Welcome, Uncle Nowruz!: A Persian New Year’s Story

Brilliant Iranian-American creator Rashin offers her fun and fresh spin on a classic Nowruz folktale.

Nane Sarma is winter herself, and every year she waits eagerly for her old friend, Uncle Nowruz. His job is to travel the land announcing the beginning of spring. But somehow, she always falls asleep before he arrives! This year, her three grandchildren will celebrate with her, so surely she will stay awake. But after the family shops for all seven items for the Haft-Seen table, finds beautiful new clothes, eats saffron ice cream and makes the traditional meal of fish and rice, Nane is knackered. Uh-oh . . .

A fun-filled romp through a favorite Persian holiday, sure to charm readers familiar with the Nowruz festival and inspire those for whom it is new.

＂Nowruz, to me, is a bridge between past and present, between cultures and hearts--and, always, a new beginning.＂ -Rashin

Rashin Kheiriyeh is a multi-award-winning author-illustrator, animator, and painter who has more than ninety children’s books to her credit. Her books have been published in at least twelve countries and she was nominated for the 2023 & 2024 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award for outstanding contributions to children’s literature. She is also the recipient of a Sendak Fellowship Award, a 2009 New Horizon Award (Bologna Ragazzi), and is a six-time winner of the Bologna Book Fair Illustration competition. Rashin Kheiriyeh is the character artist of the most popular animation series on national television in Iran called ＂Shekarestan＂ (＂Sugarland＂). She now lives in Washington, DC.