Can you name a single, lovable Middle Eastern character in a middle grade novel? Now you can!
Contributed by Firoozeh Dumas, Author
People often me ask why I waited so long to
start writing. I always thought that in order to be a writer, one had to be
English and dead. I started writing when I was thirty-six years old so I
could tell my stories to my children. I wanted them to know what I have known
since I was seven years old; that our commonalities far outweigh our
differences. I learned this when my family moved from Abadan, Iran to Whittier,
California. From a young age, I did not fear those who are different from me,
and what an asset that has been in my life! As an adult, I discovered that many
people never learn this simple truth. They live in fear of “the
other,” and there are many “others.”
