Karen Leggett Abouraya is the author of the new children's picture book Zamzam. Her other books include Hands Around the Library. She is based in the Washington, D.C., area.
Q: What inspired you to write Zamzam?
A: The inspiration came directly from my son and his son. There were particularly memorable experiences or comments, like the camel drinking my son’s soda or my grandson not wanting any “leafs” (lettuce) in his sandwich, that I thought might be fun in a picture book.
Our excellent editor Winsome Bingham asked questions that really helped add emotion and even a little depth to the story.
Q: What do you think Susan L. Roth’s illustrations add to the story?
A: The distinctive backgrounds for New York and Alexandria (Egypt) highlight the beauty and the differences between these two cities.
They also let young readers know immediately where they are – and they can be a point of conversation between children and the adults reading with them. How do you know it’s New York or Egypt? How are the buildings different? What is the water in the New York picture – or the Alexandria picture?
Q: Did you need to do any research to write the book, or was most of it based on your family's experiences?
A: The research mostly involved sharing family pictures and Egypt/Alexandria photos with my friend and illustrator Susan Roth.
She has been to Egypt and visited Alexandria, but I shared pictures of family experiences, like watching those yellow taxis, as well as cultural items like the tabla/drum. The tabla and the way it is played is very specific to each country, even though it is popular throughout the Middle East and beyond.
Susan generously made several versions of the tabla and my Egyptian husband reviewed each one. My grandson now recognizes that the tabla in the book looks just like the one in our living room.
Q: What do you hope kids take away from the book?
A: I suspect there are many kids who have multiple ethnicities or nationalities in their families – or simply family members who live far away or even in another country. I want them to appreciate how rich their multicultural families are and to begin noticing differences and similarities.
In the end, of course, I want them to realize that we are all under the same moon and we are more alike than different in what we care most about.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I am writing more stories about the adventures of Zamzam – and I hope to ask young readers during school visits what other stories they would like to read about Zamzam, both in Egypt and in the U.S. Soon we hope to have him eating and perhaps making koshary, which is a delicious comfort food in Egypt.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: Zamzam is the nickname for the little boy in the book, but it is also very important in Islam as the name of a well in Saudi Arabia.
Muslims believe that the Prophet Ishmael traveled in the desert with his mother Hagar many centuries ago. The miraculous water from this well saved their lives.
More than two million pilgrims travel to Saudi Arabia each year for the hajj/pilgrimage. They visit this well and sometimes bring home a small bottle of well water. If you search for “zamzam” on the Internet, this is the story you will find.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Karen Leggett Abouraya.