Saffron Ice Cream: an #ownvoices unforgettable memory

 

Saffron Ice Cream is a picture book by author and illustrator Rashin Kheiriyeh aimed for elementary-aged children and up.  It is a personal narrative of the author who moved to Brooklyn, New York from Iran when she was a little girl.  

Prior to reading the story we used the TeachingBooks.Net resource of how to pronounce the author's name and heard her tell how to remember it, "Rashin rhymes with machine!"  Our students discussed the importance of learning how to pronounce everyone's name, even if it is unusual to them.  The respect and dignity associated with a name can help a person feel more at home in a new country.

We also used a short introduction video message from the author to allow students to connect the story with a real person:

The story is a simple one:  newly arrived in America, Rashin's family decides to take a beach trip to Coney Island.  During the commute, Rashin compares and contrasts this new experience to a vivid one of her visiting the Caspian Sea with her family and friends.  

Although this looks like a simple topic, there are numerous layers to explore with readers.  From the laws in Iran that have women and adolescent girls wearing a hijab and body cover to separate beaches for women and men, the discussion that can arises about various types of governments and freedoms compared to those we have in the U.S. is worth having.  

Another layer that Rashin brings to the story is that of cuisine.  Many immigrants long for the tastes and smells of certain foods and ingredients of a home they have left behind.  Saffron is another interesting spice to teach readers about.  Our students looked at the flowers from which saffron fronds are picked and dried.  They watched a clip of my mother grinding the fronds down into a fine powder. They passed around and investigated several types of saffron packages. Finally, they looked at how the spice changes the color and taste of foods, both savory and sweet.

For fun, our students even tried out anagrams from the book title, Saffron Ice Cream, on a Google Jamboard.

One more layer of the story is how maps can tell us more about a particular place. Prior to reading the story we used Google Maps to look at how far it is from Iran to Brooklyn.  We made observations about the two main colors we see on the map and made predictions about what they may represent.  

Then we noticed the satellite view on the bottom of the screen. We discussed how satellites capture images of the Earth and send the images back to us.  Once we went into satellite view the students were mesmerized by the level of detail we were able to see.  We zoomed in on the Caspian Sea's coastal towns and were able to see photos of what Rashin remembered.

  

After listening to the story our students shared what they do when they notice someone is new to this country.  I shared a time of when I taught my cousins how to play Four-Square, since they didn't have that game in Iran.  Then our students brainstormed memories that they would consider unforgettable and used a PicCollage app on their iPads to write about that memory through photos, captions and stickers.  

Storytelling is an important skill that connects us as we find empathy and commonalities in one another's experiences.  Stories like Saffron Ice Cream show that everyone's voice matters and that we all can be a part of someone's unforgettable memory in a positive way.