Safadi follows up her National Book Award-winning middle grade novel Kareem Between with the new chapter book series Amina Banana featuring a STEM-minded protagonist who solves everyday problems using the scientific method. Illustrated by Aaliya Jaleel, both the first book, Amina Banana and the Formula for Friendship, and the second book, Amina Banana and the Formula for Winning, will publish simultaneously. PW spoke with Safadi about the titular protagonist (pronounced AH-min-ah) and her sunny optimism.
Third-grader Amina believes, “The color of bananas is the color of pure happiness,” yet she’s a Syrian refugee—not typically a happy topic. Why this lighter take?
In Kareem Between, I delved into the darker, deeper themes of immigration and how it can affect belonging and identity. So I wanted to show the opposite side from a younger, fresher, positive perspective. As an elementary school kid, I was always looking on the bright side of things, yet as we age, we see how society views us, how it views immigration. That affects how we view ourselves. Amina is still free of perceived notions, so she’s upbeat, hopeful, and sees the good in her new life.
Amina takes American idioms—phrases like “I won’t bite” and “spill the beans”—literally, creating many funny scenes. Was this for comic relief?
It was for humor, but it was also very authentic because I was an immigrant myself and learned English at school. In a predominantly Arabic-speaking household, my parents and I didn’t know these idioms, so I would wonder, what does this mean? Although Amina read English and learned English in school in Syria, she wouldn’t understand an idiom. And oftentimes as Americans, we use them without thinking. So I thought that would add humor but also show her adjusting to spoken English.
Books for the six to nine age group frequently skew toward silliness. But you include significant topics in a way that a child can understand.
Chapter books often tend to be light and fluffy. I have a very, very good editor [Rūta Rimas] and we dug a little bit deeper with these stories. They’re illustrated, in a format appropriate for a younger audience, but they definitely have those deeper emotional beats to bring that satisfying plot and character to the surface.
Though Amina’s parents both have medical backgrounds, neither are working in the field. And though she’s too young to understand immigrant underemployment, she mourns the difference between their lives in Syria and the U.S. What led you to show this family’s struggles in such a subtle but impactful way?
My dad’s first jobs in America were working in fast food and being a driver at an airport. He had finished medical school in Syria, but it took time to get his papers and get into residency. Amina’s story comes from my own experiences. It’s a character-driven story about her way of making it. She never fully dwells on the difficulties, because I don’t think kids fully dwell on that. Back then I worried about what was for dinner and my grade on the spelling bee. Only now do I remember my parents’ struggles and appreciate them.
Despite setbacks, Amina has a clear sense of self. Did you intend her to be a role model for readers?
I wanted her to have confidence. Children who feel different often wonder: should I change to fit in? I wanted to provide the opposite of that. Amina very much loves who she is. She wants to fit in while remaining true to her values, to herself, because she loves herself. The stereotypes about Arabs and Muslims—"the dad is mean,” “the hijab is oppressive,” “Muslims are uneducated”—I wanted to push back and show Amina as somebody who loves her culture, loves her faith. She makes friends while staying true to herself.
After winning the 2024 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, do you feel more pressure regarding your writing?
I never expected it. I just try to ground myself in what I love, which is storytelling, character and plot, focusing on the emotional arcs and the way the words work together on the page. I’m still amazed every time I see somebody loving Kareem Between or Amina Banana. It’s a blessing for me, honestly, after five years of trying to get published. I’ve wanted to be an author since I was a little girl, so this is still so surreal. My inner child is so thrilled.
Amina Banana and the Formula or Friendship (Amina Banana #1) by Shifa Saltagi Safadi, illus. by Aaliya Jaleel. Putnam, $16.99 hardcover May 20 ISBN 978-0-593-69922-5; $6.99 paper ISBN 978-0-5936-9914-0
