Sarah has two nativities because she has two grandmothers. One tells her the story about Jesus from the Koran and the other tells her the Bible story. Janine Fraser introduces Sarah's multicultural family. She is the daughter of Sadek and Anna. Her grandparents are Ali and Azar and Maria and Paul. With Grandmother Azar, Sarah makes Kofte. We see the two sets of grandparents arriving at Sarah's house. Azar is carrying a tagine and Maria has a casserole.
With Grandmother Maria Sarah makes cupcakes.
"In Sarah's house, the Bible and the Koran sit together on a shelf - two books bursting with stories."
Sarah listens to her Grandmothers tell their Christmas stories about the birth of Jesus.
"I like these stories. They are the same in some ways but different in others. So how can they both be true?"
Her Grandmother Azar replies: "Some say only the story in the Koran is true, and some say only the story in the Bible is true. But how can we say one is truer than the other, when both tell of the mystery of God?" I like the open ended nature of this answer. There is such a beautiful tone of cultural acceptance in this story.
On the last pages this blended family sit down together and share a meal - a meal of peace and family and love. Take a close look at the final double spread. Ali and Azar are sitting beside the cupcakes and Maria and Paul are looking at the dish of kofte.
If you are using this book with an older class and you wanted to explore the idea of a multicultural family sharing a meal take a look at this old television advertisement. It has lots of layers - the family, their clothing, the music track and all touch with a light touch of good humour. I have had long discussions with groups of Grade 6 students using this ad in the past. We used to watch it two or three times as a way to "unpackage" all the ideas.
Thinking about the concept of belief, there are lots of Christmas books which highlight different cultural traditions at Christmas but this is the first book I have seen which compares important stories such as the ones in the Bible and the Koran. Added to this, I appreciate the way Janine M Fraser has aimed her book at a younger audience. Take a look at this interview with the illustrator Helene Magisson. Even though it is not a Christmas book I would pair Sarah's Two Nativities with Same Same but Different.
I have been thinking about the 2020 CBCA awards this week and then this book popped up. Surely this beautiful, important and timely book will reach the Picture Book of the Year short list next year.
Janine M Fraser is the author of a junior book series that I enjoyed many years ago - Sarindi and the Little bird illustrated by Kim Gamble.
1 comment:
Remind me next week to lend you , My Two Grandmothers by Effin Older. This compares Hannukah and Christmas through the granddaughter's eyes.
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