Books
by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan
Printable recipe cards from the book are here!
Printable conversation starters for families are here!
A timely, accessible, and beautifully written story exploring themes of food, friendship, family and what it means to belong, featuring sixth-graders Sara, a Pakistani American, and Elizabeth, a white, Jewish girl taking a South Asian cooking class taught by Sara’s mom.
Sixth-graders Sara and Elizabeth could not be more different. Sara is at a new school that is huge and completely unlike the small Islamic school she used to attend. Elizabeth has her own problems: her British mum has been struggling with depression. The girls meet in an after-school South Asian cooking class, which Elizabeth takes because her mom has stopped cooking, and which Sara, who hates to cook, is forced to attend because her mother is the teacher. The girls form a shaky alliance that gradually deepens, and they make plans to create the most amazing, mouth-watering cross-cultural dish together and win a spot on a local food show. They make good cooking partners … but can they learn to trust each other enough to become true friends?
Saadia and Laura
A Place at the Table
by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan
Clarion Books/HMH
Editor: Jennifer Greene
Cover art: Anoosha Syed
Cover design: Sharismar Rodriguez
Publication date: August 11, 2020
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AWARDS
- CCBC Choices 2021
- Kansas NEA Reading Circle
- Nerdy Book Club Award, Middle Grade
- Oklahoma Library Association’s Children’s Sequoyah Masterlist
- 2022 Oklahoma Sequoyah Book Award Nominee
- Panda Book Award Nominee
- 2021 South Asia Book Awards Highly Commended Title
- Sydney Taylor Notable
- Tablet Magazines Best Jewish Children’s Books of 2020
- Texas Library Association Lone Star Reading List
- Wisconsin State Reading Association “Just One More Page” List
