Yara, My Friend from Syria

by Alhan Rahimi, Anahit Aleksanyan (Illustrator)

Every parent has an image in their mind of what their children will be like when they grow up. Being a successful adult starts when children are taught the elements of success from a young age. For example, qualities like love, respect, generosity, care and kindness foster happy and thriving individuals. It may be easy to practise these habits with friends, but much harder to treat new people this way—even for adults. But if children are taught these elements early on, these positive habits can become second nature. Creating an awareness of the world from a young age will help children to become considerate and caring adults to those around them. "Yara, My Friend from Syria" is the first in a series of books that emphasizes on two main The first is to plant good qualities into children’s pure hearts, so they may become like fruitful trees as they grow up. The second is to increase children’s awareness of global affairs, which may seem upsetting at times but are the reality of the world around us. This book is about a Syrian girl's first day of school in Canada. It depicts her mixed emotions, as she is happy to be in school again but sad to be away from home. The way her new classmates treat her is crucial to her experience. Parents, I’m interested in hearing your opinions about this story. Please feel free to write a review after you have read the book. I would be more than happy to hear what your children think about it, as well. You can send me their thoughts at alhan@persianarabic.com.

31 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 10, 2016

Reviews

[Lieve Snellings · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book that absolute needs to be in every elementary school and library

The book is well written and the graphics are great. In fact I love the play of the images, sometimes almost fade away, sometimes full in color. That helps to build up the narrative and bring us as reader in to the story. It makes us curious who is Yara, what is happening in that school?
I was so touched by this book. The director presented the new student to the class and explained that Yara spoke 3 languages. He focused on what she can and not so on what she cannot yet. By doing this Mr. Maxwell created two amazing effects. One is that Yara can keep her strength, she is already capable to speak three languages. And the other students and teacher hear directly that this kid is smart, it has to be fun to be friends with her. This is so different than what we now a day hear about refugees.

Another eye opener in the book is the story about the apple tree. Or better what is behind this story of the apple tree. Alhan Rahimi brings on a brilliant way the everyday life to the readers. When Oliver want to give his apple to Yara, this evokes so strong memories of Yara’s child years in Syria, and the author let us testimony of that life. A nice peaceful Sunday afternoon scene under the apple tree. Suddenly we see that in fact we have much more in common with Yara, with refugees than we thought before.

If I could make one wish, it would be that this book was in every elementary class, in every library in the USA, in Canada and for sure also in Europe. ‘Yara, my friend from Syria’ is an amazing picture book. Without following a special course or class, just by reading this children’s book, we all, children as well as adults who read for their kids, start looking at refugees ith other eyes, at another way. I so much thank Alhan Rahimi for making this book because the world need it so much.

[Nour Awad · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book talks about A little girl Yara who arrived Canada as a refugee from the Syrian war. She fled with her family when the war started to seek safety leaving behind her beautiful house, school, friends, toys, and just everything. At the beginning of the story, the principle introduces her to the class and asks the students to support Yara in her new home. Two students from her new classroom tried to make friendship with her. When her new friend offered an apple, Yara started to cry because she remembered the apple tree in her front yard and all the good memories of her child years in Syria before she had to leave her country.
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What I really liked most about the story is how the author represented Yara as a girl who speaks three languages and had a civilized lifestyle because it accurately represents Syrians. In Syrian public or private schools students learn English and French along with Arabic from first grade. This book is very useful as it promotes inclusiveness and welcomeness for children. Educators could use the book to teach students how to support newcomers to their country and make them feel welcome. Also the book provides awareness of the surrounding world

[Gisela Hausmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Yara, my Friend from Syria" is a great book! This book excels by going beyond the usual "let's form a friendship"-books because it tells a story most Canadian and American children don't know. Though probably most of American and Canadian children have seen videos or pictures from war torn Syria, most children probably can't picture a beautiful Syria where apple trees grew.

Author Alhan Rahimi has a graceful and sensible way of showing Yara, the refugee child's pain, how she misses her past and what she had to leave behind. This book is not ready-made let's feel good story, it invites questions. I think it should be read in schools to help students understand refugee students' issues. Cool illustrations compliment the story.

I wish this book would have been a little longer, it leaves me yearning to know what happened to Yara.

Well done, I hope to see more from this author.
Gisela Hausmann, author & review expert

[Ron Frazer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Touching Story

A little girl arrives in Canada as a refugee from the Syrian war. The students at her new school try to understand her problems. This is a pleasant story for children beyond the first or second year of school. The language is not difficult but the story would be confusing for children just learning to read.

[Lisa Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic story that is well-written for children in a way that they can understand and relate to. It tells of a girl by the name of Yara, who is excited and nervous about starting school in not only a new place but a new country. She is smart, nice, shy, and although she is able to speak 3 different languages, her English still a work in progress. Even with all of the kids in her class being supportive and nice to her, she is still a typical child who has experienced a huge dramatic change in her life and experiences highs and lows during her recent transition from Syria. Her emotions expressed and are that of any child who has had to leave the comfortableness and familiarity of everything they have known in their life and start new. This story takes a real-life situation and explains the trials and tribulations of someone's personal thoughts and experiences during a life altering transition and does so in such a perfect way.

[Concetta Seidler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book that emphasizes on two goals. The first is to teach good qualities to children at a young age. The second is to increase children’s awareness of what is going on in the world around us. Yara had a very difficult time adjusting to a new school and being treated in a not so good way but her classmates. This is a book i would recommend to read to children to teach them the qualities of not only being a good friend but treating people as they should be treated.

[Jensen Kniska · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yara, My Friend from Syria is about a Syrian girl who starts her first day of school. She has mixed emotions about the whole experience because her school is in Canada. She was wondered about how her classmates were going to treat her. This book would make a great book at the daycare center I work at and especially in a classroom library in an elementary school. The recommended age range for this book is three to ten years but I believe that any child gather knowledge from the book.

[Anonymous · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great for introducing international classmates

This Little picture book it’s a great way to introduce international class mates. The pictures are engaging, but may need to be read aloud to the earliest grades to do the nature of the content. Well executed and fun read.