A Taste of Home by Maryam Hassan illustrated by Anna Wilson

Tariqu's teacher announces the class will hold a special picnic and everyone is invited to bring one special dish to celebrate family and culture. The kids are excited and mention so many different foods such as yakisoba (Japanese fried noodles) and perogies (Polish dumplings).  Tariq talks to various family members and each make a good suggestion - saag paneer (vegetarian Indian curry), crispy paratha (unleavened layered flatbreads), or falooda (frozen dessert with vermicelli, jelly, rose syrup, sabja seeds, milk and ice cream). Each food leads to a description of an adventure or special experience. Finally Tariq decides. 

"He chopped onions, garlic and ginger with his dad. He picked the freshest herbs from the garden with his sister, and he mixed it all to form perfectly round patties to fry with his mum."

He has made bun kebabs. 

A Taste of Home is on the 2026 Inclusive Books for Children list. 

Make a note of this book - it is one to share for Harmony Week which this year was 16-22nd March. Check out my Pinterest for more book ideas. 

I especially loved the illustrations in A Taste of Home and then I discovered Anna Wilson is Australian but she now lives in Scotland. You can see some of her books at the end of this post.

There are a couple of things that I wish were different about this book.

1. I would have loved to find a list of all the foods and some recipes and also some cultural details about the different treats and tastes.

2. I do wish the final page had not ended with a pirate scene. I have previously talked about the link between pirates and people smugglers and the dreadful experiences of refugees. Many school libraries no longer promote pirate stories for this reason.

Companion books:

Stay for Dinner

Books illustrated by Anna Wilson:

The Librarian's Stories

Love Birds

This Love by Isabel Otter illustrated by Harriet Lynas

A celebration of harmony around the world

"It doesn't matter who we are,

join hands and stand up tall.

Love is a special language 

that's understood by all."

I picked this book up at a recent Lifeline Book Fair - well actually my friend spied it among the hundreds of books on offer. I have collected a bunch of books for a country preschool. This die cut book is sure to appeal to the young listeners and the staff and could be used for Harmony Day perhaps. It was published in 2019 by The Caterpillar Group who are part of the publisher Little Tiger (they consistently do great books). 

There is no actual narrative in this book - it is a series of scenes showing all the things these children love to do with their friends and with their parents. There are more details in this Kirkus review.

Publisher blurb: Celebrate love from all around the world! A series of gentle rhymes sensitively explores what love feels like to children. This timeless book shows that love is a common language with the power to unite, wherever you come from.

If you are looking for other Harmony Day books Harriet Lynas has a series that looks worth investigating. UK author Isabel Otter has written lots of board books but here are a few of her other titles available as paperbacks or in hardback:

Together

I am a Fish

Brian the Brave by Paul Stewart illustrated by Jane Porter

Brian is a sheep - a typical sheep with white wool, curly horns and blue eyes but as we know in nature there are lots of variations and really there is no such thing as "typical" or "normal".  Brian has been living a carefree life unaware of the hurt that can be inflicted by others when he meets another sheep. She is called Rose and Rose has black wood and curly horns. This pair hit it off straight away and enjoy a happy romp around the field. Now comes the first complication. Another sheep arrives. His name is Stanley. Stanley is a black sheep but he has no horns. He declares

"I only like sheep with black wool. White wool is rubbish. I'm just going to play with Rose.' ... They wouldn't let Brain join in. Brian felt sad."

Naturally there are lots of other sheep in the flock. Tracey and Frank have white wool with black and yellow spots and they have curly horns.  This new pair declare they only want sheep with horns in their gang. So now Stanley is very sad. 

More sheep arrive and the pattern continues until finally Brian has had enough:

"We are all sheep ... we should all play together!"

Sadly nothing is solved. Eye colour becomes the next point of difference and once again Brian finds he is once again ostracized from the group - he felt very, very, very sad.

Brian walks away, head low. Oh no he bumps into a wolf! It is time for action - group action. If all of the sheep work together they can defeat this wolf! Brian saves the day and finds a way for the flock to all be friends - thank goodness!

On this page you will find a video where Paul Stewart and Jane Porter discuss their book.  Jane Porter uses collage for her illustrations. On her web site she shows examples of the work she does during school visits. Brian the Brave is one of those picture books which could be discussed by children from a range of ages and it would also be a great text to use when discussing Harmony Day here in Australia. Another discussion topic that is raised by this book is the power of a single word - when I read the word "rubbish" I shuddered.

At times it feels there are so many new books coming out I am overwhelmed with choice and I struggle to keep track of books I want to read. One way I have attempted to "tame this process" is through following book sellers and now children's book publishers on Instagram. In the past I was more concerned with authors and illustrators but a colleague of mine always asks me to supply the name of the publisher when I talk about reading a terrific book. I did some exploring on the web site of the publisher of Brian the Brave - Otter-Barry Books.  And I am now following them on Instagram. Here is their philosophy:

At Otter-Barry Books you will find the best picture books and non-fiction titles, with fantastic art, by some of the top authors and illustrators working today, addressing big themes such as identity, family, cross-cultural issues, world history, natural history and looking after our Earth …

Otter-Barry books are distributed in Australia by Walker Books.

We are Together by Britta Teckentrup

"When life is confusing,

and our way seems unclear,

The horizon is distant

but our friends will stay near."

We are Together seems like the perfect for our times right now (COVID-19).  Each page celebrates our humanity.

As you can see in the example above each page has four lines of text following the format of alone then together. Here are some of the other lines that resonated with me:

"If storm clouds gather,
and we'e caught in the rain,
Let's splash through the puddles
till the sun shines again."

"Hear the song we sing
to encourage and inspire.
If we all sing together,
one voice becomes a choir."

The pages of this book are die cut so each one reveals sets of children peeping into the scene culminating on the final spread where we see all the children together. 

This is a book to treasure in a library and on your family book shelves.

Teckentrup is one of the most innovative picture book artists working today. Her intricate collage style is striking, original and perfectly brings to life a simple message of unity. LoveReading4Kids

If you don't know the work of Britta Teckentrup from Germany I recommend you add her name to your list of illustrators to explore. Her work is enchanting. Taking a look at her body of work I have discovered Britta did the covers for books I have read in the past and loved such as Dog by Daniel Pennac and Love Ruby Lavender by Deborah Wiles along with a page the new book Kind. Here are some picture books and non fiction titles previously mentioned on this blog:

Birds and Feathers

Little Mouse and the Red Wall

How big is the World?

Bee