Today is the first day of the new Persian New Year, Nowruz, celebrated all over Iran, Middle East, Caucasus, Europe, South Asia and America. It coincides with the first day of spring and through the rituals which are mostly family- and community-centered it is aimed to celebrate the nature renewal.
Soraya´s Nowruz Dance - a bilingual edition, English and Persian - by Anahita Tamaddon, translation by Soudabeh Ashrafi is an elegant introduction of this holiday. Aimed at first grade children, it has a cute, family story. Soraya´s adventure into dancing takes place during the Nowruz festival and the story has enough hints to introduce the little ones to what may be for many a different holiday they don´t have too much- if any - exposure to. Soraya´s love for dance is told through beautiful, bold colourful illustrations entincing both children and their adult readers.
As a bilingual story, it may also help children living abroad, or children in multicultural families to get acquainted to their heritage. A couple of month ago, a Persian friend of mine was unhappy that there are not too many English-Persian books around that could offer to her daughter a good background of her mother´s culture. Soraya´s Nowruz Dance makes a good contribution to the relatively limited number of titles in this respect.
It is a book that you may want to read your children, even if there is no Persian connection, because it is so mind-healthy to teach children about different holidays and celebrations. Also, it could be easily used as reading material in kindergarten and schools aiming to increase the exposure to diversity of any kind.
Rating: 4 stars
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