SuitabookDelightful days in Marjella
Randa Hamwi Duwaji
- Reading
- Read a story at a time and pause to invite the child’s observations about family, language and cultural belonging. Use the companion booklet’s discussion points if they suit your conversation.
- Themes
- Cultural identity and belonging: The stories present Arab/Muslim family life through Fadi and Sana, and are dedicated to children growing up away from their native culture. Cultural identity and intercultural understanding are presented as valuable contexts for children’s reading and conversation.
- Peace-building and difference: Peace-building is discussed as a purpose of children's stories, alongside the need to address discrimination, stereotypes and exclusion. These concerns are relevant to the book’s stated surrounding purpose, but the stories’ treatment of them cannot be determined.
- Language and cultural continuity: An Arabic version retells the stories, and the presentation suggests that English and Arabic may be used alongside one another. Using both languages is presented as a way to support cultural continuity and language learning.
- Worth knowing
- The wider presentation discusses discrimination, stereotypes and exclusion as barriers to peace-building, but it does not establish which such situations occur in these stories or how they are resolved.