A Lemon for Safiya

Author: Jemima Shafei-Ongu and Nisaluk Chantanakom

Hardcover

Pre order release date
27th May 2025

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Pre order release date
27th May 2025

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Hardcover

PRODUCT INFORMATION

Description

A little girl and her family help a lost and confused stranger to find her way home in this moving story about compassion, ageing and identity.

They reached a giant lemon tree.

The old woman sat up, tapping an urgent finger against the window.

'Haye! Haye! Hanna zarr'et ha. Haye!'

'She's saying that Hanna planted this tree,' Mama said, as Dad pulled over.

'It's a beautiful tree, shajrah jameeleh,' Mama said to the old woman.

When a little girl, Safiya, and her family help Maryam, a lost and confused stranger by the side of the road, to find her way home, they begin to understand who she is and the rich and remarkable life she has lived. Through kind-natured Safiya, we come to see Maryam, a woman who had been made invisible by society because of her ethnicity, race, religion, language, age and now dementia.

With Arabic text interspersed throughout, A Lemon for Safiya is a wonderful exploration of language, diversity and culture.

About the Author

Jemima Shafei-Ongu (Author)

Jemima Shafei-Ongu is a Sydney-based writer who is passionate about picture books. She believes in their power to create connections with readers of all ages through honouring and celebrating diverse cultures and experiences.

Jemima has a professional background in psychology and teaching. She also has lived experience as an 'in-betweener', being a child of diaspora in Australia, shaped by her Lebanese and Turkish families. In her writing, she explores disrupted connections, driven by a deeper need to cultivate a sense of belonging and inclusion.

She is the author of A Lemon for Safiya and Aslan and Benny, both publishing in 2025. She also co-authored the picture book Shirin and Amir and the Dragon Smoke as part of a project with the Australian National University to promote inclusive health messaging about ways families can keep safe from bushfire smoke.

When she's not writing, Jemima enjoys long walks by her local river, watercolour painting, learning the derbake, and playing lip-sync battles with her adult daughters.

She lives on unceded Dharug country with her partner, their mini schnauzer and whichever of their three daughters is in the country at the time.

Nisaluk Chantanakom (Illustrator)

Nisaluk Chantanakom is originally from Thailand, grew up right in the thick of New York City and now calls Wangal Country home. She loves living in Sydney with her husband (whom she met while counting forty-four giraffes in Ugandan bushland), and her three kids and their delightful (somewhat smelly!) rough collie named Indiana Bones.

Nis has a Bachelor's (Boston University) and a Master's (University of Pennsylvania) in Fine Arts. She's been an en plein air painter, where she explored the outdoors through art and then transitioned into graphic and UX design. But her heart truly lies in education and crafting picture books. These days, she works part-time as a Learning Support Officer at Sydney primary schools, surrounded by books that she gets to read to her students, and she loves to chat with them about their favourites. And the rest of her time is spent in her studio, bringing stories to life through illustration.