For one Armenian child, birthdays are a time for decorating the house with bunches of rose and mint and sumac, for eating beef dumplings with garlic yoghurt, and for baking cakes with family and friends. But birthdays are also a time for telling stories – stories of ancestors and homelands, of births and new beginnings, and of the land their family now calls home. For stories make up who we are, and the more stories that are told, the brighter this little child shines. A magical tale about finding yourself in the stories of your ancestors and keeping their memories alive.
Amnesty International endorses this book as it shows how the treasures of ancestors can live on for a child of refugees.
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Kamee is a queer, feminist interdisciplinary artist, producer, and storyteller, born into an Armenian family displaced from the SWANA region. She lives on the traditional territories of the Anishinabewaki, Huron-Wendat, and Haudenosaunee, peoples, also known as Prince Edward County, Ontario.
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Lusine graduated from the Yerevan Academy of Fine Arts in Armenia and the Marseille Mediterranean College of Fine Arts and Design. She strives to add a touch of magic to all her illustrations for children.
“An Armenian child of refugees muses on ancestral stories as vehicles of connection and identity in this moving picture book.”
- Foreword Reviews, STARRED
"This tenderhearted picture book follows a young child of the Armenian diaspora as they learn about their heritage and traditions on the day of their birthday. The celebration that unfolds teaches them an important lesson in survival and resilience: Despite displacement in war, despite loss and fear, home is where our stories are told."
— Catherine Hernandez, author and screenwriter of Scarborough the book and film
“At the risk of sounding life a broken record, this is yet another brilliant example of Lantana covering themes which you would be hard pressed to find in many other children’s books. Kamee Abrahamian has drawn on her own life experiences to be able to explain to children the importance of remembering those who have come before you and keeping memories alive.”
— Spy Readers
“Vasco’s words and Palomino’s dazzling illustrations, full of movement and color, create a story of blooming. Girls become women; letters become words; a pueblo becomes literate. It’s a powerful read for parents and children whose upbringings are radically different.”
- The New York Times