Rostam's Picture-Day Pusteen
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Being the new kid is hard. And wearing something that might seem odd to other kids is even harder.
Rostam and Maman recently moved to the United States, and Baba is still working in Iran. Now it's picture day at school, and Rostam doesn't want to wear his pusteen. Even though Baba wore it when he was little, and it's beautiful and soft, Rostam worries that the other kids will think it's weird.
But sometimes being brave means sharing your whole self with others.
“Distinctive in the way it models children who easily accept and celebrate cultural difference, this is a reassuring tale about sharing the things that make us unique.”—Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow, award-winning children’s book author of Mommy’s Khimar and Your Name Is a Song
Bank Street College of Education’s Best Children’s Books of the Year 2025Selected by the Maine Humanities Council to represent the state of Maine at the Library of Congress’ 2025 National Book Festival
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In a videochat with his father, who's still living in Iran, first grader Rostam and his maman share details of their life three months after moving to the U.S. But though his baba's praise makes Rostam proud, he shrinks at his mother's suggestion that he wear his father's pusteen for picture day. As Maman explains that Iranian shepherds once wore the wool-lined vest ("Baba's was handmade... to honor our heritage"), Rostam worries about his peers' reactions. At school, when classmates show interest in the vest, Rostam reminds himself of his bravery and explains the pusteen's familial and cultural significance. Mokhles's soft-edged digital images and Tahmaseb's sensory-oriented text gently underline the child's feelings of interpersonal courage and intergenerational connection. Background characters are portrayed with various skin tones. A Farsi glossary and author's note conclude. Ages 3–7.
