A searchable database of books recommended by the CCBC.
More information about CCBC Choices book recommendations
The Shape of Home
CCBC Review:
On her first day of school in the United States, young Rashin’s breakfast includes a round smiley face pancake, a honey bottle shaped like a bear, and oval eggs with happy faces drawn on. The rainy walk to school is under an umbrella shaped like a cat, past lines of people, and cars and bicycles with circular wheels. She remembers walking to school in Iran, where the bread from Mr. Hassan’s bakery was shaped like the braid in her own hair, and she and the other girls in their white hijabs reminded people of a carton of eggs. In Rashin’s new classroom, the teacher invites the students to introduce themselves and the places they come from. Each student describes their native country’s shape as reminiscent of something familiar: Benin looks like a flashlight, Japan like a seahorse, Italy like a boot. Rashin describes Iran like a cat. And their new home, the United States? The students decide it looks like a friendly whale. “And by the end of the day, my classroom is shaped like home.” Cheerful mixed-media illustrations convey young Rashin’s joyful outlook while providing concrete imagery for the country comparisons in this ebullient picture book. ©2022 Cooperative Children’s Book Center
Illustrated by Rashin Kheiriyeh
CCBC Age Recommendation: Ages 4-8
Age Range:
PreK-Early Elementary (Ages 4-7)
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-10)
Format:
Picture book
Subjects:
Asian Americans
Identity
Immigration and Immigrants
Iranians and Iranian Americans
Diversity subjects:
Asian
Middle East
Multicultural General
Muslim
Publisher:
Levine Querido
Publish Year: 2021
Pages: 40
ISBN: 9781646140985
CCBC Location: Picture Book, Kheiriyeh