Salma the Syrian Chef (Salma #2)

Salma and her mother live in an apartment at a Vancouver Welcome Center, a home vastly different from their native Syria, where Salma's father still resides. When she thinks about him, "Salma's heart aches like a tiny fire in her chest." She notices, too, that her mother's characteristic laughter has disappeared since their move. After some brainstorming, Salma decides to make her mother a favorite Syrian dish. With help from the Welcome Center's community of refugees (a gay couple from Lebanon, people from Egypt, India, and Somalia), Salma translates a recipe, gathers ingredients, and--through some emotional trial and error--makes her mother a lovingly assembled foul shami that incites "a long, sweet laugh, like the echo of bells." Bron's angular illustrations, rendered in warm colors and patterns, depict the inclusive group, while Syrian-Canadian activist Ramadan writes with poetic immediacy about displacement, home, and family. Ages 4-7. (Mar.)

K-Gr 2--Salma lives with her mother in a refugee center in Canada, hoping her father will join them. Salma misses her father and the life in Syria, and struggles seeing how unhappy her mother is. Determined to hear her mother laugh again, Salma tries to cheer her up with silly drawings and jokes, "but all she gets is Mama's sad smile, full of love but empty of joy." Remembering the last time she saw her mother happy, Salma decides to surprise her by making foul shami, a Syrian meal her family shared in their lost home. Salma seeks the help of many other people in the refugee camp to find a recipe, translate the foods, shop, and prepare the meal, showcasing the things all the immigrants have in common as well as the variety and uniqueness of the cultures. Despite all the help, Salma doesn't have the right spices to finish her dish, and her frustration opens a floodgate for all her feelings of displacement and sadness. The meal, of course, delights her mother, and their friends at the camp join them with the missing ingredients. The charming illustrations are notably framed by Syrian mosaic patterns, providing a beautiful framework for the story. Realistically, the happy ending is limited to the connection with her mother and a dream of continued happiness with their new community; no easy answers about the future are provided. VERDICT Truthful, hopeful, and relatable; a first purchase.--Anna Haase Krueger, Ramsey County Library, MN