by Nadia Kaadan
 
Haroun, the cat, is living his best life in the city of one million and one cats, Damascus. Life is largely made up of long cat naps. The only thing interrupting his peace are the jasmine plants, adored by Damascenes everywhere; they make him sneeze! And so, he resolves to put things to right, adding his “beloved stinky smells”, chicken bones and fish skeletons, to every jasmine plant. Pleased with his work, little does he know that he has awoken the fury of the Jasmine Spirit. The next day, Haroun finds jasmine stems creeping and growing out of his nostrils bringing with them, an avalanche of sneezes. Will he ever reverse the spell…?
     
A sweet feline story set in the world’s most ancient capital which draws on a centuries old tradition of residents treasuring and celebrating jasmine flowers (a backnote elaborates). The City of Jasmine’s rich cultural heritage is lovingly captured in Kaadan’s exquisite watercolours, as patterns and motifs swirl about and tumble across the pages in a plush palette of blue, turquoise and emerald.
 
First published in 2016 (by wonderful indie press Lantana), The Jasmine Sneeze arrived at a time when the very few children’s titles which focused on Syria were concentrated on accounts of conflict. Having fled Syria herself, Kaadan wanted to preserve her memories of her homeland –“I wanted to remember my country the way I knew it”. She describes the book as one “of nostalgia, of love” and as one which “refuses to let this period of war define us*”. A beautiful picture book which counters assumptions and resists a “single story” about Syria. Age 4-7, Paperback 30pp