A timely and timeless picture book about immigration that
demonstrates the power of diversity, acceptance, and tolerance from a gifted
storyteller.
When I first came
to this country, I felt so alone.
A young immigrant
girl joins her aunt and uncle in a new country that is unfamiliar to her. She
struggles with loneliness, with a fierce longing for the culture and
familiarity of home, until one day, her aunt takes her on a walk. As the duo
strolls through their city park, the girl's aunt begins to tell her an old
myth, and a story within the story begins.
A long time ago,
a group of refugees arrived on a foreign shore. The local king met them,
determined to refuse their request for refuge. But there was a language
barrier, so the king filled a glass with milk and pointed to it as a way of
saying that the land was full and couldn't accommodate the strangers. Then, the
leader of the refugees dissolved sugar in the glass of milk. His message was
clear: Like sugar in milk, our presence in your country will sweeten your
lives. The king embraced the refugee, welcoming him and his people. The
folktale depicted in this book was a part of author Thrity Umrigar's
Zoroastrian upbringing as a Parsi child in India, but resonates for children of
all backgrounds, especially those coming to a new homeland.
