An Iranian-American family prepare for Nowruz - Persian New Year - in this sweet holiday picture-book. As young Kian helps his parents get ready, the significance of the objects on his family's haft-seen - a symbolic Nowruz display made up of seven items, all beginning with the Persian letter "sin" (or "seen"), and each representing some desirable quality or blessing that is hoped for in the coming year - is explained to him. Thinking that he will introduce the family cat, Sonny, to this display, Kian inadvertently makes a terrible a mess. Now he must find seven things to replace what he has destroyed - things beginning with the letter "s," that represent his family and the love they have for one another...

Although I have read a number of picture-books set at the Chinese New Year, at Tet (Vietnamese New Year), and at Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year), not to mention stories about the Western solar new year, Seven Special Somethings: A Nowruz Story is the first title I have encountered about the Persian New Year. I was therefore very glad to discover it, especially when I realized that its author, Adib Khorram, had also written the teen novel, Darius the Great is Not OK, which has been recommended to me many times by colleagues and friends in the children's literature world. However that may be, I found the story here engaging, appreciating both the cultural knowledge imparted in the narrative, and the tale itself, which involved a very modern young boy and his family's old-world traditions. The accompanying artwork from expatriate Iraqi illustrator Zainab Faidhi is expressive and cute, in a cartoonish way. I particularly liked the depiction of Kian's cat, who can be seen on every two-page spread.

All in all, an appealing story set at Nowruz - the first of what I hope will be many! Recommended to picture-book readers looking for tales about the Persian New Year and/or featuring Iranian-American children. ( )

Persian holiday story ( )

This story revolves around a young boy, Kian and his family and the Nowruz tradition of Haft-sin: Haft (seven) items beginning with "s" (sin) symbolic of wishes for the New Year.
When Kian tries to add an unusual eight item to his family's Haft-sin spread to increase the well wishes, something unexpected happens.
Kian tries his best to replace the original Haft-sin with seven new items which begin with S.
Sweet story family, traditions and a good intentioned little boy.
And things which begin with "S", both in Farsi and English! ( )