A Unique Self-Published Picture Book: The Silent Nightingale

Saudi Arabian-born author Lamis S. Solaim’s bilingual (English-Arabic) picture book features a large Middle Eastern family visiting their grandparents’ home. The oldest boys find a nightingale, the next-oldest children build an elaborate cage and sing for it, and the youngest ones bring treats and do acrobatic tricks to urge the bird to make a sound. Still, the beautiful bird remains silent — and downcast. But after the grandfather sings the youngest child a popular song by a nineteenth century Iraqi poet about the importance of freedom for the creation of beauty, the children realize that the bird should be set free to sing in the wild. Colorful, detailed, and evocative illustrations by artist Erin Nowak convey both the children’s emotions and the overall mood of the book.

While the story itself is predictable and has been told many times (more an issue for the adult than for a child hearing the picture book for the first time), the Arabic text and the setting within a specific culture differentiates this retelling. The family is large, which breaks the rules for picture books, but is an honest depiction of the lives of many Americans of Middle Eastern heritage, who regularly gather in multigenerational family compounds. Solaim and Nowak immerse readers in this lively, busy environment. The story also ends with an adult character offering a didactic message, this time in the form of a traditional song. Typically in U.S.-published picture books, the individual child is the one who solves the problem. But in other cultures, children defer to adults, and in many of these cultures, particularly in the Middle East and Africa, an elder teaches a lesson by singing a song or telling a story.

Solaim self-published The Silent Nightingale in order to make the edition a bilingual one and to bring forth her realistic portrayal of the Middle Eastern family and the way multiple generations interact with each other and pass on knowledge, traditions, and values. Exiling those books from the U.S. publishing mainstream prevents young readers from learning about diverse cultures, intergenerational relationships, and what it means to grow up in another country or culture. Fortunately, this one is available for readers young and old to appreciate, thanks to an enterprising author who wouldn’t take no for an answer.

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