"There
once lived a group of people
in the ancient land of Persia
who were forced to leave their home
and seek refuge elsewhere."
There are two stories told in one book about a girl and her aunt. The young girl has immigrated to the United States to live with relatives. Alone and lonely, she misses her family, her friends, her cat, and her home. While her aunt and uncle do their best to comfort her and help her adjust, she remains unhappy.
On a walk one day, her aunt tells an age-old story of a group of Persian refugees who arrive in an Indian kingdom. They are to be turned away. The king feels his country has no room for them. Besides that, he can't understand a word they are saying. He goes to tell them. Neither understands what the other is saying. To help explain, he shows them a full glass of milk, signalling there is not room for more. The travellers are shocked. Their wise leader offers a solution - add a spoonful of sugar. The meaning is not lost on the king. He allows them to stay.
The elegance of the artwork takes readers from the streets of present-day New York, to the teeming seas of the trip from Persia to the full beauty of India, and finally back to New York. The intricacy of the old story's ornate borders ensure that young readers will understand the concept of a story within a story. The change in New York's seasons from winter to spring promises renewal and hope. At the end of her aunt's telling tale, the child exhibits a change in perspective. Perhaps there are wonderful things to experience in her new home.
“I looked around me, stopped.
And then I took another step -
into the dazzling light of America.
Nothing had changed.
And yet, everything had."
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