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Dounia and the magic seeds / [written and illustrated] by Marya Zarif ; translated by Yvette Ghione.

By: Contributor(s): Material type: TextTextLanguage: English Original language: French Publisher: Toronto, ON ; Berkeley, CA : Owlkids Books, [2023]Copyright date: ©2023Description: 32 unnumbered pages : color illustrations ; 26 cmContent type:
  • text
  • still image
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781771475235
  • 1771475234
Uniform titles:
  • Dounia. English
Related works:
  • Translation of (work): Zarif, Marya Dounia
Subject(s): Genre/Form: Summary: "Dounia is the story of a little girl who loves her home city of Aleppo, Syria, and its many smells, sights, and traditions. But when war breaks out, Dounia and her grandparents must flee Aleppo to find safety. Before they go, their neighbour reads their future in a cup of coffee - she sees a long difficult journey ahead of the family and a blue house awaiting them at the end. Taking only a bird carved from Aleppo soap and four little barake seeds in her pocket, Dounia faces dangerous waters, a camp surrounded by barbed wire, and unfriendly soldiers, and she wonders where she and her family belong in the world. Remembering the ancient knowledge that barake seeds ward off evil, she pulls one from her pocket to use for each of the threats they face. Magically, the seeds from their faraway home help them along their way, until they finally find the blue house at the end of their journey. In her new home, Dounia plants her final seed in a pot so it can grow and offer more seeds, while also keeping a piece of Aleppo with her. The baraké seeds represent the Syrian culture -- although Dounia is fleeing her country, she carries with her the strength of her people. It is by tapping into her roots, represented by the seeds, that she finds her own strength and resilience. The magical moments brought about by the baraké seeds can be interpreted as Dounia's imagination - it's a way of seeing the war and the migration from a six-year-old's perspective. Dounia does not understand everything that is going on, but she is not a powerless victim. By using the seeds, she feels she is taking an active part in her own destiny. In the end, whether it is magic or Dounia's imagination at play, it's a story about obstacles faced by migrants and about the courage they have in facing these obstacles. As Marya puts it in her article for TBI Magazine, it reverses the common narrative in North American media that "Syria" is synonymous with devastation and destruction, and that Syrian refugees can only be victims of their circumstance, rather than brave, vibrant heroes who can take charge of their own stories" -- Provided by publisher.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Shelving location Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Children's Book Children's Book Main Library Children's Picturebook New ZARIF, MARYA Available 33111011342900
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

When fleeing her war-ravaged home, a young girl brings four magic seeds to help her family on their difficult journey

Dounia loves her home in Aleppo, Syria, and all of its wonderful smells, sights, and traditions. But when war breaks out, Dounia and her grandparents must flee their home to find safety. Before they go, their neighbor reads their future in a cup of coffee and sees a long, difficult journey ahead, and a blue house waiting at the end.

With only a bird carved from Aleppo soap and four little baraké seeds in her pocket, Dounia and her family face dangerous waters, a camp surrounded by barbed wire, and unfriendly soldiers. Remembering the ancient knowledge that baraké seeds ward off evil, Dounia pulls one from her pocket to use for each of the threats her family faces. Magically, the seeds help the family along their way, until they finally find the blue house prophesied by their neighbor.

Elegant, eye-catching artwork beautifully illustrates one young girl's strength and resilience as she takes an active part in her own destiny.

Original title: Dounia.

"Dounia is the story of a little girl who loves her home city of Aleppo, Syria, and its many smells, sights, and traditions. But when war breaks out, Dounia and her grandparents must flee Aleppo to find safety. Before they go, their neighbour reads their future in a cup of coffee - she sees a long difficult journey ahead of the family and a blue house awaiting them at the end. Taking only a bird carved from Aleppo soap and four little barake seeds in her pocket, Dounia faces dangerous waters, a camp surrounded by barbed wire, and unfriendly soldiers, and she wonders where she and her family belong in the world. Remembering the ancient knowledge that barake seeds ward off evil, she pulls one from her pocket to use for each of the threats they face. Magically, the seeds from their faraway home help them along their way, until they finally find the blue house at the end of their journey. In her new home, Dounia plants her final seed in a pot so it can grow and offer more seeds, while also keeping a piece of Aleppo with her. The baraké seeds represent the Syrian culture -- although Dounia is fleeing her country, she carries with her the strength of her people. It is by tapping into her roots, represented by the seeds, that she finds her own strength and resilience. The magical moments brought about by the baraké seeds can be interpreted as Dounia's imagination - it's a way of seeing the war and the migration from a six-year-old's perspective. Dounia does not understand everything that is going on, but she is not a powerless victim. By using the seeds, she feels she is taking an active part in her own destiny. In the end, whether it is magic or Dounia's imagination at play, it's a story about obstacles faced by migrants and about the courage they have in facing these obstacles. As Marya puts it in her article for TBI Magazine, it reverses the common narrative in North American media that "Syria" is synonymous with devastation and destruction, and that Syrian refugees can only be victims of their circumstance, rather than brave, vibrant heroes who can take charge of their own stories" -- Provided by publisher.

In English, translated from the French.

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