Amina Banana and the Formula for Friendship

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Description

Amina loves bananas, science, and all things yellow! Her family recently arrived from Syria to Indiana, and she's starting at a brand-new school in a brand-new country. Shes excited but also nervous, especially about making friends! But she develops the perfect formula to get everything just right: Speak English plus wear a perfect outfit plus be a good student plus eat American food = Make American Friends! When the first few days are harder than Amina imagined, shes left worrying: why doesn't her formula add up

Reviews

Full of hope and warmth, Amina Banana packs a heavy topic - the struggles of refugees starting over - into one light and easily digestible story, which highlights the power of small acts of kindness. Every reader will be able to put themselves into the shoes of a refugee whose whole life has been turned upside down. A surefire way to encourage empathy and compassion. Zanib Mian, author of Planet Omar and Meet the Maliks

Author Bio

SHIFA SALTAGI SAFADI is the National Book Award winning author of Kareem Between, the Amina Banana series, and several picture books, including The Gift of Eid. She has a bachelors degree in English literature, is a former English teacher, and is passionate about spreading her love of reading and writing through school visits and story-times. Shifa was born in Syria and immigrated to the US with her parents as a young girl. She lives near Chicago with her husband and four children.

Visit Shifa online at ShifaSafadi.com and on Instagram @ShifaSaltagiSafadi

AALIYA JALEEL is a Sri-Lankan American illustrator based in Dallas, Texas, who loves illustrating bright, bold color palettes, Islamic and South-Asian inspired patterns, and floral motifs. Some of her past works include the books Under My Hijab and Muslim Girls Rise. In addition to being an illustrator, Aaliya also works as a designer for animation. Visit Aaliya online at www.aaliyamj.com.

Find Aaliya on Instagram! @aaliyamj