Acoma Book - Il profumo della mamma - copertina

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MAMA’S SCENT

text: Sahar Naja Mahfouz – illustrations: Baraa Awoor

A delicate and profound picture book on mamas, kids and belonging

readers: kids from 3 to 9 years old
pages: 32 colour pages, endpapers incl
binding: thread-sewn, 4 colors, laminated
cover: matt art paper, hardbound
size: cm 20 x 25
publication: April 2024
isbn: 979-12-81781-00-9

Target

reading with parents
reading aloud
to educate the relationship between children and mothers
to recover broken, traumatic bonds through senses (hugs and perfumes, the tactile feeling of mama’s vest, the fresh, delicate colour of the sky, the movement of flying doves)
for adopted children
for illustrators and kid books authors
for school classes and libraries

Synopsis

Each kid knows so well: all mamas are unique!
“My mom’s scent is different from any other perfume in the world, and I feel it even far away. But how did it get to school? Who got it?” Let’s discover it.
A delicate and profound picture book aiming at discovering the strong relationship between all kids and their moms. The scent is the tool of recognition even at a baby’s age. And this perception embraces the kid in her/his development, letting them feel at home.

Aim

The book develops the following smart educational skills by the authors: in this realm of love, flowers and stars and doves grow page by page, and the body of Mom becomes a window through which the universe is recognized and is not a barrier. And at the end, in the encounter of the outside world and relationship, the school, a new life appears, shopping bags and possible towns appear.
With the scent of Mom inside the body and heart memory, a new life is possible in the vast horizon of reality.

Baraa Awoor – Illustrator

She has lived in Gaza City since she was born in 1993. She is a children’s book illustrator and designer, a multidisciplinary artist, and a teacher. She illustrates children’s books for many publishers in the Arab world and internationally. Recognized as one of the most talented young illustrators and artists of her generation, she is able to shift styles and dynamics in her drawings. Her subjects range from how children perceive reality to the importance of close family and parental bonds to imaginary worlds where dreams, friendly characters, or traumatic experiences can be processed and healed. She has received numerous awards, the most significant being at the latest Sharjah Reading Festival in April 2023. She also led workshops for young talented artists in Amman, Jordan, in October 2023, and in Denmark in 2024. She currently resides in Cairo, Egypt.

dedication: to my mother and her scent

Sahar Naja Mahfouz – Author

Born in Beirut, she studied at the American University of Beirut, is a mother of three, and has lived for many years in the United Arab Emirates. She is a Lebanese children’s author who believes in a mission: “Writing for the development of personality”. She has found in the Arabic language a beauty, expressiveness, and flexibility that bring stories to life. She writes for children and young adults, both published and unpublished works, and is one of the story writers for the program Iftah Ya Simsim, the Arabic version of Sesame Street. She takes part in literature festivals and conducts workshops for schools and universities. She worked as a content manager for Pearson Education’s Arabic curriculum. She is the founder and coordinator of a group of women writers based in the UAE since 2013, called HUNNA. Most recently, she founded the publishing house Kiwi Stories in Dubai.

dedication: to my daughter and her childhood