A Sweet Meeting on Mimouna Night - by Allison Ofanansky (Hardcover)

About the Book

"In this beautiful picture book about the Jewish holiday Mimouna, Miriam can't wait to make the traditional holiday pancakes, moufleta. Miriam's neighbour Jasmine, who is Muslim, shares a sack of flour to make the delicious treat, and the new friends celebrate the holiday together. "--

Book Synopsis

Set in Morocco, this sweet story of friendship and shared customs between a Jewish family and their Muslim neighbors provides a great introduction to the Moroccan Jewish holiday of Mimouna.

It's Mimouna -- the Moroccan Jewish holiday that marks the end of Passover, and when blessings are given for a year of prosperity and good luck. Miriam wants to help her mother make the sweet moufletot pancakes they always eat at their Mimouna party, but after following the rules of Passover, they don't have any flour in the house! So Miriam's mother takes her to visit their Muslim neighbors, who are happy to share.

The women drink tea together, and Miriam makes friends with a young girl named Jasmine. Miriam almost drops the bag of flour when she and Jasmine go to fetch it from the storeroom -- but luckily Jasmine is there to catch it! Jasmine and her family then join Miriam's family and friends to celebrate Mimouna.

This sweet story of friendship and shared customs will introduce North American readers to the Mimouna holiday. The book concludes with an author's note and a recipe for making moufletot, the sweet, paper-thin pancakes featured in the story, so that readers can enjoy, too.

Key Text Features
recipes
author's note

Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.2
Recount stories, including fables and folktales from diverse cultures, and determine their central message, lesson, or moral.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.6
Acknowledge differences in the points of view of characters, including by speaking in a different voice for each character when reading dialogue aloud.

Review Quotes

[A Sweet Meeting on Mimouna Night] does an excellent job of showing the interconnectedness of kind neighbors to one another.

-- "A Fuse #8 Production Blog"

[A] sweet and simple story.

-- "Vancouver Writers Fest"

This delightful story introduces the reader to a new community as well as a new holiday ... The author and illustrator subtly pack large amounts of information into a gentle story.

-- "Association of Jewish Libraries"

This introduction to an important holiday and sharing will be a welcome addition to many collections.

-- "School Library Journal"