Saffron Ice Cream, written by Rashin Kheiriyeh, reviewed by Klaudia Janek

Student Reviewer: Eden B.
Summary: This book is a young Iranian girl named Rashin who has just moved to New York City with her family, and they are planning on spending their day swimming at Coney Island Beach. As Rashin experiences American culture for the first time, she relates it back to her life in Iran. When she and her family board the subway in New York, she compares it to her family driving through Shomal in Iran. When she arrives at the Coney Island beach, she describes the American lifestyle, and then compares it to the Caspian Sea beach back in Iran. She describes how at the Caspian Sea, males and females would be split apart, and women would get to take their covers and everybody would eat saffron ice cream. At the end of the book, Rashin gets to try chocolate crunch ice cream, meets a new friend, and has fun during her day at the beach.

Straight Talk for Librarians: This book can be very useful in classrooms for spreading understanding about other cultures. The book reveals a lot about Iranian culture; the type of food they eat, the geography of Iran, their societal norms, and most noticeably- the saffron ice cream. She describes all of these aspects in a positive way, so that the kids reading the book will understand and have a positive connotation with Iranian culture. American readers will be able to relate to her stories because she compares them to things such as the subway, ice cream, and the Coney Island Beach. This comparison allows the readers to see that the people of other cultures are just like them, and can be viewed as friends. Also, the visuals of the book are very bright fun pastel illustrations, and are very kid-friendly. This is a great book to introduce young readers to Iranian culture and what it might have been like to grow up there. The book would be a good choice for newer young immigrants. It would show that others before them have had similar experiences. They miss food, places, family and friends from home. But it also gives hope in that new friends will be found and new experiences are to be had. Being a product of two cultures can be a difficult juxtaposition to manage. If students see themselves in this story, they will hopefully see that they are not alone. It’s a touching memoir that should be a part of any elementary school library.