One of my favorites so far! Very sweet and a good mix of sad moments paired with the joys of community

K-Gr 2—Facing loss and change, Salma wants to cheer up her mother, who is working hard in Vancouver while
Salma's father is still in Syria. Members of a community center rally around her, and a message of love and
acceptance is served up right on schedule.

Salma the Syrian Chef is a wonderful picture book that is an absolute delight!

These are the types of books I needed when I was little. Reading the same old picture books over and over got boring, but books like THESE would have had me thrilled and excited. As an adult, I can appreciate them even more. Diversity in children's literature is a must these days! I'm so glad to see a book like this out and about!

Salma lives in Vancouver (Yay! Canada!) but previously lived in Syrian. Her Father will be coming to Canada soon, but for now it's just her and her Mama. Salma wants to make Mama happy, and she knows just the way! She could make some Syrian food for Mama. With a little help from her friends, Salma sets herself on a mission to brighten up her Mama's day because she can't fix the bigger problems.

My heart is SINGING. This book is so sweet and such a wonderful tale. I can't talk highly enough about this book! It has to find a bigger audience because it is just so lovely! The heart and soul within this book is just magical. I highly recommend this book, in fact, I can't recommend it enough! Adults and children alike will love this sweet story.

This story is for a bit older group - at least grade ones. This book has a wonderful little plot and tells a beautiful story. It's not just pretty pictures and simple words. There's excellent sentence structure and a really well thought out plot. I applaud Danny Ramadan, I'm impressed!

Five out of five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Annick Press Ltd. for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange of an honest review. ( )

Salma and her mother are refugees in Vancouver. As you might imagine, it is a difficult adjustment and Salma's father is still back in Syria. With her mother so despondent, Salma wants to cheer her mother up. So she does her best to make a favorite dish.

It doesn't work out.....at least not how Salma would expect. But it unites people together as they help Salma. She discovers refugees from all over the world. Some from Venezuela. A LGBT couple from Syria (which is a no no in that culture). It was beautiful to see, once again, how food unites.

I do think the lack of sharing the recipe in the book is an issue. It is a missing opportunity and in my opinion, the book suffers from it. ( )

Note: I received a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. ( )