Books / Kids' Books / Fiction /

Salma The Syrian Chef

Danny Ramadan
Illustrated by Anna Bron
  • Front cover

Salma The Syrian Chef

Danny Ramadan
Illustrated by Anna Bron
$10.99
$10.99 $0.00
Final Sale. No returns or exchanges.
Oversized: This item will be shipped by appointment through our delivery partner.
Overweight: This item will be shipped by appointment through our delivery partner.

Digital download

Immediate access in your Kobo library

Deliver to

In stock online. Free shipping on orders over $49

Buy online, pick up at Bay & Floor

Free pick up today

Find it in store

Out of stock

Found in: Storytime ages 3-5, Picture Books

Check nearby Stores

Earn 55 plum points and save more with plum Rewards. Learn more

View full details

Overview

CANADIAN6-8 YEARS40 PAGESENGLISH
Promotional Details

Others Also Bought

Previous
Next

“Ramadan writes with poetic immediacy about displacement, home, and family.”

Overall rating: 4.6666665 / 5 from 3 reviews.

AI Generated Review Summary

Summary topics

Review topics: ["mother","book","vancouver","rewards","centre"].

Review highlights

Reviews

So wonderful but…

"I gave this a 4 because there is so much to love about this book but we didnt actually love it. I found, when reading it to my 5yo that the balance of happy/sad was not quite right. Its about making her mom smile but when her mom finally laughs…we dont laugh too. The happy reward is not quite clear enough to entice us back for another read. Will bring it out again next year and see how a 6yo feels."

— Rock (4/5)

Highly Recommend

"Think back to when you were a child and you picked up a book and began to read and noticed that the illustrations looked like the place where you lived, or the setting was the same city you live in and you can picture all the places the characters go. There is a special kind of magic that takes hold when a child can see their experience reflected back from the pages of a book. Salma the Syrian Chef by Danny Ramadan and Ann Bron is a three course meal of perfection. An incredible mirror book for the many refugees coming to Canada in the last number of years and an exceptional window book for those born in Canada to understand the challenges faced by newcomers. The appetizer course is the story’s setting at the Welcome Centre in Vancouver. Danny Ramadan, surely drawing from his own experience as a newcomer to Canada, shares with his readers the feeling of arriving in Vancouver and those early days of being totally immersed in a place that is so very different from where he came. Vancouver is rainy and colder that Syria, and Salma sees her Mom doesn’t smile as much anymore. Learning English is difficult but it’s even more challenging to not have friends who can speak the same language. The main course is the community of people around Salma who help lift her spirits and who remind each other of the things they miss from where they were born. Food is a huge part of the human experience and can evoke many memories of family and home. Each of the new friends Salma meets misses food from where they grew up and have nostalgic feelings about the food they miss. Salma wants to make her mom smile by making foul shami, her favourite dish, so she asks for help and receives it from many other people living at the Welcome Centre. It makes her feel a bit more at home her in her new country. The dessert is the smile on Salma’s mother’s face when she sees how Salma worked so hard to make her favourite food and the friends who all helped her accomplish her task. Salma rediscovers that home is whenever her mother is near and her mother reminds Salma she is always at home in her smile. Danny Ramadan uses some of the most beautiful images I have read lately in a picture book. His beautiful smilies and metaphors colour the text with life and help the reader really get to the heart of how Salma is feeling in her new home. Anna Bron’s illustrations are a delightful representation of Salma’s life. Drawing from a colour palette reminiscent of the Middle East, with beautiful tile motifs bordering the illustrations, they are a picture perfect representation of everyday life in a new city with a remembrance of what was left behind. I’m certain this book will find its way into many classrooms and homes and will provide comfort to endless numbers of newcomers to Canada. Unfortunately it releases after I Read Canada Day because I can’t think of a book that would be more perfect to share on that day than one that celebrates family, compassion, understanding and home."

— Stephanie (5/5)

A beautiful story

"This is a beautifully written and illustrated children's book exploring the story of a refugee family in Canada. It was sweet, thoughtful and an instant favourite!"

— Katrina (5/5)

Q&A

  • Appropriate for: Ages 6-8 Years
  • Published date: Aug 16, 2022
  • Language: English
  • No. of Pages: 40
  • Publisher: Annick Press
  • ISBN: 9781773213743
  • Dimensions: 9.5" W x 1.0" L x 11.5" H

DANNY RAMADAN is a Syrian-Canadian author, award-winning activist, and public speaker. His debut novel, The Clothesline Swing, won multiple awards. His work in activism provided a safe passage to dozens of Syrian LGBTQ-refugees to Canada. Salma the Syrian Chef is his first book for children. He lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.

ANNA BRON studied traditional animation at Sheridan College. She illustrated the award-winning picture book Salma the Syrian Chef and has animated, designed, and directed commercials and short films. She lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.

You May Also Like

Previous
Next

Recently Viewed