What happens with you? You get really excited so you feel like you have to jump up and down and cartwheels? Very nice. What do you do when you're really excited? Silly stuff. Silly stuff? I get a funny feeling inside and it makes me feel really good all over. And that's what it sounds like happened to Mr. Jamal. He got really excited and he got a tingly feeling in his beard. The next morning, Mr. Jamal stood at the front of the classroom and carefully slipped on a pair of big bright glasses. What are those? The children asked. Mr. Jamal said, my new glasses. When I put them on, everything changes color. I see things differently. He walked along the rows of desks, handing each student a pair of glasses. Mr. Jamal explained, every time you feel upset or angry, instead of yelling or complaining, I want you to put these glasses on. They might help you see things you didn't, couldn't see before. Like what? Yusuf asked. Like something different, something positive, Mr. Jamal said. How, Yusuf asked, are they x-ray glasses? They're even better than x-ray glasses, Mr. Jamal replied. I call them gratitude glasses. His students snickered. When this week is over, you'll each write one paragraph explaining what happened when you look through your gratitude glasses and then present it to the class, Mr. Jamal said. That week, all the students got a chance to use their new glasses. Farah forgot her lunchbox at home and started whining, I'm going to starve. Mr. Jamal tapped her on the shoulder and reminded her to put on her glasses. Adam spilled a whole jar of blue paint on his new white shirt during art class. Ah, he groaned, slapping his forehead. He remembered the glasses at his desk and he went and put them on. Munna and her friends were playing dodgeball and she was the first to be knocked out of the game. She reached into her pocket for the glasses. I guess I'll try these. I have nothing else to do anyway. Yusuf jumped off the swing in the park and felt a sharp pain in his ankle when he landed. Ouch. As he iced his ankle in the school's front office, he reluctantly pulled the glasses out of his bag. When presentation day arrived, Yusuf hobbled to the front of the class, balancing on one crutch. Spraying my ankle hurt a lot, he said frowning at the memory. The glasses made everything look pink, but my light still hurts. They didn't work at all. Hmm, Mr. Gamaz said, does anyone have a different story? Next up was Adam. I was so mad in art class, but when I put on the funny glasses and looked at my shirt in the washroom mirror, I noticed the blue stain kind of looked like a whale. So instead of washing my shirt, I used my fabric paints at home to transform it into an actual whale. He puffed out his shirt. I think it looks pretty cool. We made a whale last time, didn't we? Was that last time or the time before it? Time before it. We made whales. What does the whale remind you of? What is it? The story of Prophet Yunus, when Prophet Yunus, I say, I'm gonna swallow by the whale. And what did he have to do when he was in the belly of the whale? He had to pray. And what else? He had to be very innocent to an island. Good. But he was very patient, right? And he looked at he realized that he was there for a reason. So he saw things differently and he appreciated it. Kind of like that whale, the boy who made the whale on the shirt, spilled paint and he turned it into a cool art piece. When it was Munna's turn, she showed the class her big jar with holes poked in the lid. I'm always the first one to lose a dodgeball. And I get so bored sitting on the grass alone, she said. But when I put on the glasses, I found three caterpillars munching away at a leaf. I took them home in my lunchbox and now I have them in a special jar. I'm going to watch them as they get bigger, make their cocoons and then become butterflies. She turned sitting on the sidelines after getting out of the game to be time to see nature and find caterpillars. When all of them had finished presenting, Mr. Gamal clapped and said, wonderful job everyone. Mr. Gamal, Yusuf interrupted, do you think I could have another chance to present? Of course, we still have a few minutes. Yusuf shuffled to the front of the class again. I thought the glasses would make my ankle feel better, but they didn't. But something else happened. I visited my mom's clinic and ate three lollipops from the receptionist's special jar. I got an x-ray, which is pretty cool, and I've decided I wanted to be a doctor, just like my mom. That's a good way to look at it. He got three lollipops. Is that a lot? The class was quiet as Yusuf headed back to his desk. Thanks for sharing, Yusuf. Mr. Gamal said, class, do you think it's really the glasses that made these really cool things happen? Bilal raised his hand. The glasses just made everything look pink. Then Sada added, but they made our brains discover new ways to think about stuff. Do you think you could look a life more positively, even without wearing the glasses? Mr. Gamal asked. His students nodded. Gratitude means being thankful for everything you have and everything you experience. Do you know what the hardest kind of gratitude is? Finding good things, even in tough situations. And that's what you all did. Mr. Gamal was proud of his students when he left them for art class. They really get it now, he thought. After a hot cup of coffee in the staff room, Mr. Gamal stepped back into his class. His mouth fell open in shock. There was paint on the window, glue smeared on the desks, paper snippets in everyone's hair, piles of glitter on the floor. What have you done? he asked his students. This is the biggest mess I've ever seen. Mr. Gamal plopped down in his chair. He rest his forehead in the palm of his hand and he sighed loudly. After a few seconds, he felt a gentle tap on his shoulder. Use of held out his plastic glasses. We can share mine, he said. Mr. Gamal took the glasses, slowly put them on and turned to look at his glass. Surprise! yelled the students. They held up a huge colorful banner. Mr. Gamal blushed. Okay, maybe I need to use the gratitude glasses too. Do you guys see what it says? It says, we are grateful for Mr. Gamal, the best teacher on planet earth. Together they all swept the floors, wiped down the desks and windows and shook the paper tidbits out of their hair. Their class was cleaner than ever. Rain went the bell. The students jumped from their chairs and raced out the door. But Mr. Gamal noticed something was different now. The kids were smiling and they had an extra bounce in their step. And so did he.