The shape of home
It’s Rashin’s first day of school in America! Everything is a different shape than what she’s used to: from the foods on her breakfast plate to the letters in the books! And the kids’ families are from all over!
The new teacher asks each child to imagine the shape of home on a map. Rashin knows right away what she’ll say: Iran looks like a cat!
What will the other kids say? What about the country YOUR family is originally from? Is it shaped like an apple? A boot? A torch?
Open this book to join Rashin in discovering the true things that shape a place called home.
Type: Picture Book
Pages: 40
Format: Hardcover
Publication: September 14, 2021
ISBN: 9781646140985
PRAISE
★ “A creative, child-centered picture book about finding a new home after immigration. Ebulliently illustrated.”
—Kirkus Reviews (starred)
★ “It’s hard to find a more joyful take on the first day of school in a new country than that found in Kheiriyeh’s new work.”
—School Library Journal (starred)
★ “Exuberant...A warm and welcoming story about a group of children who may have come from other places but have found a classroom that is ‘shaped like a home.’”
—Booklist (starred)
“A joyful, wildly imaginative book”
— The New York Times
“Buoyant, vibrantly illustrated story, Kheiriyeh centers on an Iranian girl’s first day of school in America. A road map for curiosity and learning.”
—Publishers Weekly
“True to her signature vibrant and ebullient style, award-winning author and illustrator, Rashin Khieriyeh shares the story about her first day of school in a new country and discovering the true shape of home.”
—Poets.org
“It’s normal to be nervous about your first day of school, but especially so when you're new, and even more when you’re an immigrant! Luckily, this classroom celebrates its kids from all different places in playful and bright illustrations, with a warm and welcoming story.”
—Tildy Lutts, Belmont Books
“Starting anything new always brings a bit of nervousness, but being able to find familiar things amongst the new allows us to replace that nervousness with a sense of belonging—a sense of home. This cheerful tale with bright chalk drawings follows Rashin as she begins her first day of school in America after moving from Iran… When we find the familiar in the unfamiliar, we become more at home with what we see, and by the end of the day Rashin finds that her ‘classroom is shaped like a home.’ … A fun reminder to look for things that bring us together and to have fun with the world around us.”
— Jolene C. DeFranco, Librarian, Lexington Creek Elementary, Missouri City, Texas, Recommended
About rashin kheiriyeh
Rashin Kheiriyeh was born in Khorramshahr, Iran. She received a PhD in illustration and an MFA in graphic design from Alzahra University in Tehran. She has published over eighty books in countries around the world and created illustrations for The New York Times. Rashin was named a 2017 Maurice Sendak Fellow and was the winner of the New Horizon Award at the Bologna Book Fair. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and lives in Washington, DC. Visit her online at rashinart.com.
