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The Sandwich Swap

Queen Rania Al Abdullah - Author

The story turns a disagreement over familiar lunch foods into a friendship conflict, then uses tasting one another’s sandwiches as a route towards changed minds and coming together.

More about this book

A beautiful book written by an actual queen. This book teaches about tolerance and accepting others. It is about two girls in school who learn how to accept each other's lunches, even though they are unfamiliar with what the food is. It teaches kids that it is important to not assume they will not like something that is new, and also to be kind to friends who might be different. It celebrates cultures and the beauty that all of have something special to share! The last page is a real treat. The illustrations are delightful. The school pictures look a little different than schools in the USA because they are based on the author's experiences. Make sure to read your child the biography of the author at the end! This book is a real gem.

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Book Analysis

At a Glance

Discover

Food customs· AffirmedFriendship· AffirmedTolerance· Affirmed

Consider

Emotional intensity

Personalised Fit

Beyond the Cover

food customsfriendshiptoleranceacceptance

Non-fictionPicture book

Themes in Context

Difference, curiosity and friendship

Lily and Salma’s different lunch foods become the focus of a disagreement; tasting one another’s sandwiches precedes their changed minds and coming together.

How the book presents it: The story supports tolerance and acceptance, presenting friendship as stronger than this difference.

Talk about: Does trying one another’s food feel like a convincing way for the friends to move past their disagreement?

Why It May Be Worth Reading

Its central appeal is the link between everyday food differences and friendship: children can consider how curiosity and trying something unfamiliar might affect a disagreement.

What Deserves Attention

The disagreement escalates into a food fight. If a child is unsettled by arguments becoming rowdy, you could pause to check how they feel about that scene.

A Conversation Worth Having

If someone is curious about a food another person enjoys, how might trying it change what they think—or might it leave their opinion the same?

Reading Approach

Pause after the food fight and again after the sandwich swap. Invite your child to notice what changes between those moments without requiring them to agree with the characters.

Confidence & Basis

Theme indicators describe how the book presents a topic; they are not a verdict on the whole book or your family's values. Confidence reflects how much book-specific material was checked. Only part of the book information was available, so some details remain unconfirmed.

What remains unconfirmed

Difference, curiosity and friendship: How the friends discuss their disagreement and what each comes to think about the other’s food are not established in detail.

The Sandwich Swap - Queen Rania of Jordan Al Abdullah,, Kelly S. DiPucchio - Google Books

Limited information

Checked: 1 October 2026.

Relevant to: Difference, curiosity and friendship

The Sandwich Swap by Queen Rania Al Abdullah | Open Library