A Gift for Sadia

Sadia is a young immigrant from Somalia who arrives to her new home in Minnesota during the coldest part of the winter. This story tells of Sadia's adjustment to her new surroundings and the difficulties she faces as the only Somali speaker at her school. As winter changes to spring Sadia gains the confidence she needs to master a new language and a new culture with the help of a Canadian goose she befriends and cares for. A Gift for Sadia is a poignant story of a young refugee's first experiences in the United States. The colorful illustrations depict aspects of Somali culture as well as aspects of life in a small Minnesota town. The simple language and story line make the book appropriate for young children. This book is one of the few works for children on Somali immigration, and, for that reason, the book is also recommended for older children who are studying current trends in immigration.

This story touched and warmed our hearts because my husband and I had visited Rochester, Minnesota on three occasions in 2006. We fed the geese when we were there and we were drawn to the many injured geese who lived at the lake. Those were good times, when the city of Rochester welcomed the geese and promoted them as a tourist attraction, when they placed corn feed bins for visitors to enjoy feeding and interacting with the geese. Sadly, the city has removed the bins and has instituted feeding bans and the injured geese, such as the one mentioned in this book, will surely perish and suffer during brutal Rochester winters. Friendships that could be made between humans and animals no longer will happen because of this new ruling. Stories such as this will no longer be told. What used to be a happy park filled with the honks of geese and the laughter of children and adults is now a sad park, uninviting with posters forbidding feeding and friendship with these angels of the sky. This book is beautifully told and we highly recommend it for everyone.Choo Choo Love[...]