Banana Dream

by Hasan Namir, Daby Zainab Faidhi (Illustrator)

Overview

A young boy in Iraq yearns to taste the bananas that have been made unavailable by warfare.

Growing up in Iraq after the Gulf War, Mooz didn’t always like his name, which means “banana”. But when he learns the story behind it, he’s proud, even when being teased by his classmates. Now all he yearns for is to taste a banana—a lofty dream in a time when few countries are trading with Iraq, where bananas don’t grow.

Inspired by author Hasan Namir’s own childhood, Banana Dream is at once a celebration of a seemingly ordinary fruit and a snapshot of how war can alter a landscape. Artist Daby Zainab Faidhi’s background in architectural illustration is evident as she brings the story's setting vividly to life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780823451005
Publisher:	Neal Porter Books
Publication date:	07/11/2023
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	504,429
Product dimensions:	9.32(w) x 9.29(h) x 0.38(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Hasan Namir is an award-winning Iraqi-Canadian children’s book author. His debut picture book was The Name I Call Myself. He has also published books of poetry and a novel. He lives in Vancouver with his family.

Zainab "Daby" Faidhi is a conceptual artist, illustrator, and architect. Her work spans animation, illustration, art direction, and painting. She has worked on several short film projects that have won international awards, as well as the Student Academy Award. Cartoon Saloon's The Breadwinner was her first feature film, where she took part in background painting, set props' design and conceptual art.

Editorial Reviews

★ "This vibrantly illustrated picture book introduces children to the toll of war through a relatable experience: learning the meaning of one’s name. Mooz emerges as a fully formed, layered character, while the Iraq setting is richly drawn. The stylized artwork has an appropriately dreamy feel in places. What’s in a name? Plenty, as this clever and poignant tale makes clear."—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

"A good picture book choice for libraries needing stories to help young readers build empathy and understanding of other cultures as well as connecting to their own experiences."—School Library Journal

"Mooz makes a cheerful, appealing narrator. . . . The mix of digital, charcoal, and pencil art easily complements Mooz’s narrative approach, with vibrant colors and dynamic textures energizing scenes, while small visual cues—an "out of stock sign" and a war report on the television—place Mooz’s experience within the upheaval of Iraq at that time"—The Bulletin for the Center of Children’s Books

From the Publisher

08/01/2023

PreS-Gr 3—In postwar Iraq, Mooz gets teased about his name. With more than one family member named Ali or Mohammad, he is the only Mooz, and it means banana. When Mooz finds out the story behind his name, however, he feels proud and more resilient to the teasing. The modern, cartoonish artwork lends an air of humor to the story and almost has a street art feel to it. The highly detailed pictures will give readers a peek at an Iraqi cityscape and how it may differ from their own. The setting of the story can also provide some inroads for the experiences of others: the story occurs during and after the Gulf War, when sanctions heavily impacted how most people lived. This is an easily relatable book with a setting that makes it a solid choice for a lesson in compare and contrast. VERDICT A good picture book choice for libraries needing stories to help young readers build empathy and understanding of other cultures as well as connecting to their own experiences.—Debbie Tanner

School Library Journal

★ 2023-05-09
An Iraqi boy growing up during the Gulf War comes to terms with his name.

Mooz dislikes his name, which means banana in Arabic. His classmates mock him because he’s named after a fruit considered strange. Bananas can’t grow in Iraq’s desert climate, and they become impossible to find during the war, when international sanctions reduce most families’ groceries to carefully rationed basics like tea, flour, rice, and beans. But everything changes when Mooz asks his mother how she chose his name and she tells him the story of his birth. After years of being unable to get pregnant, she dreamed that she was feeding a baby a banana. After she told Mooz’s father about the dream, he drove for hours to find her a banana, and soon after, Mooz was born. After hearing this story, Mooz becomes proud of his name and defends it from his teasing classmates. When the Gulf War ends, bananas are plentiful in Iraq, and Mooz at last tries his first banana. This vibrantly illustrated picture book introduces children to the toll of war through a relatable experience: learning the meaning of one’s name. Mooz emerges as a fully formed, layered character, while the Iraq setting is richly drawn. The stylized artwork has an appropriately dreamy feel in places. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

What’s in a name? Plenty, as this clever and poignant tale makes clear. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews