It’s a delight to welcome Sarah Sassoon, author of SHOHAM’S BANGLE (Kar-Ben, 2022) illustrated by Noa Kelner. SHOHAM’S BANGLE is the story of an Iraqi family who leaves their home for a new life, told through the eyes of a young girl. Shoham loves her Nana Aziza’s bangles and the beautiful sounds they make as they work together in their home. Shoham has a bangle, too, and she is heartbroken when the family is not able to bring their beloved bangles with them to Israel. SHOHAM’S BANGLE is a beautiful picture book that explores Jewish Iraqi customs and experiences. I’m so pleased to learn more about Sarah and the creation of SHOHAM’S BANGLE.
Can you tell me a bit about how your family history inspired the story?
Thank you for this question. This story is inspired by an Iraqi bangle I received from my grandmother. I knew I wanted to write a story about it and finally I sat down and did, and Shoham’s Bangle was the result. It was a digging into the story of the bangle’s journey to my wrist, which made me reflect on where my Iraqi Jewish grandparents and family come from. This turned into the story of what this bangle meant to a little girl in Iraq, and what it meant to lose it, like her home, just like my grandparents and their children, including my father who was five years old when they left Baghdad, lost theirs. One of the stories I was told growing up was how at the airport in Baghdad when my grandparents left Iraq, my Auntie Sue, (whose name is also Shoham) was seven years old and refused to take off her ring when the airport authorities demanded she hand her ring over, as it was forbidden to take valuables out of Iraq, they were only permitted a wedding ring and 50 dinars per family. In the end my aunt threw her ring at them, because she was so angry with the way she and her family were being treated. This story always felt so sad to me, and I wanted my Shoham to keep her bangle, which is why the pita bread trick was such a special idea for me. I wanted Shoham to have her bangle to help her adapt and learn new things in Israel, her new country, but also so she remembers where she comes from, a rich Babylonian Jewish history and culture 2,600 years old, all the way back from the times of Jeremiah and the first Judean exile with King Nebuchadnezzar to Babylon, which is modern day Iraq.
There are a lot of very important themes in SHOHAM’S BANGLE that you beautifully weave into the story. Were there any creative challenges you faced when writing the book?
I think the main creative challenge was when my wonderful SCBWI Red Pencil children’s book critique group said they weren’t feeling Shoham’s emotions enough. I was brought up in a family that doesn’t verbalize how they feel, and this story of leaving Iraq whilst known was never processed or discussed. Giving Shoham emotions meant my owning the emotions of my family story.
What were your thoughts when you saw Noa Kelner’s illustrations?
Firstly I was really nervous about who Kar-Ben would choose to illustrate. An author does not get to choose their illustrator and this story was so close to my heart that it felt like a big risk. But luckily Noa Kelner was chosen and the book speaks for itself. I really love Noa’s illustrations. She put a lot of research and heart into them. I had sent through lots of historical photos and she used them, as well as her own background as a granddaughter of Algerian immigrants. I felt she captured the magic of Jewish Baghdad, with the scenes of courtyard life, the fig tree and starry nights on the roof.
I have to admit one of my first thoughts upon seeing the illustrations was that my grandmother didn’t look like Nana Aziza, and I wanted the characters to look happier. I knew I couldn’t ask for the grandmother to change but I did request that the characters look happier, especially in Iraq because I wanted the characters to reflect the good life and joy of Jewish Iraq that my grandparents described to me. It was also important to me to have happy characters because I grew up in a home that tried to be happy no matter how hard life was, which explains that whilst Shoham’s Bangle is about refugees it is also a very optimistic and hopeful book.
Do you have a favorite Iraqi recipe – something Shoham and Nana Aziza would make together?
I love Baba Ta’amar which is Iraqi date cookies that I describe Shoham and her Nana making together with the bangle. It is a delicious flat, round cookie filled with dates. My grandmother made the lightest ba’aba tamar, and I try and copy hers, and I know when it tastes like hers it’s good.
What do you hope young readers (and their parents) take away from reading SHOHAM’S BANGLE?
I hope that young readers and parents learn the story of what it means to be a refugee. Whilst Shoham is an Iraqi Jewish girl and her story is about the 120,000 Jews who had to flee Iraq in 1951, it is also a universal story which anyone who has been forced to leave their home can relate to. Shoham and her family despite having to leave their homes keep up their optimism and focus on what they do have, which is each other. I think this is something that my family taught me a sense of the importance of being together as a family. Recently my aunt told me the Arabic saying my grandmother would always say, Ma’aku mi’thil khab – There’s nothing like the love of family.
Another very important takeaway is that when we speak about refugees we should also be speaking about resilience. We need to recognize and discuss how amazing it is the way refugees rebuild their lives after losing everything. Often when things are hard for me I think about how much harder it was for my grandmother and that makes me feel stronger to cope with reality. Resilience is a gift that we can give to our children by example, and stories such as Shoham’s Bangle.
The other aspect of Shoham’s Bangle that I want children to learn and I speak about when I do readings is that there were Jews in Arab lands. This is something many people don’t know, a third of Baghdad was Jewish in 1917, and now there are only 3 Jews left. It’s sad for me to think that the rich, 2600-year-old Babylonian Jewish history and culture that I come from is being forgotten. This is something I want to recover and write more about, to share this amazing and inspiring Middle Eastern Jewish history and culture.
Thank you, Sarah!
Sarah Sassoon is an Australian, Iraqi Jewish, award winning writer, educator and poet. Her debut picture book Shoham’s Bangle was named a Sydney Taylor Notable and listed as one of Tablet Magazine’s best children’s books of 2022. Her poetry micro-chapbook, This is Why We Don’t Look Back was awarded first place in Harbor Review’s Jewish Women’s poetry. Her writing has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and has appeared in Michigan Quarterly Review, Lilith, Mother Egg Review and elsewhere. Her forthcoming picture books are This is Not a Cholent (Kar-Ben Publishing) and There’s an Oud in the Orchestra (Beaming Books), 2024.
Sarah currently lives in Jerusalem with her four boys and a Belgian Malinois she found at her local coffee shop. www.sarahsassoon.com