Banana Dream - Hardcover

by Hasan Namir (Author), Daby Zainab Faidhi (Illustrator)

A young boy in Iraq yearns to taste the bananas that have been made unavailable by warfare.

Growing up in Iraq after the Gulf War, Mooz didn't always like his name, which means "banana". But when he learns the story behind it, he's proud, even when being teased by his classmates. Now all he yearns for is to taste a banana--a lofty dream in a time when few countries are trading with Iraq, where bananas don't grow.

Inspired by author Hasan Namir's own childhood, Banana Dream is at once a celebration of a seemingly ordinary fruit and a snapshot of how war can alter a landscape. Artist Daby Zainab Faidhi's background in architectural illustration is evident as she brings the story's setting vividly to life.

Author Biography

Hasan Namir is an award-winning Iraqi-Canadian children's book author. His debut picture book was The Name I Call Myself. He has also published books of poetry and a novel. He lives in Vancouver with his family.

Zainab "Daby" Faidhi is a conceptual artist, illustrator, and architect. Her work spans animation, illustration, art direction, and painting. She has worked on several short film projects that have won international awards, as well as the Student Academy Award. Cartoon Saloon's The Breadwinner was her first feature film, where she took part in background painting, set props' design and conceptual art.