Two influences from author Shifa Saltagi Safadi's life come together to make this book for four-to-eight year olds. First, O. Henry's famous story, The Gift of the Magi, greatly moved her when she read it as a child. Second, she still remembers the places she loved while growing up in Damascus, Syria; and her continuing ties there help her understand all that's been lost to the war. "I wanted to show," she writes, "that joy is still possible, even after grief and sadness."
The story starts right before Eid, when Yasmine and her mother visit the Souq Al-Hamidiyeh marketplace. Its sights and aromas evoke memories of Yasmine's father, now gone. For Yasmine, the loss is double as she feels the weight of her mother's grief. When she sees a shiny white jalabiyah that reminds her of the flower after which her father named her, Yasmine thinks "I'd rather see my mom's shining smile than wear a sparkling dress."
She pours this wish into secretly selling her necklace chain and purchasing a heart-shaped jewelry box – the kind that her father loved – as a gift to hold her mother's bracelet. Meanwhile, her mother has sold her bracelet to buy a charm for Yasmine's (former) chain. As in O. Henry's story, the true gift is in the love behind their sacrifices.
The beauty of Islamic culture permeates the words and pictures. Illustrator Aaliya Jaleel brings us the sumptuous colors of the marketplace, the exquisite geometry of jewelry box designs, the unity and peace of shared prayer. She sensitively captures the transition from the confusion and sadness of the opening scenes to the outright laughter and ensuing tenderness when Yasmine and her mother realize what they've done. Even without the bracelet and the chain, and even without her father's physical presence, Yasmine knows, "We have all the love we need."
