April is a wonderful month for many reasons. Flowers are blooming, the sun is shining for just a little longer each day, and there are plenty of religious holidays to be celebrated if that’s your cup of tea. However, there is one more reason to celebrate April that you might not have suspected—Arab American Heritage Month!
Yes, it is a real thing. And I’ll tell you why I love that it exists…
Throughout my life, I’ve grown up around immigrants of all backgrounds and ethnicities. All are hard working, community-oriented, and bring something special to our society. Similarly, Arabs have brought such a rich culture to the West, especially the United States. It isn’t just that three of the world’s major religions come from the Arab world, but some of the best food you’ll ever eat!
Hummus, that’s us.
Falafel, yup…us too.
Oh, and don’t forget tasty baklava (the Greeks will debate us on this and I welcome it)!
So, in April, please do celebrate our rich culture, and as an author, I would be failing if not encouraging you to read books by Arab Americans. Here are a small sampling that I will recommend below, but if you haven’t, do go and purchase a copy of Shad Hadid and the Alchemists of Alexandria (or pre-order Book 2!). It’s THE BEST magical school book you’ll read all year, and a love letter to Arab culture (especially the delicious food).
Other Arab books to check out…
The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah
Squire by Nadia Shammas and Sara Alfageeh
The Farah Rocks series by Susan Mauddi Darraj
Do yourself a favor and treat yourself to an Arab-inspired book today! Thanks for reading the newsletter, friend.
Congratulations George Jreije 👍